Beautiful, Exotic Romanesco Easy To Roast

Romanesco is almost too beautiful to eat.

I Instagrammed this picture last week and several of my east coast relatives asked, "what the heck is that?" So I guess these gorgeous veggies aren't too common. Luckily, they are readily available in our local markets here in Sonoma county. Although people compare them mostly to cauliflower, their taste is far more delicate.

For some reason, I've recently become obsessed with this tasty vegetable and have been preparing them at least twice a week for the past month - always roasting them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of spices. So simple, yet incredibly flavorful with just the right amount of crunch.

Here's how I prepare them (and although I say 4 servings, Doug and I polish off the entire head by ourselves.)

                *                       *                         *                       *

Roasted Romanesco
Vegan, Dairy and Gluten Free
[4 servings]

REQUIREMENTS
Shallow baking pan with parchment (parchment is optional and just helps with cleanup.)

INGREDIENTS
1 head Romanesco
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
Wedge of lemon (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a shallow baking pan with parchment.

Break up the Romanesco into small pieces. Cut the larger pieces in half.

Place on the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until the pieces are coated evenly with the oil. Then, sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Roast in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until browned and easily pierced with a fork. Stir midway through cooking.

Remove from the oven and squeeze the wedge of lemon over the roasted Romanesco and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

Instant Pot Garlicky Mashed Cauliflower Vegan And Paleo FriendlySuper Low Calorie!

Use mashed cauliflower as a tasty side or a bed for a stew.

Follow Foods For Long Life on Pinterest and Facebook.

Mashed Potato Substitute
I adore mashed potatoes but nutritionally they can't compare to cauliflower. When you properly prepare and mash cauliflower, you really can't tell the difference. And with cauliflower, you get a lower calorie and carb substitute with the cancer-fighting benefits of a cruciferous vegetable. Cauliflower is also super rich in antioxidants, and a great source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, K, B6, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, and manganese. 

Today's recipe also replaces the typical butter and cream in mashed potatoes with the heart-healthy, mono-saturated fat of an avocado. OK, it turns the mash a tiny bit green, but it makes them super creamy, and adds more dietary fiber, vitamin K and folate. For an added burst of goodness, this recipe flavors the mash with fresh garlic!

               *                                    *                                       *

Garlicky Mashed Cauliflower
Vegan, Paleo, Dairy and Gluten Free
[makes 4 to 6 servings]

Requirements
Instant Pot 
Food Processor 

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup water 
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1/3 avocado, room temperature

Directions
Heat the oil in the Instant Pot using the SAUTE function. Add the garlic and cook until slightly brown. 

Press the OFF button and immediately add the cauliflower florets, then the water, salt, and pepper. 

Secure the lid, press the MANUAL button and set for 4 minutes. When done, press the OFF button and quickly release the pressure. Carefully remove the lid.

Drain and reserve any remaining liquid from the pot. 

Place the drained cauliflower into the food processor. Add the avocado and process until smooth. If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of the reserved liquid at a time. Do not add too much liquid or it will be too soft. 

Serve as a side vegetable or as a bed for stew, peas, tomato sauce, etc..

Serve as a side dish

Or serve as a bed for stews and sauces.

Nutrition
Per serving (4): 104 calories, 5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 116 mg omega-3 and 548 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 4 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 6 g dietary fiber, and 355 mg sodium.

Per serving (6): 69 calories, 4 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 78 mg omega-3 and 365 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 3 g protein, 8 g carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber, and 237 mg sodium.

Instant Pot Cauliflower SoupVegan And Gluten Free

This low calorie soup is excellent for weight loss.

Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest.

Weight Loss Between the Holidays
I'm probably not alone at wanting to shed the Thanksgiving pounds before the next wave of holidays. I've always been a proponent of healthy soups for making this happen. Here's a easy and delicious soup that is less than 150 calories per hearty serving and also has 6 grams of dietary fiber.

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable which contains the phytochemical sulforaphane. This compound has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which contribute to its ability to prevent and treat several types of cancer. Inflammation also contributes to many long-term chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and more.

