Cauliflower is one of the best veggies for you: rich in fiber and nutrients. AND cauliflower is a very versatile veggie; you can make “mashed potatoes”, pizza crust, use it as a flour substitute, etc. I saw a recipe a while back for cheesesticks and decided to give it a whirl.

Clean Cauliflower Cheesesticks

 

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cauliflower, or about 4 cups.
• 4 eggs (could use egg whites if you wanted)
• 2 cups of mozzarella cheese or mexican blend
• 3 tsp oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, minced ( I actually used garlic salt in place because I didn’t have cloves of garlic, I just guessed at the amount)
• salt and pepper to taste ( I omitted the salt here because I used garlic salt)
• 1 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese (save for topping at the very end)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut your cauliflower into florets. Add the florets to your blender and blend until cauliflower resembles a rice consistency.
3. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe container and cover with lid. Microwave for 10 minutes. Place the microwaved cauliflower in a large bowl and add the other ingredients. Mix everything together. It’ll look and smell like mashed potatoes, yum!!
4. Spread using a spatula on the baking sheets and shape into  a rectangular shape for the breadsticks.
5. Bake the breadsticks (keep that extra cheese topping to the side for later) for about 25 minutes or until nice and golden. The crust is not soggy at all. Once golden, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.
6. Slice and serve. 🙂

P.s.  Use some low carb/sugar pizza sauce for dipping. I use walden farms pizza sauce, but it does get a little strong after a bit 🙂

One of my favorite winter holiday treats is the sugared candied pecan. BUT when it comes to fat loss, combining sugars (starch/carb) with a fat (nuts) it actually stops fat loss and increases fat storage! But I have developed an easy, clean recipe that allows you to enjoy candied almonds or pecans without the fat storage. 🙂

Candied Pecans

 

Ingredients:

1 cup xylitol

1 T Cinnamon

1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pecans or Almonds

Egg Whites

Water

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, pour 2-3 egg whites and add 1 T of water. Whisk until mixture is frothy.

3. In a large bowl, mix the xylitol and spices. Have a medium sized bowl with the pecans.

4. Pour a small amount of the egg mixture over the nuts and mix until well coated.

5. Use a slotted spoon to move the nuts from the medium bowl and place in the large xylitol bowl. Mix until the nuts are well coated.

6. Place the nuts on a greased cookie sheet and repeat until cookie sheet is covered.

7. Bake for about 1 hour, and then use a slotted spoon to place the nuts on a parchment paper and allow to cool. It may take overnight or longer to cool and completely set up. When removing the pecans, they will be sticky.

8. Enjoy!

P.s. If you aren’t familiar with xylitol, over-consumption can cause cause gastric distress. So make sure to limit your intake 🙂

 

It’s officially fall! My favorite time of the year! Leaves changing colors, football, crisp, cool weather and pumpkin. Yes. Pumpkin. So many wonderful pumpkin treats out there, but some are overloaded with fat and sugar and aren’t conducive to fat loss. But I just found a Paleo recipe that I cleaned up and made even healthier!

Clean Pumpkin Cookies

 

Makes: 2 Dozen small cookies

Ingredients

– 1 cup almond or oat flour
– ¼ cup pumpkin puree, canned
– ¼ tsp baking soda
– ½ cup dark chocolate chips
– ½ cup almond butter
– ½ cup walnuts, chopped
– ½ cup stevia

– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and spread a parchment paper over a cookie sheet.

Place all the wet ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Place the flour in a different bowl and stir in rest of the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold the dry mixture gradually into the wet one until they blend together to form a uniform mixture.

Drop small portions of the batter onto the prepared cookie sheet and press each of them gently with your palm to flatten them out slightly.

Place the cookies in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until they turn golden brown.

Seal them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge.

Roasted Veggies

By Katie Guinn

It’s been a struggle for me in the past to eat my veggies. Veggies are so good for you; they contain antioxidants, vitamins, nutrients, and fiber. Not to mention that they help curb your appetite and aid in fat loss. But the problem is getting them to taste good. After years of “steaming frozen broccoli”, I have found a much more palatable way: ROASTING! It’s quick, easy and most of all, delicious!!

Ingredients:

1 large bag of raw broccoli florets, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, sliced zucchini or vegetable of your choice

Coconut oil cooking spray

McCormick Garlic and Herb seasoning

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Directions:

Generously spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place veggies on the sheet and spray with cooking spray again. Sprinkle veggies with seasoning and salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!

*Note. For zucchini, I bake 20 minutes for each side, flipping halfway, for a total of 40 minutes.