Everyone has a favorite protein. For me it is easily the one vegetable that I can use in a million ways... cauliflower. Even though I have rediscovered a love for cucumbers, and I love tossing several handfuls of leafy greens into my daily smoothie; there is just something special about cauliflower for me.
A head of cauliflower has about 10 grams of protein in it, and a cup of riced cauliflower has about 2 or 3 grams of protein in it. If you have frozen riced cauliflower in your freezer, it's an awesome idea to toss some into your protein smoothie to get just a couple more grams of goodness... it's amazing. Plus you get the added benefit of extra fiber, which we all could use a little more of to feed our happy guts.
Just like I upgrade my "Bulletproof" tea with my Thrive Algae oil, I love to upgrade my smoothie with cauliflower. When you are making a smoothie for your kids, you can add in equal parts frozen riced cauliflower to fruit. A cup of each, and a half cup to a cup of non-dairy milk and your protein powder and you are set. For my keto program I personally do just a touch of wild blueberries, and then several handfuls of greens, my unsweetened vanilla hemp milk, protein powder and added fiber if desired. I love the Dr. Formulated fiber if you are just looking for something at the store or on Amazon, or use a protein mix that is vegan with added fiber in it. My favorite shake has 12 grams of net carbohydrates in it, but it is worth ever gram. It tastes better than any vegan mix I have tasted, and it does amazing things for my belly. Having 1/4 of your carbs in this one shake, why not? A great shake recipe is:
1 medium ripe pear, diced + frozen
½ medium zucchini, de-stemmed + frozen
½ cup cauliflower florets, frozen
2 cups Organic Girl Protein Greens (or other leafy favorites)
1 tablespoon raw hemp seeds
1 ½ cups unsweetened vanilla hemp milk
Blend on high and enjoy all of the flavor and nutrients that you are getting in this fantastic whole food shake. You'll be getting about 9 or 10 grams of protein, that seems to be just crazy without any added protein mix. You can add it in, still, for even more protein post workout.
I get some of my needed folate every time I eat cauliflower, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, (my favorite needed item) potassium, manganese and magnesium. I find that getting that little extra potassium I don't have the stressed out "eye twitch"... personal story. Cauliflower is also my favorite cruciferous vegetable, and causes me no stomach upset, and no sore joints or high ammonia sweat.
One of the items I lost, nutritionally, when I went vegan, was choline from the pastured eggs. Cauliflower, of course, is high in choline!! The only other great plant based source that I enjoy from time to time, it broccoli. A little trick with cauliflower and broccoli is to add in a tiny bit of raw when you eat any cooked, because you get that enzyme boost to get the healthy nutrients that help boost up our immune system. That antioxidant is called sulforaphane. If you haven't heard of sulforaphane before, what's great is that it has been researched, and is known as a cancer prevention food. This is because it detoxifies chemicals that we have taken into our body, and because of it's antioxidant abilities.
My family loves mashed cauliflower, cauilflower pizza crust, fried cauliflower rice, freeze dried cauliflower (which could also be seasoned and enjoyed instead of popcorn) instead of croutons, and even cauliflower hummus! There are just so many ways you can use cauliflower. Trader Joe's has a cauliflower gnocchi, they weren't sure if they liked it or not. If you are just looking to get away from wheat, Cybele's Free To Eat now has a Superfood White Rotini Pasta that is made with just parsnips, cauliflower and green lentils. As well, you can find recipes for cauliflower in pancakes that I am going to try, and I'll let you know how it goes in the Ketolicious Reset group.
Best of all, cauliflower is very affordable and easier to digest than beans, and easy to experiment with as you are trying to get more vegetables into your body, and the little growing bodies of your kids. What is your favorite way to use cauliflower?
1 medium ripe pear, diced + frozen
½ medium zucchini, de-stemmed + frozen
½ cup cauliflower florets, frozen
2 cups Organic Girl Protein Greens (or other leafy favorites)
1 tablespoon raw hemp seeds
1 ½ cups unsweetened vanilla hemp milk
Blend on high and enjoy all of the flavor and nutrients that you are getting in this fantastic whole food shake. You'll be getting about 9 or 10 grams of protein, that seems to be just crazy without any added protein mix. You can add it in, still, for even more protein post workout.
I get some of my needed folate every time I eat cauliflower, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, (my favorite needed item) potassium, manganese and magnesium. I find that getting that little extra potassium I don't have the stressed out "eye twitch"... personal story. Cauliflower is also my favorite cruciferous vegetable, and causes me no stomach upset, and no sore joints or high ammonia sweat.
One of the items I lost, nutritionally, when I went vegan, was choline from the pastured eggs. Cauliflower, of course, is high in choline!! The only other great plant based source that I enjoy from time to time, it broccoli. A little trick with cauliflower and broccoli is to add in a tiny bit of raw when you eat any cooked, because you get that enzyme boost to get the healthy nutrients that help boost up our immune system. That antioxidant is called sulforaphane. If you haven't heard of sulforaphane before, what's great is that it has been researched, and is known as a cancer prevention food. This is because it detoxifies chemicals that we have taken into our body, and because of it's antioxidant abilities.
My family loves mashed cauliflower, cauilflower pizza crust, fried cauliflower rice, freeze dried cauliflower (which could also be seasoned and enjoyed instead of popcorn) instead of croutons, and even cauliflower hummus! There are just so many ways you can use cauliflower. Trader Joe's has a cauliflower gnocchi, they weren't sure if they liked it or not. If you are just looking to get away from wheat, Cybele's Free To Eat now has a Superfood White Rotini Pasta that is made with just parsnips, cauliflower and green lentils. As well, you can find recipes for cauliflower in pancakes that I am going to try, and I'll let you know how it goes in the Ketolicious Reset group.
Best of all, cauliflower is very affordable and easier to digest than beans, and easy to experiment with as you are trying to get more vegetables into your body, and the little growing bodies of your kids. What is your favorite way to use cauliflower?
This chain offers "lettuce wraps" - your burger wrapped in a large piece of lettuce for easy low carb eating. (As I've said, I tried it and don't love it. keto konscious
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