The high fiber content of cauliflower not only helps keep you full, contributing to weight loss, but also helps lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, helps feed your gut bacteria, reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, and keeps you regular. 

Instead of using cream, this soup gets its creamy texture from potatoes allowing it to be dairy and cholesterol free.


    *                                   *                                *

Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
Vegan, Dairy and Gluten Free
[makes 6 servings]

Requirements
Hand Held Immersion Blender 
Instant Pot

Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large head cauliflower, leaves removed, cut into florets
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable broth*
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
*5 cups for stovetop recipe

Directions
Heat the oil in the Instant Pot by pressing the “Sauté” button. Add the onion and celery and cook until they soften, stirring frequently, about 3 to 4 minutes. Press the “Off” button.

Add the cauliflower, potatoes, 4 cups of broth, bay leaf, salt, black and cayenne pepper to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid, press the “Manual” button, and set for 4 minutes at high pressure. When done, quickly release the pressure and remove the lid carefully with the steam pointed towards the back. 

(To cook on the stovetop, heat the oil in a soup pot and sauté the onion and celery for several minutes. Add the cauliflower and potatoes, 5 cups of broth, the bay leaf, salt, black and cayenne pepper. Cook on a low boil, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Continue with the recipe.)

Remove a cup or more of the cooked vegetables, roughly chop and set aside. 

Remove the bay leaf and add the lemon juice. Using an immersion blender, blend the remaining soup until smooth. You can also do this in a blender but take care not to over process.

For a chunky soup, remove some of the cooked vegetables before you blend the soup and put them back in after blending. Skip this step for a completely blended soup.

An immersion blender makes blending a lot easier.

Stir in the chopped vegetables, adjust seasoning if needed,  and serve. 

Nutritional Information:
Per serving (6): 149 calories, 2 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 60 mg omega-3 and 219 g omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 6 g protein, 30 g carbohydrates, 6 g dietary fiber, and 438 mg sodium.

Paleo Fried Rice - Low Calorie and High FiberVegan And Vegetarian Options

Grated cauliflower is used instead of rice in this recipe.

Follow Foods For Long Life on Pinterest and Facebook.

Me, Write about Paleo?
As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of the Paleo diet. As I wrote 3 years ago in my blog post, "Why you should leave the Paleo Diet to the Caveman", I feel that a strict Paleo diet consumes too much animal protein and avoids some of nature's best foods - legumes and whole grains, which makes it difficult to get the amount of fiber that people should have. And with the number of meat meals prescribed, it is not an environmentally sustainable diet.

That said, vegans and others whose diet centers mostly around plants, can consume too many carbohydrates and that's not good for you either. Especially if they eat a lot of white rice and pasta. In our case, we've been eating the large amounts of potatoes and corn we harvested this summer plus when we eat out, it's almost always Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian or Japanese food so it's hard to avoid rice. All these carbs have consequences.

Recently, my naturopath tested my HbA1c (Hemoglobin A1c). The result was 5.6%, which is normal, but at the very high end. (Doug's was 5.4%). Pre-diabetes numbers are 5.7% to 6.4%, diabetes is 6.5% or greater. To be safe, she recommended I reduce my consumption of carbohydrates, especially at breakfast, and get more exercise. 

So here's a fried rice recipe with lots of veggies and no rice. There's an optional egg in there for a bit of extra protein.

                             *                             *                            *

Fried Cauliflower Rice
Vegan or Vegetarian (with the egg), Dairy and Gluten Free
[makes 4 servings]

Ingredients
1 cauliflower, quartered
2 carrots, peeled
6 scallions, sliced (1 cup)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger, or to taste
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil (divided)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 large pasture raised egg, beaten
salt to taste

Directions
Holding the cauliflower by the core, grate the cauliflower on a large grater. Discard the core. 

Grate the carrots.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add the cauliflower, carrots, scallions and ginger. Season with black pepper. Cook for several minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add the soy sauce, mushrooms, and peas and cook until the vegetables are fork tender. 

If you are omitting the egg, add salt to taste, adjust seasonings (pepper and soy sauce) if needed, and serve.

