Pureed Cauliflower

In the past, I’ve tried pureed cauliflower on its own and I found that it cannot mimic mashed potato but it does have its unique place in a well-balanced diet. I find that it has a much more “liquidy”, less starchy and more fluffy texture to it. Plain pureed cauliflower does not taste very exciting, but it can be a very suitable complement to a creamy, rich topping. The plain vegetable puree acts as a blank canvas which will accentuates the topping’s flavours, and the lightness of the puree will balance out the richness well. Plus, don’t forget that you’re boosting your vegetable intake too! Pairing a calorie-dense sauce or topping to a vegetable-based, low-calorie puree is a great way to showcase a flavourful sauce, allowing you to truly indulge without adding additional, non-essential calories.

My favourite combination: pureed cauliflower + Italian meatballs with spicy salsa = long-lasting satisfaction without needing spaghetti to fill me up!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes come in many varieties, some are more mushy and sweeter than others. Finding the variety that is starchy and slightly sweet will yield the best mashed sweet potatoes. Starchy varieties will give the most creamy texture when mashed. For me, the best way to enjoy mashed sweet potatoes is to have it plain because somehow the natural sweetness of it really has me hooked on it – I keep eating one bite after another! Mashed sweet potato is not the same as mashed potato by any means. But to me, it can be an equally satisfying and comforting side dish because of its luscious, creamy mouthfeel and its unique sweet flavour that makes it surprisingly cravable!

My favourite preparation method:

• Peel and rinse sweet potatoes, cut into large cubes
• Use a microwave steamer to steam the sweet potato cubes until fork tender
• While hot, mash with a fork or potato masher (if desired, add milk to thin out)

The Ultimate Winner: pureed cauliflower with mashed sweet potatoes

This combination best mimics the texture and taste of mashed potatoes. The starchiness of the sweet potatoes yields a creamy texture and the blandness of the cauliflower will balance out the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. Together, this composition has just the right texture and the perfect clean (but not boring) flavour. This can be the ideal substitute for those who have been longing for a lighter, healthier yet delicious alternative to mashed potatoes!

So how good is it really? Well, I did a little experiment on my brother! I served this over Italian Meatballs and tomato sauce, and told him that it was meatballs with mashed potatoes. He finished the whole dish and literally scooped every last bit from the plate. Only when he finished that he casually mentioned that the mashed potatoes seemed lighter and not as dense than the usual. So, although my brother did detect a slight difference between this faux mashed potatoes and the real thing, he still had a very satisfying meal and did not feel missed out on regular mashed potatoes. In short, pureed cauliflower and mashed sweet potatoes can truly be the ultimate healthy comfort food!

But you just hate cauliflower…

Pureed cauliflower may not work for everybody, but that doesn’t mean you cannot make mashed potatoes a little more healthier. Start by incorporating just a tiny amount of sweet potatoes (or cauliflower, or whatever other vegetable puree that you fancy) into your mashed potatoes and see if you like the taste and the texture. If you enjoy it, then you can experiment further by adding a little more; or if you dislike it, then explore with other vegetables!

It does not really matter how much or how little of vegetable puree that you are adding to mashed potatoes, the key is that you are doing something to improve the nutrition profile of mashed potatoes and that thought alone puts you one step closer to embracing a lifelong habit of healthy eating!

And you just love mashed potatoes…

Here are a few of my favourite ways to lighten up mashed potatoes (without sacrificing flavour, of course):

• Instead of using Russet potatoes, try mashing Yukon Gold potatoes. They stay moist and fluffy when cooked and mash beautifully, giving you that heavenly creamy texture!
• Hold the butter as you mash potatoes, instead add a dollop of butter as you serve. Seeing the butter melt into the mashed potatoes satisfies you visually and helps you to taste that buttery flavour better
• Use brown butter. It has a more intense, nuttier flavour so you only need to add in a small amount to jazz up the dish (Here’s a short video on how to brown butter).
• Substitute lower-fat milk or buttermilk for cream. Yukon Gold potatoes will mash into a creamy texture naturally so you don’t need cream to add on the richness.
• Sprinkle in herbs and spices to add flavour, rely less on butter. I like to add in a few cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper and a small pinch of nutmeg.
• Serve it with a lower-calorie topping. Instead of serving a fatty sauce like gravy over mashed potatoes, I like to top it off with spicy salsa (I love that extra kick!).

