Cheesy Garlic Cauliflower Bread Sticks

My little girl has started showing sensitivity to wheat, so we are eliminating wheat from her diet to see if her tummy gets better. So far, we are on week 1 of no wheat and she hasn't complained of her tummy hurting once! Which is good, but she loves bread. I mean LOVES it! Especially dinner rolls and bread sticks. I ran across this recipe about a year ago and never made it, but decided to based on our new situation and she really liked these bread sticks! My husband LOVED these. So I'm sharing :) I have no idea where this recipe came from and I tweaked it a bit anyway so I'm claiming it as my own!

These tasty little bread sticks are gluten free because the "flour" is nothing but steamed and finely chopped cauliflower! So healthy! We paired them with a side of marinara sauce and they are fantastic! If you love a garlic taste, you'll like these a lot!  Feel free to double this recipe for more bread sticks. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked, finely chopped cauliflower
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• olive oil

Ingredients for Topping:

• 2 cloves of garlic (add more if you LOVE garlic...I used 5 cloves)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat over to 450 degrees. Chop the cauliflower florets into chunks and steam them in a steamer or on the stove until slightly soft (about 15 min). Place in a chopper and chop finely. 

NOTE: One large head of cauliflower should produce approximately 3 cups of riced (finely grained) cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately , or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Prepare a baking stone or baking sheet by spreading a small amount of olive oil on it. Make sure it is a small amount, because if you use too much, it will drip into your oven and cause a lot of smoke.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg, Parmesan and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt. Stir until well combined.

Now you are ready to transfer the contents to the baking stone or sheet. Use your hands and pat out into a large rectangle. It is important to make sure your dough is not too thick. 

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (you want the top to brown). Once it is done, pull it out of the oven and put the garlic and cheese toppings on.

Place back in the oven at 450 degrees until the cheese is melted. Let the bread cool for about 15 minutes, slice and serve! This pairs nicely with marinara sauce!

Turkey Parmesan

So, for the past 7 weeks my nephew has hired me to make a weeks worth of meals for him. He's a pro level athlete and it's that time of year where he focuses on lean body mass and really trains hard. Because healthy food choices are important to me and I know a lot about nutrition, he asked me to take on this task. I end up cooking literally all weekend, but it's fun and I get to research and experiment with new recipes.

Because I am such a huge fan of The South Beach Diet recipes, I have been going to those old recipes a lot these last 7 weeks. High protein, lower carbs and good fats are the focus of South Beach.

I had never tried this Turkey Parmesan recipe before today, but I'm glad I did. I love this recipe mainly because instead of using bread crumbs, you use crushed pine nuts. OMG - amazing taste! What a fabulous substitute! This one took me a little bit of time to prep and make, so I took more pictures as I cooked. This one is Gluten free, too!

You can serve this over pasta if you want, but you could just eat this with a side salad.  If you are Gluten free and want this over pasta, use your Gluten free pasta.

Enjoy this one.  The nutritional information is below!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sugar marinara sauce (you can use a jar version or make my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup) NOTE:  I always buy a hard block of Parmesan and grate it myself.
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 pound turkey cutlets, about 1/3 inch thick
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Heat oven to broil.
• Bring your marinara sauce to low simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
• Stir together pine nuts, Parmesan and Italian seasoning in a wide, shallow dish.

Season turkey breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. then dredge both sides in the nut mixture (make sure your pine nuts are chopped at this point), pressing to adhere.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add turkey and cook until the turkey breasts reach 165 degrees. If the nuts brown too quickly, turn down your heat.

• Once the turkey breasts reach 165 degrees, place the turkey breasts in a baking pan, top evenly with mozzarella and broil until the cheese melts, about 30 seconds.
• Spoon 1/2 cup of warm marinara sauce on top of each turkey breast.  
• Serve over a plate of pasta or eat turkey breasts with side salad.

                                 

Nutritional Value:

Per Serving: 380 calories, 21g fat, 4g saturated fat, 39g protein, 10g carbohydrate, 3g dietary fiber, 650mg sodium

Chicken Capri

This is an old recipe I forgot I had!  This one is really easy to make and tasty!  I was a huge fan of The South Beach Diet when it came out back in 2004.  I have all 3 of their cookbooks and they focus on "good" carbs that are high protein food items.  This one goes really well with a crisp garden salad.  And yes, it is Gluten Free!  It is high in protein and low in carbs!  You'll really enjoy this one!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 4 slices reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• With a mixer, combine the ricotta cheese with oregano, salt and pepper.
• Rub the chicken with the garlic powder
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side. NOTE: Your chicken will not be done!
• Place the chicken breasts side by side in a large baking dish and allow to cool.
• Preheat over to 350F
• Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup of the tomatoes onto each chicken breast.
• Top each chicken breast with 1 slice of mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 20 minute, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of a breast registers 170F and juices run clear.

Makes 4 Servings

Nutrition Per Serving

340 calories, 15g fat, 5g saturated fat, 44g protein, 6g carbohydrate, 1g dietary fiber, 115mg cholesterol, 470mg sodium