To add the egg, move the vegetables to the edges of the pan making an empty circle in the middle. Add the teaspoon of sesame oil in the center and then the beaten egg. Sprinkle the egg with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Stir slowly for several minutes until the egg is cooked.

Fold the cooked egg into the rest of the vegetables. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

Nutrition
Per serving with egg: 170 calories, 6 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 53 mg cholesterol, 114 mg omega-3 and 2,155 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 9 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 9 mg fiber, and 324 mg sodium plus added salt.

Per serving without egg: 142 calories, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 102 mg omega-3 and 1,547 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 1 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 9 mg fiber, and 307 mg sodium plus added salt.

Mashed Vegan Yukon Gold Potatoes And Cauliflower Using Your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Add nutrients and fiber to your mashed potatoes.
This is my FAVORITE way to make mashed potatoes!

Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest.

A Healthier Mashed Potato
Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? And there are plenty of tasty dairy-free products available like Earth Balance Buttery Spread and a number of vegan sour cream products that you can whip into your dish so that vegans and those allergic to dairy can enjoy them. But these products can add a lot of calories and not provide all that much nutritional benefit.

Adding cauliflower to your mashed potatoes, while limiting the amount of vegan margarine and sour cream, can not only reduce the calorie count but can also add fiber, protein, vitamin C, K, and B6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium and potassium. One large head of cauliflower has a whopping 17 grams of high quality protein and 21 grams of dietary fiber!

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
This dish is quite easy to make in your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. The only tricky thing is to determine the correct amount of water to add to the pot. I used one half cup and it was a bit dry so I'm suggesting 2/3 cup for this recipe. If it seems like it's too much, you can always drain some out (reserving the water just in case). Different potatoes will vary in the amount of water they absorb. This recipe calls for Yukon gold, my absolute favorite potato to mash.

If you don't have an Instant Pot Pressure cooker, just peel, dice, and cook your potatoes together with cauliflower florets in a 5-quart Dutch oven or medium pot. Since cauliflower cooks faster than potatoes, cut the potatoes up smaller than the cauliflower.

          *                  *                   *                      *

Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Cauliflower
Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free
[makes 8 servings]

Requires an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Ingredients
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 large head cauliflower (~ 1.5 pounds)
2/3 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Spread
2 tablespoons Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream 
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Peel and dice the potatoes. Remove the large bottom leaves of the cauliflower. Cut into pieces using the stems and flowerets. Place potatoes and cauliflower in the pressure cooker along with the water.

Secure the pressure cooker top making sure that the quick release switch is in the closed position. Push the manual button and set it for 4 minutes at high pressure.

When it's done, hit the off button on the lower right and then do a quick release. Open the cover and tilt it so that the steam comes out the back away from your face.

There should be a small amount of cooking liquid on the bottom which you will mash into the potato-cauliflower mix. If you think it is excessive, drain some out but save the liquid just in case.

Place the nutritional yeast, Earth Balance, and vegan sour cream into the pot and mash everything together until it reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If it seems too dry, add more Earth Balance, sour cream, or a bit of hot almond or soy milk or, if you drained out some cooking liquid, you can add that back in.

Serve immediately or place in a casserole dish and heat in the stove or microwave oven to reheat.

Nutrition
Per serving: 135 calories, 2 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 50 mg omega-3 and 48 mg omega-6 fatty acids*, 0 mg cholesterol, 6 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 5 g dietary fiber, and 65 mg sodium (plus whatever you added to taste).

*Fatty acid amounts do not include any contribution from Earth Balance, Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream, or nutritional yeast since the manufacturer does not provide that information.

Creamy Vegan Broccoli And Cauliflower Soup With Garlicky Clamshell And Pioppini MushroomsPacked With Foods For Long Life

Contains 7 of my Top 20 Foods For Long Life
Dairy and gluten free and only 134 calories per serving!

Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.

