Paleo and Low Carb Just Got Easier!!

How many of you made a resolution to eat healthier or low carb or even Paleo this year? Or maybe you already eat this way? Well, life just got a heck of a lot easier for you! Unless of course I cook for you, then your life is already easier, or tastier I should say (Ha!). For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of having me in your kitchen, cooking can be time consuming, especially if you are trying to eat low carb (or high veggie?) and have to “rice” a vegetable like cauliflower. Riced cauliflower gets everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! Take it from me, as someone who at one time had to rice 50 heads of cauliflower in one day! I was picking riced cauli out of my socks at the end of the day and the kitchen looked like a scene from Winter Wonderland! And, no matter how many times I swept and vacuumed, more riced cauliflower would magically appear!

Luckily, Green Giant has stepped it up and come out with a new line of veggies! When I saw frozen riced cauliflower, I nearly fell over with excitement. Now while I stay old-fashioned when cooking for my clients and rice my own cauli, I couldn’t help but give these a whirl for myself. Hey, a girl’s gotta eat, and contrary to what you might think, I actually don’t always have time to cook for myself (ridiculous I know!).

Green Giant has four varieties: Riced Cauliflower, Riced Cauliflower & Sweet Potato, Riced Cauliflower & Broccoli, and Riced Cauliflower Medley, which contains riced cauliflower (duh), green peas, yellow onions, carrots, and green onions. Are you thinking what I instantly thought? Yep, that’s right. The medley is the perfect mix of ingredients to make fried “rice”! I was so intrigued with my new find that I purchased the medley and the cauliflower & sweet potato and skipped out of the store. Don’t worry, I didn’t actually skip…but I wanted to. (Full disclosure, folks, I have no affiliation with Green Giant, and I’m sure there are other brands available.)

I tried the cauliflower & sweet potato first. There are microwave and stovetop directions and both are very easy and fast. To cook on the stovetop, which is what I did, simply pour the contents into a nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Now I am a personal chef, so of course I always have to add my on twist on things. I added a little EVOO and a dash of some seasonings. You know, the usual salt, pepper, garlic powder. Let me tell you, I was impressed. It was so quick, so easy, and so delicious! I was very pleasantly surprised, and I am leery of frozen vegetables sometimes, because there really is nothing like fresh, ya know? But I just couldn’t get over that I was eating a low carb, Paleo-approved meal that didn’t take a lot of time to prep! I even finished the rest for lunch the next day! That’s right, no sharing over here.

Believe it or not, I was even more excited when I read the directions for the cauliflower medley and they gave a simple recipe to make fried “rice”. Great minds think alike, huh? All you need is some oil, garlic, ginger, soy sauce (or coconut aminos for my Paleo peeps) and an egg. All I have to say is YUM! Gluten-free, MSG-free, guilt-free fried “rice” in 6-7 minutes! Now if the egg isn’t enough for the meat lovers out there, don’t worry. The bag even suggests you stir in 2 cups of cooked chicken, pork, or shrimp and then abracadabra…you have a main dish!

Try it – you, too, may become a “cheater, cheater, cauli rice eater”! LOL

Bottom line: The food industry is finally starting to hear those of us who want to eat a healthier lifestyle. They are making it convenient to eat healthy, delicious food, which unfortunately isn’t usually the case. However, some may not be as wholesome and pure as you think so keep an eye on those ingredient lists!