My NROL Experience - Page 25 - JP Fitness Forums

stingo · 10-09-2007, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Espi

Ewww. I hope you have good cleaning skills and you don't mind using those. "
I'm not really a cauliflower lover, though I keep reading it's excellent as 'fake rice'. In that case you'd grate the cauliflower when it's raw (I presume) and then bake it in the oven or something. I've actually never done this before. Hmm got a kilogram of cauliflower lying around. Where's the recipe for faux rice from cauliflower?

Yes, the kitchen is clean now - that took the most time of anything. That won't be an issue next time since it'll go right into the food processor.

Haven't heard of it being used for fake rice before, but if not potatoes, why not rice?

Biskit · 10-09-2007, 09:02 AM

Sting,

Glad your back is feeling better.

Biskit

L'ilJ · 10-09-2007, 09:14 AM

First day food looks pretty good! I have always meant to try the cauliflower potatoes, but I am just not a big fan of cauliflower. I should still try it though. Are you feeling pretty good so far? No headaches or tiredness? Make sure you drink lots of water.

stingo · 10-09-2007, 09:48 AM

Feeling ok so far... For some reason I'm thinking about food alot more though. Not sure if that's the low carb or something else. Not drinking water yet - but will be.

stingo · 10-09-2007, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biskit

Sting,

Glad your back is feeling better.

Biskit

Thanks Deb - it's getting there. Not 100%, but on the mend.

L'ilJ · 10-09-2007, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingo

Feeling ok so far... For some reason I'm thinking about food alot more though. Not sure if that's the low carb or something else. Not drinking water yet - but will be.

I always obsess about food the first few days of a new diet. Eat more cheese...it will make you feel better!

LWilson212 · 10-09-2007, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingo

The back is feeling a bit better - I iced it down last night for about half an hour. (Thanks for the suggestion

) I'll see about spinning tonight - I'll raise the handlebars a little and go easier on the resistance today so as not to piss off Mr. Back.

In low carb news, I tried making mashed cauliflower last night which was kind of funny. I had picked up this humungous head of cauliflower (apparently the equivalent of 3 or 4 heads of the regular stuff), so I had to guess how much of it to use for the recipe. That was fine... got them cut, cleaned and in the pot for the boil, and strained them out. (The recipe doesn't call for it, but one I did see has you putting the cauliflower back in the pot to dry it out.) At any rate, I put it in a bowl and added the other ingredients to it, and started mixing it with a mixer, as the recipe calls for. That's when things started to go awry - as the cauliflower, churned by the mixer leapt out of the bowl and started sticking to every conceivable surface within a good 3 foot radius, including the drapes. The kicker was that even with all this activity, the consistency wasn't what I wanted as it was still too chunky... So I looked around a bit online and saw a recipe that called for using a food processor. Of course! The best solution - MORE POWER! (insert Tim the Toolman Taylor grunts here). So I loaded it into the trusty food processor, and let it rip. Within seconds the cauliflower was reduced to a fine puree - a bit more liquidy than necessary since I added some extra liquids thinking that it looked too dry - but otherwise pretty tasty, especially after adding some freshly cracked pepper and some salt. Will definitely make it again, but this time I bring out the big guns from the start.

That is so funny! I can just picture it. I'm the queen of kitchen mishaps. Luckily my boyfriend cleans up after them all since he doesn't cook. Good luck with the diet.

Leah

RobLL · 10-09-2007, 11:30 AM

I use a french knife, slice thinly and then chop medium fine. Graters also work, but not as fast as when you develop knife skills

I steam, but boiling, stirfrying, or microwaving also work

The flavor and texture are greatly affected by cooking time.

*a little crispy: good for stirfries with other high flavored ingredients.

*soft, and minimal 'cauliflower flavor', good for faux potato salad, mashed potatoes, putting in a soup and pureeing for faux creamed soup

*cook a little longer and a cabbage flavor comes back, you probably won't like this

SpacecityPaula · 10-09-2007, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingo

