Hello! This week I'm doing two posts about recipes that I've adapted to make them "healthier". I put this in quotes because there are SO many ideas out there about what is healthy and what isn't- organic, local, flexitarian, vegan, Paleo the list goes on. For our little family, I try my best to follow Michael Pollan 's (author of Omnivore's Dilemma, Food Rules and many more books I HIGHLY recommend) advice, " Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants." It's pretty simply: avoid processed foods, cook from scratch (especially things that are "bad", ex. sweets and fried food, because if you only eat these when you are willing to cook them from scratch you will eat them MUCH less), read ingredient labels and be wary of things that have long chemically names, you should recognize what is in you food, eat traditional preparations, eat significantly less meat and when you do eat quality meat (grass fed, local). There is a big emphasis of cooking for yourself, because this way you can control what is in the food, and the portion size.
For us this looks like eating meat MAYBE twice a week (I feel like it's usually less), seafood once or twice a week, and then vegetarian the rest of the week. We buy our meat at the framer's market, as we do with almost all our produce. We are NOT perfect, there are somethings that we buy at Costco and Trader Joe's (because it's just too expensive, we live in a really expensive state in a REALLY expensive area because my husband works for a Silicon Vally start-up). Not every piece is organic and local, but we try to choose things that are both of these as often as possible (but for me local trumps organic, I'd rather have peppers from California that didn't come for a certified farm than from Holland, yes Holland, that bear an organic label).
However, I think the healthiest thing we do is COOK EVERY NIGHT! (except when there are leftovers). We only eat out for special occasions, and I honestly can't tell you the last time we ordered in. Fast food is something we have maybe 2-3 times a year, as a treat or if we are traveling and it's the only option (we recently drove from NorCal to Las Vegas and there is not much to choose from out in the middle of the Mojave at night). It does help keep costs down so we can afford to buy high quality ingredients, but I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am.
I get it, cooking is difficult for many people. It's not just the time commitment, it's that cooking is a skill that many never learned. Even though my mom cooked MOST of the time when I was growing up (we also had frozen stuff from Swaun's), I didn' really begin to learn how to cook till my senior year of college, thanks to my roommate G. When I unexpectedly found myself living alone just a few months after graduation and I had to figure out how I would feed myself on a entry-level salary AND make rent each month without the help of roommates. Cooking was really the only way. At first it was BAD. I can bake up a storm, but in those early days you did not want to come to my place for dinner. But I kept at it and I got better. Then I met a man who loves to cook, and we started a life together. We lived with his family for a while and they make EVERYTHING from scratch. His grandmother doesn't speak any English, but she still taught me so much, and his mom taught me even more. I guess what I'm saying is you CAN do it! You can learn and, while you may never be a chef, sitting down to a meal that you prepared and knowing that you are doing good things for your health is a great feeling.
OK rant over. Receipe fun starts NOW!
I'm a Pinterest FANATIC and I have 6 food related pin boards (6!). I pin a lot of recipes and I try to look for things that aren't going to need a lot of modification to meet my standards. However, even recipes that seem healthy can sometimes be made even better with a little creativity.
Since we moved to California, this recipe for Avocado Pesto have been one of our favorites. However my husband has been on this "no pasta" kick for awhile (I love him, but it's truly just vanity, he wants a six-pack lol). I LOVE pasta, one of my favorite shower gifts were my pasta rolling and cutting attachments for my Artisan mixer. However, I also know that pasta isn't the healthier food (except if you are carb-loading for a race, which I haven't done since I stopped doing track after high school). So I needed a new vehicle for the delivery of this tasty sauce to my eager mouth. Enter Cauliflower! I first tried "cauliflower pasta", literally just cauliflower chopped up into small florets and boiled, when I made this recipe. We loved it and it's become a new favorite to make with all kinds of sauces we would usually put on pasta (vodka, marinara, etc.). So I knew I had to try it with our beloved avocado pesto. I turned out really well (though apologies for the lack of/quality of pictures, it smelled good and we were hungry!)
Avocado Pesto Cauliflower "Pasta"
1 Small to Medium Head of Cauliflower, chopped into small florets
- 1 Small bunch fresh basil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional, I know it's not real pesto to some without pine nuts, but in a pinch I omit them or I'll just use almonds instead)
- 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
- Freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to the boil.
2. Simmer cauliflower for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside, TIP: I cook my cauliflower in my pressure cooker! (my most used kitchen tool). Add water, salt and cauliflower to the pressure cooker, seal and heat on high until the pressure high pressure if reached. My pressure cooker manual recommends 2 to 3 minutes, but you may want o check your manual to see what the recommendation is for your model (especially if using an electric pressure cooker). Remove from heat and run cool water to "quick-release" the pressure (again check your own manual first).
3. Meanwhile, make the pesto by combining basil*, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a food processor. Process until smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper. *Be VERY careful with the basil, I've over done it before and the result was COMPLETELY inedible. If you aren't sure how much to use, add it in gradually.
4. Toss cauliflower "pasta" with pesto. For an extra touch of color and flavor, top pasta with cherry or sun-dried tomatoes. To add more protein my husband and I toss in sautéed shrimp, vegan Italian sausage (pictured above, this one is from Costco, is organic, and the ingredients are real food), or tofu.
There is is, my first recipe post! Hope you enjoy it!
Live Joyously!
