It's made of WHAT?

OK, I saw this recipe kicking around on the NS boards for quite some time, but I honestly didn't believe it. How can you make cauliflower taste like pizza or bread sticks? I'm a carb addict myself and I really like my bread!

Finally, I decided to buy a head of cauliflower, with the intention of giving it a try. It's been sitting in my fridge for about a week and I've been giving it the side eye. It was starting to go a bit brown so I figured it was now or never, so without further ado...

Flex Meals (Dinner):



1 cup riced cauliflower
3 tbsp + 2 tsp Egg Beaters (or 1 egg)
1/2 cup shredded fat free mozzerella cheese
oregano, basil, garlic to taste

I tried to save time and ran my (raw) cauliflower through the food processor instead of grating it. Well, it got awfully small and looked more like large powder bits than rice, so I may do it the hard way for recipes where you actually substitute it for real rice, but it was fine for this one. I put the riced cauliflower into my silicone steamer for 2 minutes and then poured it into a mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients and blend well. Note that this stuff sticks like crazy to whatever you put it in- I put a sheet of tinfoil over my baking tray but the edges still stuck to the foil so make sure to use cooking spray on your foil as well! Spread the crust thinly (the thinner it is, the crisper it will be) onto the foil and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.



When it comes out, let it cool for a minute and then top with pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, and your favourite pizza toppings plus a little cheese of course. Broil the pizza just until cheese is melted or it will get soggy.

I was really surprised at how bread-y this tasted! I gave my husband a bite and we're going to make a double sized one for dinner tomorrow. It wasn't quite as satisfying as a bread-based pizza but it was still really good, and a very large serving! Don't forget to add a low GI carb to your day elsewhere and skip an extra dairy serving.


Grilled Chicken Breast (Dinner):


I love chicken parmigiana- one of my favourite meals! This is easy to flex if you don't have any Nutrisystem Grilled Chicken- just use 3oz of your own chicken.

1 pkg NS Grilled Chicken
1 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp Eggbeaters
1/4 cup low sodium tomato sauce
shredded cheese, mozzerella or Parmesan (free food)

Dip the chicken in the Eggbeaters and breadcrumbs, and fry in a skillet sprayed with PAM until crispy. Put it into a glass baking dish and top with tomato sauce and cheese, and bake until cheese melts. You use so little breadcrumbs that it can count as a free food, same for the Eggbeaters. You only need a little cheese, but if you have a whole dairy serving to use, save some for this side dish!

Italian Vegetable Bake:

1 large can whole tomatoes (no sodium added)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb fresh green beans, chopped
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
3 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium eggplant, chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
fresh basil and oregano, chopped (better than dried by far)

All vegetables should be chopped coarsely into chunks, rather than small for pasta sauce or whatever else. Drain the tomatoes (reserving juice) and chop them into chunks as well. Mix everything together well in a bowl and pour into a baking dish. Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees and top with a little Parmesan cheese just before serving if desired.

This makes a huge pan full of vegetables but it is very flavourful so they will go fast! If you like spice you can add a little chili pepper but I didn't think it was really needed.


Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes (Lunch):


When I was a kid, I used to complain that clam chowder never had enough clams in it. My mom used to tell me that clam chowder was basically cream of potato soup with clams added, so that's what we'd do- buy potato soup and add our own clams. I was just thinking today about how I missed Campbell's clam chowder and then I happened to glance at a cup of Nutrisystem's Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes. Then the wheels started turning, since we already have a great recipe for potato soup!

1 pkg NS Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped baby clams
steamed chunked cauliflower or onions, if desired

Prepare the potatoes by adding 1 cup of hot boiling water (more than you usually add) and let stand until they set. Pour into a pot and add the milk and stir, simmering for a few minutes. Add in the clams and any vegetables you want to use (the cauliflower chunks are a good sub for potato pieces) and let it warm on the stove until the flavours are well mixed.

This isn't as creamy as the Campbells' version, but it's very flavourful. I added a little of the riced cauliflower I used for the pizza to thicken it up a bit and that helped. It also had more clams than you'd get with Campbells', just like my Mama said it would!