In low carb news, I tried making mashed cauliflower last night which was kind of funny. I had picked up this humungous head of cauliflower (apparently the equivalent of 3 or 4 heads of the regular stuff), so I had to guess how much of it to use for the recipe. That was fine... got them cut, cleaned and in the pot for the boil, and strained them out. (The recipe doesn't call for it, but one I did see has you putting the cauliflower back in the pot to dry it out.) At any rate, I put it in a bowl and added the other ingredients to it, and started mixing it with a mixer, as the recipe calls for. That's when things started to go awry - as the cauliflower, churned by the mixer leapt out of the bowl and started sticking to every conceivable surface within a good 3 foot radius, including the drapes. The kicker was that even with all this activity, the consistency wasn't what I wanted as it was still too chunky... So I looked around a bit online and saw a recipe that called for using a food processor. Of course! The best solution - MORE POWER! (insert Tim the Toolman Taylor grunts here). So I loaded it into the trusty food processor, and let it rip. Within seconds the cauliflower was reduced to a fine puree - a bit more liquidy than necessary since I added some extra liquids thinking that it looked too dry - but otherwise pretty tasty, especially after adding some freshly cracked pepper and some salt. Will definitely make it again, but this time I bring out the big guns from the start.

This cracks me up..... This sounds like something that would happen to me.

LisaS · 10-09-2007, 01:47 PM

I like the stick blender for making mashed cauliflower - and I toss in a couple of garlic cloves to cook with it - though I admit, 99% of the time I just use a bag of frozen caul & microwave it rather than a) using fresh or b) steaming. sometimes I toss in a few pieces of frozen broccoli too - makes a green mash but tasty.

stingo · 10-09-2007, 02:11 PM

I hope Boar's Head Virginia Ham is ok to have on this diet, because I went out to sandwich shop and ordered a lb thinking it's meat so it must be ok. But when I actually got to try it it tasted a little sweet (surprisingly). Think it's 3g of carbs/serving which I think is 2 oz, since I think I only had 4 ounces, it's only 6 total carbs so I think I'm ok, right?

Lost Dog · 10-09-2007, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaS

I like the stick blender for making mashed cauliflower - and I toss in a couple of garlic cloves to cook with it - though I admit, 99% of the time I just use a bag of frozen caul & microwave it rather than a) using fresh or b) steaming. sometimes I toss in a few pieces of frozen broccoli too - makes a green mash but tasty.

An immersion blender is the perfect way to do this. Just make sure to add the liquid and fat before you start blending. And, us a deep bowl to reduce splashing.

And, like others have said, if you don't overcook the cauliflower and use plenty of butter, it doesn't taste like cauliflower at all. At least not to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingo

I hope Boar's Head Virginia Ham is ok to have on this diet, because I went out to sandwich shop and ordered a lb thinking it's meat so it must be ok. But when I actually got to try it it tasted a little sweet (surprisingly). Think it's 3g of carbs/serving which I think is 2 oz, since I think I only had 4 ounces, it's only 6 total carbs so I think I'm ok, right?

Don't worry about it this time (or in a pinch), but look for a better one. A lot of hams use sugar, unfortunately.

stingo · 10-09-2007, 07:06 PM

So 6 carbs figure that large in the scheme of things? Seems a pretty small margin for error if that's the case?

RebeccaC · 10-09-2007, 07:16 PM

I love cauliflower, I am roasting it these days with evoo, curry, coriander and tons of pepper. bake it at 400 for half and hour. Yum. I eat it 2x a week at least.
R

stingo · 10-09-2007, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RebeccaC

I love cauliflower, I am roasting it these days with evoo, curry, coriander and tons of pepper. bake it at 400 for half and hour. Yum. I eat it 2x a week at least.
R

Ooohh you said curry... must try it now since I love me some curry. Actually the mashed cauliflower came out pretty well for a first attempt. Went well with the baked salmon.

stingo · 10-09-2007, 07:31 PM

Well the back was feeling better - not 100%, but better, and it didn't act up too much in spinning class, so this is a good sign. However, I did get pretty ill right around 11 or 11:30 I think - couldn't focus vision, got nauseated, and a little lightheaded, along with a nasty headache. I'm thinking a lot of it was coming from poor hydration (thanks to Jill), so I began drinking a lot of water. Thankfully most of the symptoms went away by around 2 or so, but it was a pretty wicked few hours. I'm hoping this is the signal that the body's indeed transitioning to burning fat, rather than something else nasty that I need to take care of.

Eating included (so far) 2 eggs, smoked cheddar cheese, smoked sausage (and more smoked cheddar cheese), the ham I mentioned above (I think about 4 oz) and smoked guyere swiss cheese, and dinner was baked salmon and a large helping of the mashed cauliflower (which actually goes really well with the salmon...)