Saturday, July 11, 2015

Weekend Cooking: From One Extreme to the Next

Vacation pretty much put an end to my healthy eating, and try as I might to get back to it, there have been a lot of opportunities to indulge in less than healthy foods.

I haven't given up entirely, but summer is a time without a schedule or routine for me.  Short trips and visits to see friends, backyard barbecues - all of it adds up to me returning to bad habits.

And I can't blame it entirely on someone else because I've contributed to the junk food offered, bringing things along to share.

Last week I tried out a recipe for cake batter puppy chow.


And it was good and sweet. So sweet it made my teeth hurt.

Cake Batter Puppy Chow

1 box of corn or rice chex cereal

Melt 16 oz. of almond bark along with 4 T of butter

Add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of almond extract to almond bark mixture

Pour over cereal and stir in

Add powdered sugar (I use more than half a bag) and a jar of sprinkles

Cover mixture and shake

There are many variations of this on Pinterest.  I've made my own version based on the ones I looked at. Honestly, I'm not sure how this recipe could be goofed up since what's not to like about melted almond bark and powdered sugar?  I'm pretty sure any concoction that loosely resembles this would be very tasty.

Thank goodness the neighbors helped eat some of this because once I started munching, I couldn't stop.

When we're home doing our normal summer stuff - swimming pool trips, play dates with friends, attempting some cleaning - I have been trying to make some healthy things to eat.  Despite the fact that my husband and kids are unimpressed with cauliflower crust anything, I've decided I like it.

Cauliflower Crust for Pizza or Breadsticks

1 head of cauliflower, shredded into cauliflower rice

Cook in microwave for 10 minutes

Cool in refrigerator

Once cool add seasonings:

1 tablespoon of oregano
½ tablespoon of basil
1 tablespoon onion powder
½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste


Spray a 9x13 cookie sheet and then pat down crust mixture

Bake at 425 for 25 minutes

If making breasticks, broil them additional 5 minutes

For pizza, add sauce and toppings and return to oven and broil for 5 minutes



I have tried a few recipes for cauliflower crust and this one is my favorite. I think it's the red pepper flakes that really make this crust a winner.  There is a great flavor to it by adding the red pepper flakes that the other recipes didn't have.    

Since no one else will eat my pizza,  I have leftovers waiting for me in the fridge for later today.


This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking Meme. Stop by and check out the other food related posts.

7 comments:

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

I love the idea of a cauliflower crust, but it is a little chilling to think that no one else ate it. Perhaps I'd better stick to my tried-and-true.

readerbuzz.blogspot.com

Kay said...

Like Deb, I like the idea of cauliflower crust, but....I'm not the biggest fan of cauliflower. It's the taste. I can manage broccoli, but too much of it doesn't work well for me either. Or cabbage or any of the veggies in those families. So...I'll just nod my head and wish you good luck. And eat the veggies that work better for me. I do agree that when you've not had much sugar in a while, eating it is a shock. It is so sweet! :-)

Sarah (Sarah's Book Shelves) said...

I have trouble maintaining healthy eating on vacation as well...it's so hard to be out of the routine! But, I did manage to come back from our recent July 4th vacation only gaining 1-2 lbs when I normally gain 5 - ha! This is the first I've heard of cauliflower crust - interesting!

Carole said...

I need to try a cauliflower crust. Cheers from Carole's Chatter!

Bookworm Inkorporated said...

Both of these looks fantastic! I wish I knew my neighbors better so that I could share my goodies with them instead of just...eating them all :) And the cauliflour crust looks so easy. I really should get around to trying this out. Thanks!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Recently my friend and I did a sugar reset and she made pizza with cauliflower crust--she said it was delicious but I think I need a little more convincing. ;) Ha! The cake batter puppy chow looks a little more my speed.

Beth F said...

I love the extremes here: sweet treats and healthy crusts! I've always been curious about those cauliflower crust. I might give this one a try.

I was off the grid this weekend (camping) so that's why I'm late coming around.