These options are only a few of the many methods that you can try to transform mashed potatoes from being the ultimate comfort food to a more nutritious dinner table staple. Play with these options, add in your own creative touch and soon or later, you’ll discover a whole approach to eating mashed potatoes (or better yet, you’ll fall in love with my faux mashed potatoes!).

How do you like to enjoy your mashed potatoes?

[Stars in the photo: Whole wheat rotini, Pasta shells, Stir-fry broccoli & mushrooms, Veggie-loaded tomato sauce, and Boiled cauliflower]

On the last few days of 2009, I went on a 4-day ski trip with my friends to Mt. Baker, WA. At first I was terribly worried that I would not be able to eat in a balanced manner but somehow, with determination and creativity, I managed to feed myself (and the Boyfriend) nutritious food most of the time.

My friends and I rented a cabin near Mt. Baker. I was so thankful that the cabin was equipped with a small kitchen. Without that I would probably have had much more difficulty in eating healthily.

On the first day before checking in, we went grocery shopping at a huge Walmart store on the way. The goal was to buy enough food so we could make home-prepared meals at the cabin and save money. In my opinion, Walmart is far from being an ideal place to buy groceries, especially fresh produce, but it was the best option we had, and I guess it sufficed. We split up and shopped separately. Unsurprisingly, the Boyfriend and I lingered at the fresh produce section for the longest time; meanwhile my friends quickly darted for the frozen entrees and junk food aisles deeper into the giant store.

While my friends were madly stocking up their carts with pre-packaged food, I chose to load my cart with as much fresh produce as possible. The produce section was small; it only occupied a small corner of the giant store (literally, the baked goods section adjacent to it was the same size, if not bigger). I was slightly disappointed to see such a small selection of fruits and vegetables, but nonetheless, I was determined to buy as much fruits and vegetables as I could to keep myself happy for the entire trip. I chose mostly vegetables that can be prepared and cooked quickly. My top choices were: tomatoes, mushrooms, lettuce, bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower. As for fruits, I picked out a huge bag of Fuji apples and a few lemons. Other items that I threw into the cart included a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette dressing, canned beans, canned corn, whole wheat pasta, canned tomato sauce, a carton of chicken stock and a small bottle of ketchup.

From the limited food selection that I picked out from Walmart, I managed to make 10 different food combinations which truly helped to keep me eating well and avoid myself from slowly sinking into the quicksand of filling up on junk food and prepackaged frozen entrees for the entire trip. Curious about what I made? Here’s the list!

1. Jarred tomato sauce + bell peppers + onions + tomatoes + mushrooms

End result: enhanced tomato pasta sauce loaded with veggies.My idea was to add extra veggies to a basic tomato sauce from a jar to add more flavour while boosting the amount of vegetables in a serving. I chose to add in diced onions and bell peppers to add sweetness and a little bit of a crunch to the sauce. In addition, I put in cubed mushrooms and tomatoes for a meaty texture. Lastly, I sprinkled in a dash of steak seasoning and squeezed in fresh lemon juice to add a little kick to the sauce (adding in steak seasoning may seem odd, but since I had no other dried herbs, it was my best option).

2. Broccoli + mushrooms

End result: delicious Asian style broccoli & mushroom stir-fry. This was a simple dish to prepare and cook. Simply blanch broccoli and mushrooms. Then to add a delicious Asian flavour, simply stir-fry them in a large pan with garlic, ginger and a generous splash of soy sauce.

3. Cauliflower +veggie-loaded tomato sauce + shredded cheese

End result: cheese and tomato sauce covered cauliflower. Cauliflower by itself is not interesting at all to me. But, I bought it anyways because it requires little preparation work (just rinse, cut and boil in water). With my greatest effort to make boiled cauliflower taste the best it possibly can to give, I served it over the tomato sauce. To upgrade it even further, I sprinkled on some shredded cheese. Not the most creative way to eat cauliflower, but definitely a simple method to spice it up (and use up the huge batch of tomato sauce that I made too).