Food Makes a Great Gift

Who doesn't love a beautiful gift basket - especially when it's full of mushrooms! This beautiful 2 pound gourmet mushroom basket from Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. inspired lots of meals last week. Meals like mushroom risotto, mushroom frittata, mushrooms and kale, and more. But my favorite and healthiest creation was this Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup with Garlicky Clamshell and Pioppini Mushrooms. 

Mycopia Mushroom Gift Basket 

Now that you have my list of Top 20 Foods For Long Life, it's fun to see just how many longevity foods you can pack into one recipe. This one has seven: two cruciferous vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower), mushrooms, two alliums (garlic and onions), fresh lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil. To top it off, this recipe is very low in calories and packed with a pound-busting 15 grams of fiber, so if you are trying to lose weight, having this for lunch or dinner is a great way to do it.

Alba clamshell, brown clamshell, and velvet pioppini mushrooms are used in this soup but you can substitute any others.

For other weight-loss tips, see Lose up to Four Pounds a Week on a Healthful Vegan Diet and Forget Gimmicks or Fad Diets - Lose Weight with a Vegan, High Fiber Diet.

For additional healthy recipes, download my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen. 

          *                       *                         *                       *

Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup with Garlicky Mushrooms

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

[makes 8 servings]

Requires a blender or immersion blender

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces of gourmet mushrooms (like clamshell and pioppini)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups veggie broth*

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 pound yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium head cauliflower, bottom leaves removed and cut into pieces

12 ounce broccoli crown, cut into florets

1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

* I like to use a Rapunzel vegan bouillon cube in water for the broth. The bouillon cube also provides the necessary salt for flavor.

DIRECTIONS

Break clamshell and pioppini mushrooms apart and set aside. If using larger mushrooms, such as crimini, cut into small slices and set aside.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute or less. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. If they start to stick to the pot, add a tablespoon of water. Salt and pepper to taste, remove from the pot, cover and set aside.

Saute mushrooms with garlic, salt and pepper.

Once cooked, remove, cover and set aside.

Without washing the pot, add the broth, onion, celery, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and thyme and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are cooked, about 20 minutes. 

Add the nutritional yeast and blend in batches. Return blended soup to the pot.

Stir in the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the mushrooms, saving a few to garnish each bowl. Heat to the desired temperature.

Serve in individual bowls. Top with the reserved mushrooms and fresh parsley.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 134 calories, 2 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 60 mg omega-3 and 243 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 6 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 15 g dietary fiber, and 50 mg sodium (does not include added salt). 

Vegan Cauliflower And Peas On Barilla's White Fiber Mini Shells - Enjoy The Taste Of White Pasta With The Fiber Of Whole Wheat!

As delicious as white pasta with 6 g of fiber per serving!

Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK .

New and Exciting Products from Barilla!
Getting sufficient dietary fiber in your diet is one of the most important things you can do for your health. For pasta lovers this means having to forgo the comforting taste and texture of semolina or "white" pasta when they opt for higher fiber, whole grain pasta. This is where even my most health conscious friends and family draw the line. 

But I recently discovered a new product from Barilla that looks, cooks, chews and tastes just like regular white pasta but has 6 grams of fiber per 2 ounce serving - the same amount that you would get from whole grain pasta. 

A 2 oz serving of "white fiber" mini shells has:
200 calories
1 g fat/ 0 saturated fat
0 cholesterol
43 g carbohydrates
6 g dietary fiber
6 g protein

The ingredients listed for this new pasta are: 
Semolina wheat (sorry, these are not gluten free), durum wheat flour, whole durum wheat flour, and corn starch. The fiber comes from the whole durum wheat flour and the "hi-maize 260" (which is listed as corn starch). 
Hi-maize resistant starch is made from corn that has been hybridized through a natural plant breeding program.  It does not contain genetically modified material. After harvesting, the corn is milled and dried to a fine, cornstarch powder. This powder contains a "resistant starch" that resists digestion in the small intestine and behaves as dietary fiber in the large intestine.  

White fiber pasta comes in three shapes:
Mini Shells
Mini Penne
Mini Rotini

This pasta has a great taste and texture and besides the mini shells, it comes in mini penne and mini rotini. I wish it came in some other shapes and sizes - let's hope they are working on that right now!

