If you’re familiar with the paleo lifestyle, you might know that this dish doesn’t actually have rice in it. 

The first time I saw cauliflower used as rice, it blew my mind a little. Cauliflower is one of the darlings of the paleo world because it can be manipulated to replace grains in a lot of meals. I’ve used it in place of rice, pureed it to thicken soups, seasoned and roasted it as a vegetarian “steak”, mashed it in place of potatoes, and my favorite, used it as a base for a pizza crust.

No, I’m not joking. And it was all delicious.

Even if you’re not a paleo eater and avoiding grains, dairy, legumes, and sugar for various reasons, replacing grains with vegetables (particularly refined grains) can be a great way to increase nutrient density in a recipe. 

This Paleo-friendly Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe submitted by TK member Dani is a perfect example of grain-swapping. I’m excited to share it with you!

So is the cauliflower. It likes to show off.

I adapted this recipe slightly, adding a few more things (notes below), so you’ll need a whole head of cauliflower, salt, pepper, soy sauce (or tamari), mushrooms, coconut oil, an egg, fresh ginger, garlic, onion, green onion, a tomato, and cilantro.

If you’re a nit-picky paleo, you may not use soy sauce or tamari. I don’t mind it in very small amounts occasionally, but you can also use coconut aminos which is a good substitute. You may be able to find it at Whole Foods or other natural grocery stores.

First, dismantle the cauliflower, and cut it into fairly uniform pieces.

My food processor holds 9 cupd, so I did half the head at a time to ensure even chopping. If you have a larger one you may be able to do it all in one batch.

Pulse several times until the cauliflower is about the size of rice grains. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. 

Next, get the mushrooms prepped by wiping any dirt off with a paper towel, breaking off the stems, and quartering them. I used baby portabellas but any type of mushroom would do. Pulse the mushroom quarters in the food processor like you did the rice and transfer to a separate bowl.

You could just slice them into larger pieces and leave them big, but my little picky eaters aren’t into mushrooms, and I didn’t want to start a dinnertime battle. I minced mine out of survival. 

Next, prep the onion, ginger, and garlic. Peel them all, then cut them into chunks. 

Throw the ginger, garlic, and onion into the food processor and pulse to mince. That machine is going to earn its counterspace today. You could also use a knife. If you wanted. (I didn’t.)

Now you have three bowls of minced ingredients ready to go!

Yes, there is quite a bit of chopping in this recipe (and we’re not quite finished yet), but the dish comes together really easily and quickly. You could do all of the prep a day or two ahead as well.

Alright, time for some heat. In a large saute pan, heat the coconut oil to medium-high heat. 

Add the onion-ginger-garlic mixture and cook it for a minute or two.

Add the mushrooms and cook those for a few minutes as well.

Now for the cauliflower!

Add salt, pepper, and a splash of soy sauce (or tamari). 

Put the lid on, reduce the heat a bit, and let it steam for a few minutes while you finish up the mix-ins.

While the “rice” is finishing up, dice the tomato, and chop the green onion and cilantro. If you hate cilantro, just leave it out. (And then seek help. Ok, not really. But maybe.)

Remember that egg? Well now’s the time to pull it out. Beat it with a fork and cook it in a pan.

You can scramble it if you like, or you can make a flat omelet out of it and slice it up. Your choice.

You could also do it in the saute pan before you throw the vegetables in, but I have emotional meltdowns when I clean eggs out of stainless steel pans. So I do it in a small nonstick skillet. 

I made a flat omelet, rolled it up, then sliced it into ribbons. They’re much prettier than scrambles, but scrambles are perfectly fine.

By now the cauliflower should be finished, so go ahead and drop in the tomato and green onions …

And the cilantro and eggs.

Stir everything gently, and done!

If you want to add more protein, you could stir in some pre-cooked shrimp, chicken, or steak. 

Like I mentioned earlier, you could have dinner on the table in 15 minutes if you prep everything beforehand. I love quick meals like this! 

Thank you, Dani! Be sure to check out Dani’s TK Recipe Box and her blog Expat Cucina for more dinner inspiration!

Recipe notes:
1. I used brown mushrooms, but if that “dirty rice” look bothers you, just use white mushrooms.
2. I added two cloves of garlic, an inch of ginger, and one green onion to boost the flavor of the dish and substituted cilantro for the basil and mint out of personal preference. 
3. I doubled the recipe, but left the mushroom quantity the same.

