pasta with cauliflower and parmesan cheese

Pasta with cauliflower and parmesan cheese

Three ingredients, people...
- whole wheat pasta
- cauliflower, cut into small pieces
- parmesan cheese

1. Cook the pasta, according to the directions on the box.

2. Meanwhile, steam some cauliflower until it is to your taste.  As an alternative, you can saute the cauliflower. 

3. combine the cooked pasta with the cooked cauliflower.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese on top.

It is that simple!  When you don't have much time on your hands, and you want something healthy for your kids, take the simple steps above and you have dinner.

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Let's talk about how good cauliflower is for you.  It is in the same family as broccoli and cabbage.  It is loaded with vitamins and phytonutrients.  It detoxifies your body, it fights against cancer, and fights unwanted inflammation.

Don't think that white = no nutrients.  The reason it is white is because it doesn't get sun during growth, since leaves cover the head.  This is a very good addition to you diet!  Eat food that feed your body, not just fill your belly.

Quinoa and tomatoes and olive oil

I have succeeded again in creating a recipe that took minutes to prepare...and Steve took seconds, and ate the remainder of the kids plates.  You know it is good when someone goes for seconds, and thirds!

Ingredients:
- Quinoa
- tomatoes
- peppers (although I will probably leave them out next time since they didn't add too much to the dish)
- olive oil
- salt

Really...that is it!



1. I prepared 2 cups of quinoa as instructed on the package

2. chop tomatoes and peppers

3. put quinoa on a plate

4. add pepper and tomatoes on top

 5. pull out the olive oil and salt, and add

Done!

The reason this dish was so good is because the tomatoes were straight from the garden and the flavor was just amazing.


You can't get more simple than this when it comes to a recipe, so it is easy on the chef.  All the while, pleasing the table.  

Tomato, Spinach and Feta Cheese Frittata

Frittata.

Sounds kind of fancy, huh?

Preparing a frittata is very simple and easy, frankly.

I will show you how I prepare my staple frittata, but once you get the basics down you can adjust the recipe to your liking.

Ingredients:

- 12 eggs

- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained.  Or, if tomatoes are in season, 2-3 tomatoes

- 1 onion, diced

- cauliflower (optional)

- 1 bag small leaf spinach

- feta cheese

1. Saute onion in olive oil

2.  Now, in this frittata I added some cauliflower.  Feel free to add this, or not.  Aside from the nutrients, it really doesn't add much to the dish in terms of flavor. No need to saute the cauliflower since this dish bakes in the oven, which is when the cauliflower will soften.

3: Add your tomatoes

4: Add the entire bag of spinach. It seems like a lot, but it wilts down to almost nothing.  When you add spinach, it first looks like this:

and after just 2 minutes, it looks like this:

and after just another 2 minutes it looks like this, which is when it is ready for the next step:

Time for the eggs!

5.  Beat those eggs to get them nice and fluffy:

6: Add eggs into the pan:

7. Sprinkle feta cheese on top:

The dish is now ready for the oven.

350 degrees, for about 45 minutes.  You will know it is done when it nice and golden and solid. 

Slice up, and enjoy:

Again, this exact recipe is my staple so that is why I am sharing it with you.  There are so many variations you can make, it is almost endless.

The prep for this dish really just takes minutes.  Now, baking takes a while, but since this is a one pan meal the clean up is almost nothing.


*****

As for the nutrition in this dish, let's talk about spinach. Not only is it loaded with anti-cancer properties, it also promotes bone health.  Here is the link to my favorite website, where you can read more about it.