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We did a fun experiment at home over the weekend.

I made a 30 pound “empathy belly” for my husband to wear! So I guess fun for me- not so fun for him. That is not a genuine smile on his face. 

I strapped him in and he mistakenly thought it was “just for a minute to see how it feels.” Nah, I figured he could wear it for at least an hour.

I kept reassuring him that the purpose is not for me to get revenge, but more to enliiiiiiiighten him on it feels.

Ah, fun social experiments aside, I hopped on the cauliflower train this weekend. You’ve probably noticed how cauliflower is having quite the moment. Cauliflower rice, cauliflower mashed potatoes, cauliflower crust pizza, etc. It’s become the go-to sub for carbs. I should explain that carbs are not inherently bad- our brains rely on glucose (what you get when you break down carbs) for a primary source of fuel. I do endorse a food choice that’s not going to leave you feeling that carb-coma after effect- you know what I’m talking about- the glorious plate of hot pasta that tasted so good doing into your mouth but leaves you feeling like you ate a bowling ball. Not fun. Let’s check it out- Italian Baked Cauliflower.

Italian Baked Cauliflower

For sauce

-1 lb 93% or 96% lean ground beef

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

-1/3 cup red wine vinegar or actual red wine

-1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

-1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

-1 tablespoon dried basil (I used basil paste)

-1 tablespoon dried oregano

-2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (or you could sub dried here too)

-2 teaspoons ground black pepper

-2 teaspoons salt

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

#ItalianBakedCauliflower

In a Dutch oven saute beef until no longer pink. Add minced garlic. Stir around for a minute or two. Add red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan- scraping up any bits of meat that may have stuck. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer at least 20 minutes.

I personally love making homemade marinara sauce, however if you’re in a pinch, you could absolutely sub in ~32 oz jarred tomato sauce. Just saute the meat, add the garlic, then add the sauce. Continue from there.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ricotta Filling

-1 cup part skim ricotta cheese

-1 block frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to eliminate excess water

-1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients. Set aside.

Assembly

-3 heads raw cauliflower, cored and roughly chopped (we want more the outer florets/”trees”)

-1 8 oz ball fresh mozzarella, cut into ~8 slices

Stir cauliflower florets into the simmering meat sauce. Using a large spoon, create ~6-8 pockets of space and drop a dollop of the spinach-ricotta mix. Cover back with cauliflower. Layer mozzarella slices on top of cauliflower mixture. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender but not mushy. I then cranked up my oven to broil for just a few minutes to get the mozzarella a smidge roasty browned and bubbling. Serve!

(Embarrassingly low quality photo alert!)

Makes six generous servings. Per serving: 390 calories, 32 grams carbs, 14 grams fat, 36 grams protein, and 10 grams fiber. Compare that with a box of pasta, which would bump it up to 580 calories and 73 grams carbs per serving.

When the noodle is simply the vehicle for delicious cheesy meaty sauce, might as well use cauliflower as a swap!

I have stress about potential stress

This past weekend we took the boys to Detroit for my grandparents' 60th anniversary.

SIXTY.

By the time my husband and I reach that, we'll be all...

Flying with two littles ended up being just fine, but man, I felt like the whole time I was stressed out and anxious about potential meltdowns. Potential blowouts. Potential ANYTHING.

It all went juuuuuuuust fine.

Got home Sunday afternoon and needed an easy-ish filling meal. Enter taco stuffed baked potatoes. I had prepped this before we left, so feel free to make the potato and/or meat in advance and refrigerate or freeze. They bake up quickly once assembled.

Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes -4 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried -1 lb 93% or 96% lean ground beef -1 packet taco seasoning (I found reduced sodium) -1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese -Assorted toppings (I used salsa, diced avocado, plain Greek yogurt, and some green onions)

#tacostuffedbakedpotatoes

Pierce potatoes with a fork twice. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes. While those cook, saute the meat, add 1/3 cup water and taco seasoning. Set aside.

When potatoes are slightly cooled, cut in half and scrape out majority of the insides, leaving ~1/4 inch in the skin. Discard insides. You could refrigerate/freeze both at this point, or proceed.

Distribute meat amongst potatoes and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for ~20 minutes (or longer if refrigerated). Top with your...toppings...and eeeeeeeeeeat.

Serving is two potato halves. Per serving: 430 calories, 34 g carbs, 16 g fat, 33 g protein.

Comfort Foods

Oh hey Monday.

I’m sitting here chugging a huge mug of coconut green tea. Over the weekend I developed a sore throat along with an annoying nagging cough, and truth be told I’m feeling a bit like that obnoxious coworker who’s too stingy to take PTO and go home sick.

You know what I ate for breakfast?

Pudding.

WHAT. Cold pudding is the perfect breakfast for a sore throat. Rice pudding to be specific. Brown rice pudding with chia seeds to be exact. Comfort food with a boost of nutrition.

Rice and Chia Pudding

1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice

4 cups milk (I used 1%)

½ cup white sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon chia seeds

Hint- dig out your 4-cup Pyrex measuring bowl if you have one.

Cook rice according to package directions.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk and sugar. Stir fairly often in order to prevent milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Sneak away to whisk your 4 eggs in your Pyrex or another bowl.

When milk starts to boil, pour ~1/4 cup into your eggs and stir. This is called “tempering” the eggs. If you were to add the eggs to the milk mixture, the heat of the milk would instantly scramble them. Gradually warming up the eggs prevents this. Stir in another ¼ cup milk into the eggs, and continue this until you’ve added about half the milk mixture. Go ahead and then pour the egg mixture into your milk saucepan. Put back on medium heat and stir until this boils. It will begin to thicken at this point.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, rice, and chia seeds.

Pour into individual ramekins, or one large bowl if you’d like. Refrigerate overnight. The chia seeds will further thicken the pudding, so don’t be worried if it seems too liquidy when you’re pouring it. Not only do the chia seeds act as a thickener, but they also give the pudding a boost of omega-3 fatty acids (AKA heart healthy fats) as well as some fiber. Brown rice also helps in the fiber department.

Makes 8 servings of 2/3rds cups. Per serving: 175 calories, 4 g fat, 8 g protein, 28 g carbs.

If you fake a sore throat as an excuse to make this, I won’t tell. *Cough cough*