Whoever thought of riced cauliflower first is my hero. Here are a couple Asian-inspired ways to make some healthy, delicious, clean-eating cauliflower rice meals that the whole family will love. John kept asking what I did special with both these meals, and I assured him, “It was really nothing special, I swear!”
Before the recipes, there are a few products below that deserve a special mention due to how awesome they are:
- Trader Joe’s Frozen Organic Riced Cauliflower—Thank you Trader Joe’s Gods! You just made life so much easier! This product deserves and award for “best new healthy grocery item.” It’s golden. First of all it saves a ton of time, second it’s organic with no other added ingredients other than cauliflower, and third it has a special “density” that mimics real rice very well—I can’t even achieve the same texture when I’m making fresh riced cauliflower with my food processor. Oh, and it speeds up the cooking process times 10.
- Brat Hans Organic Sausage—for a long time I was buying only Applegate Organic Sausage from Whole Foods. No longer. I’ve been converted. Brat Hans now has organic sausages that taste fresher, less processed and more meaty, flavorful and satisfying than Applegate products. Granted, we should limit processed meats like sausage (and be discerning of ingredients Brat Hans get the sea of approval), but I don’t think we need to eliminate sausage in the mix whatsoever, especially “clean”’ products. Cooking up a package of links just makes life so much easier sometimes and they’re great as leftovers for breakfast, lunches or snacks.
- Coconut Secret Organic Coconut Aminos—if you haven’t used this yet, buy it today! We want to avoid soy sauce in most cases (ok, the occasional sushi night just go for it), and Coconut Aminos are the perfect tradeoff. In fact, Coconut Aminos is better than soy sauce in my opinion because it has a hint of sweetness and umami flavor. I use it often, sometimes even in salad dressings I make.
Also, if you and your family aren’t totally on board with just cauli rice—maybe you’re training and you need more carbs; maybe your kids want more carbs—then you can mix in some cooked quinoa or white rice into either of these dishes. This way, you can tailor the carbs to your needs, while still having a meal rich in nutrient density and not overly starchy like traditional rice bowls. But if you know you don’t need the extra carbs in the form or rice or quinoa, skip ’em! These meals are incredibly satisfying on their own!
Curried Cauliflower Rice
Serves 2 with leftovers, double for families of 3-4 or more
Ingredients
- 1 bag TJ’s Frozen Organic Riced Cauliflower
- 1 large carrot
- 1/4 Purple cabbage
- 1/4 Green cabbage
- 4-5 mushrooms
- Fresh cilantro (sub dried herbs)
- 1/4 cup water chestnuts
- 1/4 cup bamboo shoots
- 2 Tbsp. Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste (add more for bolder flavor)
- Drizzle of Coconut Aminos
- Dash pink salt to taste
- Coconut oil (or fat of choice) for cooking
- Optional: 2 green onion
- Optional: 1-2 pastured eggs
Directions
Chop up all veggies. In a large stovetop cooking dish (I use my large Le Creuset Dutch oven all the time) melt a couple heaping spoonfuls of coconut oil and cook carrot and cabbages until soft, then add mushrooms, optional green onion, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots and let those cook for a few. Add riced cauliflower near the very end once everything else is cooked (it’s ok to add this from frozen; it still cooks really fast) and cilantro. Once riced cauli is thawed and mixed in, finally add curry paste, aminos, and salt, and mix well. Let simmer on a low heat for a few more minutes then serve! (You can add some of the curry paste earlier if you want it to absorb more in veggies.)
Optional: In another pan, scramble a couple pastured eggs and add to the cauliflower rice dish (better to cook on their own).
What about the protein?
Don’t worry I got ya!
For a fast easy protein that cooks almost instantly and complements the Curried Cauliflower Rice, try pan-sautéed wild scallops, deveined and peeled wild shrimp, thinly sliced organic chicken thighs, or stir-fried ground turkey or grassfed beef. For all meats, use avocado oil for cooking especially if cooking at higher heats. Serve on the side or mix into your curried cauliflower rice!
This whole process should take less than 30 minutes from start to finish!
Want to make it even easier, and also turn it into a one-dish meal??? Easy! With riced cauliflower as your base, you can make all sorts of fun stir-fry meals that are sure to impress. Here’s another I threw together as a hodgepodge trying to clean out the fridge….
Instant Chicken-Apple Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 bag TJ’s Rice Cauliflower (use 2 bags if you want more leftovers or just more ratio of riced cauli, which I recommend!)
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends removed
- 3 stalks of celery
- 2 purple carrots
- 1 pack (4) Brat Hans Chicken Apple Sausage
- Drizzle Coconut Aminos*
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: Add any other veggies you have on hand to enhance this stir-fry, as well as other seasonings like ginger powder or herbs.
*For a richer taste sub Coconut Secret Garlic Sauce, which is thicker and a more robust flavor than the aminos, more like a traditional teriyaki sauce.
Directions
Chop all veggies, with asparagus into 1-inch pieces, and slice up four sausage links. Melt coconut oil in large stovetop cooking dish, and throw in celery first, let it cook for about 5 min before adding the carrots and asparagus (if you have additional veggies gauge how long they’ll take and add later if needed, e.g. mushrooms, greens, or things that cook fast). Throw in the sliced sausage. Cook on medium high for a few minutes until you see some light browning on sausage. When all veggies and sausage are pretty much cooked and done, then add the riced cauliflower and drizzle in Coconut Aminos (or Garlic Sauce) and any other seasonings you desire. Switch to low heat and let flavors incorporate for a few more minutes.
This should be ready in 20 minutes or less. Serve straight from the cooking dish to have less cleanup!