4. Tomatoes + leftover rotini + canned corn + chicken stock

End result: comforting tomato pasta soup. While my friends toasted garlic bread and frozen eggo waffles for breakfast, I chose to make a simple tomato and pasta soup by making a soup base from mixing together chicken stock and water (1:1 ratio). I then added corn, the entire can of whole kernel corn (I love corn!) and stirred in cooked whole wheat rotini (leftover from last night’s pasta dinner). As a finishing touch, I stirred in a heaping spoonful of ketchup for a subtle sweet and sour taste.

5. Broccoli + cilantro

End result: simply vegetable additions to make a not-so-healthy meal a little more diet-friendly. After a long morning of snowboarding, I was exhausted and ravenous when I got back to the cabin. Hence, lunch was simple: instant noodles with a side of boiled broccoli and cilantro. I know, instant noodles isn’t the best option, but since I chose to supplement it with a large side dish of fresh vegetables, the meal is less detrimental and in fact, more satisfying (since I know I’m not giving in to eating solely junk food, I’m still mindfully choosing what to put into my mouth and giving it every ounce of effort to include fresh produce in my diet! Kudos to me!)

6. Canned white beans + canned corn + bell peppers + balsamic vinegrette dressing

End result: amazing tasty and satisfying bean salad. When I bought bell peppers, I planned to simply slice them up and munch on them like I would with carrots sticks. Instead I got adventurous and created a bean salad by combining diced bell peppers, canned kernel corn and canned white beans. This was a super simple salad to put together; the most time consuming part was just rinsing and chopping the peppers. Then I just simply tossed the ingredients together and dressed the bean salad with a drizzle of balsamic vinegarette dressing and a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice. This salad was delicious! I immediately devoured about half of it, and saving half of it for later.

7. Lettuce + balsamic vinaigrette dressing

End result: simple, delicious, refreshing salad. This was served on the dinner table along the fatty steaks that my friends prepared for dinner. I was really glad that I made the salad because it was the perfect light and palette-cleansing side dish to offset the richness and heaviness of the steak main course. I ended up loading a ton of the salad on my plate, pushing aside the poor less-appealing steak (half of which ended up in the BF’s belly, hehe).

8. Leftover bean salad + cremini mushrooms + leftover rotini + ketchup

End result: a hot, hearty and healthy breakfast option. For my next meal, I took out about half of the bean salad leftover and transformed it into a hot, hearty pasta dish. I also added in cremini mushrooms to try to fool the BF that this was a new dish .  This dish is easy to put together, takes no more than three steps; step 1: rinse and slice the mushrooms; step 2: saute them until soft in a large pan; step 3: add bean salad and cooked rotini (from day one dinner) into the pan, let it reheat and season with ketchup, salt and pepper to taste. Viola!

9. Leftover bean salad + leftover rotini + extra tomatoes + more balsamic vinaigrette dressing

End result: a variation of the previous bean salad, still equally yummy. Once again exhausted from a full day on the mountain, I was glad that I had saved half of the bean salad for lunch. Simply by tossing in diced tomatoes and drizzling in more dressing and lemon juice, my lunch was ready in no time. It was exactly what I needed, a simple and refreshing lunch.

10. Cremini mushrooms + portabella mushrooms

End result: a vegetable side dish with satisfying, bold earthy flavours in each meaty bite. Again, this dish required little prep work. Simply rinse and drain mushrooms, then saute them over medium heat until soft, and season with steak seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Spending time with friends (a.k.a away from family) is almost always an exciting and memorable experience. This ski trip has proven to be one of the most memorable yet because not only did I get to snowboard ’till I drop, I also got the opportunity to prove to myself that I am in control of what I eat and how I eat and as long as I am determined to eat well, I will somehow find a way to do so. And along the way, as a bonus reward, I have somewhat convinced my junk food maniac friends that eating healthy foods can be very delicious and enjoyable, nowhere near boring as they have imagined before!

Do you have any tips on how to eat healthily while on vacation?

I think I just found a new favourite way to eat my steel cut oats.

During the last month or so, I got totally obsessed with adding kabocha squash puree to my oatmeal, along with a handful of dried cranberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. But after eating that for breakfast for a month straight almost, I must say that the sweet combination hast lost the wow factor. And so I started to crave savory oatmeal now.

