Tag: weight watchers

Healthy Cauliflower Pudding {vg, gf, lf, lc}

Published on by nathaliejasmin2019Leave a comment

Who else hated cauliflower as a kid? I certainly did – now I love it! And I bet I am not the only one. It’s amazing how your tastebuds change, isn’t it? And there is hardly a vegetable that is more versatile than the humble cauliflower. From cauliflower rice and cauliflower pizza dough to cauliflower buffalo wings and cauliflower steak – what can’t you do with cauliflower? Few people though know that cauliflower is not only great in savoury dishes, but also sweet! What? Yes, you read that right! Here comes….drum roll…my healthy cauliflower pudding!

Healthy Cauliflower Pudding
Healthy Cauliflower Pudding

Before you close this page because you think I went completely crazy, hear me out! This is a game changer. Actually, if you haven’t made cauliflower pudding you haven’t lived, in my view. This cauliflower pudding is seriously addictively delicious. It actually reminds me of my favourite childhood dish – wheat semolina pudding (or “Grießbrei” for my German-speaking readers), which is something like cream of wheat (correct me if I am wrong). Which is obviously not gluten free or low-carb or any of those things that the hipster in me relishes in.

So for all the lovers of cream of wheat and Grießbrei out there, here is a healthy version that will absolutely knock your socks off! Besides, it is ready in only a few minutes and it is vegan, gluten free, paleo, low carb and low fat! How about that!! It is also extremely filling, rich in protein and fibre and the best way to get one of the world’s healthiest vegetables into your child. Even my fussy toddler loves it. You will never walk past cauliflower again!

To add a bit of the nitty gritty of what you take in while you are munching this scrumptious healthy cauliflower pudding. Cauliflower is not only higher in protein and lower in carbs than most other vegetables, it is also loaded with fibre for a happy tummy (yes, I suffer from IBS and a lot of fibre-rich foods are off-limits for me but I DO tolerate cauliflower well), folate for healthy blood cells, vitamin C to get that immune system going, B vitamins for energy, enzymes to aid detoxification processes, manganese for the old nerves and antioxidants to protect from cancer. Not bad for a comfort food!

This cauliflower pudding tastes great hot or cold, in a bowl or jar (or straight from the processor), with fresh berries in summer or stewed apple and cinnamon in winter. Or get indulgent with chocolate sauce and add some crunch with cacao nibs and/or nuts and seeds. The options are endless!

Vegan Lowcarb Cauliflower Pudding
Vegan Lowcarb Cauliflower Pudding

Serves 1-2

500 g cauliflower (approx. half a head)
a good dash (75-100ml) almond milk or other plant milk
30g vegan vanilla protein powder
sweetener or flavdrops to taste
real vanilla or vanilla essence
1 tsp guar gum (optional, but helps firm it up; leave out if you tend to have tummy issues like me)

Start by thoroughly washing your cauliflower and trimming it into small pieces. The smaller the pieces, the more quickly it will be cooked. You can also process it in your food processor until it resembles rice to speed up the cooking. Boil, steam or microwave the cauliflower until it becomes REALLY soft – trust me, you don’t want any raw cauliflower pieces in your pudding! Once the cauliflower is cooked and cooled down a little, process with all the other ingredients until smooth and creamy. Adjust the sweetener to your liking and…

Enjoy!

 

Skinny Parsnip and Peanut Soup (4 ingredients!) {vg, gf}

Published on by nathaliejasmin2019Leave a comment

I do love a good soup, regardless of the weather. And I happened to have a lot of parsnips in this week’s vegetable box delivery (hello, autumn!). Parsnips that were slowly wilting away, screaming at me: “Turn me into a soup!”. I listened to them. And because I am a sucker for unconventional combos, the result was a parsnip and peanut soup. A skinny parsnip and peanut soup, to be precise.

To be honest, I am not the hugest fan of parsnips. I don’t particularly like their texture and the taste does nothing much for me, not even roasted. Throw the good ol’ spud and peanut butter into the equation, however, and magic happens. You don’t even necessarily need the peanuts, I just think it really adds some depth of flavour and it actually works really well with the parsnips and potatoes even though it seems like an unusual pairing. The starchiness of the root vegetables and the creaminess of the nuts just takes this soup to a whole new level of goodness. I used defatted peanut butter powder (pb2) to lower the fat content. However, you could use ground peanuts (or other nuts) or peanut butter instead and this soup would still be very low in calories albeit satisfying.

As a full-time working mum far away from my family (sniff), I take my commitment to create easy, quick and hassle-free recipes very seriously. This soup requires just four ingredients (yes, four!) and a minimal amount of time to prepare. It is also ridiculously fool-proof so you will have absolutely no excuses not to try it! Given that the required ingredients are fairly cheap, this is also a very budget-friendly soup. It is ideally suited to prepare as a big batch and store leftovers in the fridge or freezer. Presented in a beautiful bowl and with some fancy toppings, this soup is also impressive enough to serve at your next dinner party.

Note that if you don’t have or don’t want to use vegetable stock, it’s totally fine to use water instead (that’s what I did). You just need to add salt, pepper and other spices (such as garlic powder) to taste. The stock will make it even more flavoursome but I have tried it both ways and it works beautifully with just the water as well. For what it’s worth, I don’t peel my veggies as it all gets blended up anyway and I use organic but I know tut shat most peaople like to peel their veggies. 😉

Skinny Parsnip and Peanut Soup
Skinny Parsnip and Peanut Soup
Skinny Parsnip and Peanut Soup

Serves 2-4

1 lb (ca. 500 g) potatoes, washed, peeled (optional), and cut into small pieces
4 parsnips, washed and cut into small pieces
3 cups vegetable stock (or water plus salt, pepper, garlic powder and other spices to taste)
2 tbsp powdered peanut butter OR peanut butter OR ground peanuts (or other nut butter or nut meal)

Steam or microwave the vegetables until tender. Bring stock or water and spices to the boil, add the steamed veg and peanut butter/powder, stir and then blend with a stick blender until smooth and creamy. The soup will seem to be liquid and frothy at first, but hold on and it will turn creamy!

Enjoy!