Here's a delicious and simple recipe that's under 300 calories per serving, provides 10 grams of protein and around one third of your daily requirement of dietary fiber.

              *            *            *           *           *

Cauliflower and Peas with Mini Shells

Vegan

[makes 4 servings]
Requires a large pot to cook the pasta and a large saucepan with a cover 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes*
1 small head cauliflower, cleaned and cut into very small florets

15 ounce can organic peas with juice

1 cup water

1 vegan bullion cube

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes 

6 ounces (1/2 box) Barilla white fiber mini shells
* for less spice, you may omit red pepper flakes or substitute ground black pepper

Fill a large pot with water and salt for the pasta and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook on medium low heat until garlic is fragrant and slightly brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

Always let minced garlic sit for 15 minutes before cooking to help it maintain its beneficial properties.

Cut the cauliflower into very small florets so that is cooks quickly.

Stir in the cauliflower florets to coat and add the juice from the can of peas, water, the bullion cube, the dried parsley flakes and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil on high heat. Lower the heat, and stir until the bullion cube dissolves. Simmer, covered, until the cauliflower begins to soften, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Cover and simmer until cauliflower begins to soften.

While the cauliflower is cooking, prepare the pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.

When the cauliflower begins to soften, stir in the peas and cook, covered, until the cauliflower is tender, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Stir in peas, cover and simmer.

Stir in the cooked shells and serve immediately. 

Add the cooked shells and serve.

Per serving: 299 calories, 8.5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 115 mg omega-3 and 788 mg omega-6 fatty acids*, 0 mg cholesterol, 10 g protein, 49 g carbohydrates, 10.5 g dietary fiber and 546 mg sodium (not including salt added to taste).
* Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids do not include any contribution from the pasta since that information was not available from the manufacturer.

Vegan Fettucini Alfredo Tricolore - Alfredo Without The Calories And Fat. Perfect Valentine's Dinner!

Creamy fettucini sauce with silken tofu and cauliflower

Typically High in Calories and Fat
I hate to keep picking on Olive Garden, but did you know that a dinner serving of Fettucini Alfredo has 1,220 calories and 75 grams of fat, 47 grams of which are saturated? Throw in 1,350 mg of sodium and you've got a pretty unhealthy meal. Since I love traditional pasta dishes, last night I made a "healthy vegan" version of this classic.
Sneaking in the Extra Veggies!
Back in November, I posted a Vegan Mac and Cheese where I used butternut squash as the base of the cheese sauce. It's a great way to get the family to eat more veggies! The Alfredo sauce recipe is similar except the secret veggie in this sauce is cauliflower! 
Even if you are still transitioning from a vegetarian to a vegan diet and are still using cheese in dishes like mac and cheese or Alfredo sauce, start blending in these vegetables and use less cheese. It's healthier for you and your family and you can start to wean your pallet from fat. Remember, fat, salt and sugar are addictive, (especially when combined) and companies like McDonalds spend millions determining just the right combination to get you hooked. They call it your "bliss point". So weaning yourself from cheese can be tough, but simple and tasty vegan recipes like these can help you make the change to a healthier diet with less saturated fat and cholesterol!
Fresh Pasta
Whole Foods carries fresh, whole grain, vegan, tricolore pasta. I'm not sure if you'll be able to find it but if you can, I highly recommend it. But be careful, it cooks in just a few minutes. If you can't find fresh pasta, just make the recipe with a half pound of dry, whole grain fettucini pasta or spaghetti. Or, better yet, make your own fresh pasta! As soon as I learn how to do that, I'll blog it!

Fresh whole grain, vegan fettucini noodles

Another Reason to Buy a High Speed Blender
I love my VitaMix blender. I can't imagine life without it (and I'm not getting paid to say this!). This Alfredo sauce whips up in minutes in a high speed blender and the best thing about it is that after a few minutes, it actually starts heating the sauce. But if you don't have one, you can use a regular blender or a food processor. You'll just have to heat the sauce a bit before putting it on the pasta.