So this morning when I opened the fridge and saw a tube of silken tofu, I instantly knew that would be the star ingredient in making savory oatmeal today!

The end result? The melt-in-the mouth tofu made the oatmeal extra creamy and a small handful of chopped scallions added a refreshing Asian touch to the oatmeal. Absolutely delicious!

Oatmeal with Tofu

What you’ll need:

• 3 oz silken tofu
• 1/4 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup edamame
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 3/4 cup cooked steel cut oats (I’ve written about how to prepare stove-top oatmeal before)
• 2 tablespoons scallions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
  
• Soy sauce, to taste

What to do:

• I’ve assuming that you have already cooked up a big patch of steel cut oats and have them in individual servings sizes alright — If not, follow these instructions and make some now!
• In a small pan, add in all the ingredients, except the egg and the scallions. Break the tofu into chunks and stir the mixture well. Bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer until the tofu is heated thoroughly. Add in some water if mixture gets too thick (the longer you cook the oats, the more water it will absorb and thicker it becomes).
• Once oatmeal is heated well, slowly pour in the egg while slowly but steady stirring the oatmeal (like you’re making egg drop soup). Bring mixture to a boil again (to make sure the egg gets cooked).
• Remove from heat and stir in scallions. Serve hot with a splash of soy sauce, if desired.

The bowl of tofu oatmeal was surprisinglysatisfying. This simple meal really hit the spot for me!

If you’re tried Mark Bittman’s Savory Oatmeal with Scallions before and thought that was pleasant, then you’ll definitely fall in love with this recipe!

It’s honestly THAT good.

I was getting tired of serving pasta with tomato sauce and so I went on Google to find new recipes to try. My mission was to find a recipe that makes a rich and creamy, yet healthy pasta sauce.

I stumbled upon Poor Girl Eats Well‘s blog and her recipe for Linguine with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Spinach & Ham really caught my attention. I had never thought about using sweet potatoes to make a pasta sauce…this seemed like the perfect solution to my dilemma!

Unfortunately, I had no any orange flesh sweet potatoes on hand, but I did have a Kabocha squash lying around in the corner. So, instead of going out to buy sweet potatoes, I ended up using Kabocha squash as the star ingredient for my pasta sauce.

The end result? Creamy, sweet Kabocha squash sauce exploding with flavour. Delicious!

Roasted Kabocha Squash Sauce

Inspired by Linguine with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Spinach & Ham

• 1 small Kabocha squash (about 1 pound), scrubbed clean
• 2 bell peppers, deseeded and cut lengthwise into four pieces
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 carrot, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• Milk (I used 1% milk, but any type is fine)
• Bay leaves
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Salt

• Roast Kabocha squash whole. Spread bell peppers onto a baking sheet. Roast at 425°F for about 45 minutes, or until squash skin is easily pierced with fork and bell peppers nicely blackened. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet, about 15 minutes. Cut open squash and scoop out flesh. Mash with fork or potato masher until smooth and creamy (add a little milk if too dry). [You can also puree it using a food processor.]
• Heat olive oil in nonstick pan on medium-high heat, sauté onions until slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, sauté until fragrant, about 2 – 3 minutes. Add in celery and carrots, sauté for an additional 1 minute. Add in half cup water and bay leaves, let simmer on medium-low heat until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Add in mashed squash and roasted pepper. Remove bay leaves.
• Transfer 2/3 of the batch into a blender and blend until smooth. Add puree back into pan and heat to boil again. If sauce is too thick, add in water or milk to thin to desired consistency.
  
• Serve immediate with pasta or let cool and separate into individual portions. Makes about 3.5 cups (about 7 – 8 servings).
  

• Note: Sauce will thicken over time – add in milk / water / broth to thin it out before using

Bonus: Although this sauce was made to be a pasts sauce, it can easily be served as a chunky, creamy vegetable soup on a cold winter day. This would taste equally good served over rice too. The possibilities are endless — just play with the consistency!

What’s so great about this recipe?

Healthy and savory sauce disguised as a rich and creamy sauce! It’s meatless – all the flavour comes from the vegetables. Plus, most of the vegetables are pureed – creating a thick and creamy texture and helping to boost your daily vegetable intake at the same time!

Do you like Kabocha squash? What’s your favourite way to enjoy it?