HOW TO LOSE 30 POUNDS IN 2 MONTHS WITH SAFE: Skip, Jump and Eat Cauliflower

Allana Kellogg, who writes the blog Veggie Venture, did what no other human being has done: made cauliflower palatable, dare I say undetectable, to my daughter Cassie, a cauliflower hater since birth.

Kellogg posted the recipe Cauliflower Spanish Rice on her site last month and I’ve been a fan of both the recipe and Veggie Venture ever since.

It was my Texas-born husband who introduced me to Spanish rice and its relative, red beans and rice. But I eat rice infrequently these days because the starchy carbs leave me, how do I say this delicately, quite “swollen in the abdomen” and the scale revolts. However, like discovering squash as a substitute for pasta, I can now have “rice” again through the magic of cauliflower. After all, it’s not the rice I love so much, but all the flavors that combine to make the overall rice dish. From this recipe will come all kinds of experiments in my kitchen.

CAULIFLOWER 'SPANISH RICE'
Hands-on time: 25 minutes with occasional attention required throughout

Time to table: 1 hour Makes about 5 cups

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 tablespoon olive oil (I left this out)

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped (I used a red pepper)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

8 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped

Salsa to taste (about a half cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

COOK THE CAULIFLOWER by steaming in a vegetable steamer or boiling in salted water, cooking to the 'al dente' stage where it's cooked through but not soft. Chop fine.

MEANWHILE in a large skillet, heat the olive oil on MEDIUM til shimmery. Add the onion and pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and stir in. When the cauliflower is cooked, stir it in and continue to cook, breaking up the cauliflower and tomatoes with the edge of a spatula while stirring. After cooking awhile, stir in the salsa. Keep cooking, keep tasting, adding more salsa and salt and pepper as needed. The dish is 'done' when the liquid has cooked off, the salsa and seasoning are perfect, and the rest of supper is done too!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Cup: 92Cal; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 257mg Sodium; 15g Carb; 5g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 4g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 Point

Claire loves it, too!

She also loves making Grammy Lynn work a little extra harder on her rehab exercises. I’ve been using the green Theraband for two different shoulder exercises, but Claire insisted on using the green one yesterday and handed me the blue one, which has more resistance. I used it and felt the effects today, which isn’t a bad thing. I just think it’s funny that it took a 21-month-old to remind me that I need to increase resistance once in awhile, lest I become complacent.

(For the record, Claire also insisted I wear that hat. )

I didn’t get a formal cardio workout in before the g-kids arrived yesterday, but keeping up with Claire is a workout all by itself. I think she needs to produce an exercise video: “Chase Away the Pounds with Claire.” She runs and runs and climbs and climbs and expects you to keep up – that would be the cardio portion – and then she throws in “uppie, uppie” and her patented “hold me under my arms and I’ll become limp weight as you jump me up and down” technique – this would be the strength training portion of the video. Do this for at least three hours and I guarantee you’ll lose a pound or two.

Who said workouts had to be formal and dull?

Today, I read this quote by Victor Frankl: “Between the stimulus and the response there is a space, and therein lies our freedom.” And I realized that that “space” for me yesterday was Claire and Luca and Cassie. My response to the stimulus of all the stress and work this last week is much healthier today because I took the time yesterday to just be. Just be a mom and a grandmother. Just be carefree and let their joy wash over me.

It’s amazing what a little cauliflower and some skipping and jumping will do for our souls. I hope you find some time to skip and jump and just be in July.

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