Blending the Alfredo sauce in a VitaMix blender

Vegan Fettucini Alfredo
[makes 4 servings]
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced, (half of a small onion)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup steamed cauliflower, fork tender
8 ounces silken tofu, (from the refrigerated counter, not boxed)
1 tablespoon vegan buttery spread, melted
2 tablespoons vegetarian formula nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, (optional)
8 ounces dry fettucini or 12 ounces fresh, cooked according to package directions


On medium low heat, in a small saucepan, sauté the onion in olive oil until soft, about 4 or 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
In a blender or food processor with an S blade, add cooked onion mixture, cooked cauliflower, silken tofu, buttery spread, nutritional yeast, salt and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Add a touch of soy milk if the sauce is too thick.
Heat sauce in a sauce pan or by blending for several minutes if you have a VitaMix.
Toss together with cooked pasta.
Top with fresh parsley and serve immediately.


Per serving (with dry pasta): 288.6 calories, 6.0 g fat, 0.9 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 12.5 g protein, 48.3 g carbohydrates and 7.9 g fiber


Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK!

Raw Purple Cauliflower Crudité With Tahini Dipping Sauce

Purple cauliflower from my garden.

Purple Cauliflower?

When I planted my winter garden, I picked up a tray of cauliflower starts. After planting them, I put in the little plastic marker so I'd know what I planted and noticed that it said, "purple cauliflower"! I thought I had bought the regular, run of the mill white cauliflower! You know, the kind that makes lovely white soups. I was a little annoyed that I didn't pay more attention to what I had bought but then I got excited at the thought of this unusual vegetable. But I did wonder, "what am I going to do with 14 heads of purple cauliflower?"

Yesterday I picked my first head. I broke off a piece and noticed how tender and lovely it was. What a shame it would be to cook it. I decided to just serve it raw. I cut it up in little pieces and put it on a sushi plate with dipping sauce. I may post more interesting and exotic recipes with the rest of the heads but last night we just enjoyed a really good glass of pinot while we dipped our first head of purple cauliflower in this yummy tahini dipping sauce.

Health Benefits

Purple cauliflower makes a delicious and unusual crudité. When eaten raw, it's packed with vitamin C. It's a cruciferous vegetable so it has cancer prevention properties. It does this in three ways: by detoxifying the body, as an antioxidant and as an anti-inflammatory. It gets its purple color from anthocyanins, the same antioxidant flavonoids found in red cabbage and red wine. So you get the added benefit from these beneficial phenolic phytochemicals.

Omega 6 to omega 3 ratio

I've written many times about how important it is for people not to eat too many omega 6 fatty acids without balancing them with omega 3. Otherwise, the omega 6 fatty acids will block the conversion of the ALA omega 3's to the more healthful DHA and EPA. The ratio for vegans should be anywhere from 4:1 to 1:1. The tahini in this dipping sauce has almost all omega 6's so in order to drive the ratio to 1:1, I add a tablespoon of flaxseed oil. That same dipping sauce with olive oil instead of flaxseed oil would have a ratio of almost 18:1 omega 6 to omega 3 and that is not as good for you, especially if you are vegan. This is not as critical for people who get their EPA and DHA omega 3's directly from fish.

***

Raw Purple Cauliflower Crudité with Raw Tahini Dipping Sauce

[Makes 4 appetizer servings]

For the crudité

1 head raw purple cabbage (cut up)

For the dipping sauce

2 tablespoons raw tahini

2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon nama shoyu soy sauce

2 tablespoon raw agave nectar

1 garlic clove, mashed and finely minced

1 tablespoon of cold pressed, unrefined flaxseed oil

Thoroughly combine all of the ingredients for the dipping sauce. Divide up the cauliflower pieces onto 4 sushi plates and serve with small soy sauce bowls filled with 2 tablespoons of tahini dipping sauce.

Per serving: 143.6 calories, 7.3 g fat, 0.8 g saturated fat, 1.9 g ALA omega 3 and 2.0 g omega 6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 4.5 g protein, 18.6 g carbohydrates and 4.0 g fiber.

Now on Facebook!