Printable Recipe

Paleo-friendly Fried Rice (With Cauliflower)

by ExpatCucina on January 29, 2013 in Low Carb, Special Dietary Needs January 29, 2013 Low CarbSpecial Dietary Needs

See post on ExpatCucina’s site!

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Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 1

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If you are a paleo-diet person or just on a low-carb diet, this recipe is perfect for you!

Ingredients

• ⅔ pounds Cauliflower
• 7 ounces, weight White Mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Onion
• ¼ cups Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 whole Egg White
• 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
• 1 dash Soy Sauce
• 1 pinch Salt And Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Basil And Mint

Preparation Instructions

Wash the cauliflower and place it into your food processor. Pulse it until pieces are the size of rice.

Wash and slice up the mushrooms, chop up onion and tomatoes.

Beat the egg and egg white with a pinch of salt and cook on a hot nonstick skillet (like an omelet). Remove and slice it up.

In the same skillet, heat p the coconut oil. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the mushrooms and stir around until browned. Next, add the minced cauliflower, a splash of soy sauce and salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and add the tomatoes. Stir around. Chop up some fresh mint and basil and add it to the pot together with the eggs. Stir everything together and serve immediately. You can garnish the dish with more chopped herbs if desired.

 
 
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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

 
The sun seems to be shining more lately, and after all of the freezing cold weather most of us here in the US have been experiencing (snow in San Francisco?!) I’m definitely ready for warmer weather. And flip flops. And throwing everything we eat on the grill. I was drawn to this recipe for Pepitas Shrimp Skewers because I’m antsy to start grilling. And shrimp seems like a spring-y type of food, no?

TK member Eat 80/20 Dietitian (Lindsay) who blogs at Eighty Twenty is a registered dietitian and has put together some incredible shrimp skewers. My favorite part is how she incorporates ground pepitas (one of my favorite seeds) in the shrimp marinade. These skewers would be a flavorful, healthy addition to your next get-together, but they’ll go fast. It’s a good thing this recipe makes a lot!

To make these skewers you’ll need 50 or up to 75 medium shrimp (peeled, tail-on), cotija or Parmesan cheese, roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), salt, one anaheim pepper, some garlic, plain yogurt, red wine vinegar, heat-safe oil (I used grapeseed instead of canola), pepper, and bunch of fresh cilantro.

First you’ll need to roast the pepper. Anaheim peppers are longer and lighter in color than green bell peppers. They’re very mild, too. If you can’t find fresh Anaheim peppers in your grocery store, simply use a 4-ounce can of diced green chiles instead.

Slice the pepper in half, remove the seeds and white veins and place cut-side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Put it under the oven broiler for 8–10 minutes until the skins have large black spots.

When they come out of the oven, fold the foil around the peppers and let them sit for 5–10 minutes to steam. This should make the peel come off very easily. If you don’t get all the peel off, don’t sweat it.

Get the cilantro ready by taking the bunch and slicing it off where the leaves start to get really dense, avoiding the thicker stems. Give the leaves a rough chop.

Get the cotija cheese ready by crumbling it with your fingers. Have you ever had cotija cheese? The first time I tried it I thought I’d died and gone to Mexican cheese heaven. I love this cheese. It’s salty and fairly dry like feta, but the taste isn’t quite as strong. You could use feta or even fresh Parmesan cheese if you can’t find cotija.

Pour the yogurt into a bowl and give it a whisk to loosen it up.

Grab your food processor or blender and add the roasted chile, pepitas, garlic, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, and cheese.

Blend or process until no large chunks remain. Doesn’t look so appetizing, but smells great already!

Add the cilantro and blend until smooth. At this point I really think you could use this as a salad dressing.

Dump the lovely green mixture into the bowl with the yogurt.

Whisk it together.

Now dump in all of the shrimp. (See how easy this is?) Stir to ensure the shrimp is coated. I used a little over 50 shrimp, but I think there is enough marinade for up to 75 shrimp.

Time to get your hands dirty! Thread shrimp carefully onto skewers. I like to skewer them in two places so they’re more secure and easier to flip on the grill. If you’re using bamboo skewers, make sure to soak them in water for 30 minutes so they don’t burn.

I ended up with 6 skewers with 8 shrimp per skewer, plus half of another skewer.

Heat your grill up to about medium heat and place skewers on the grates a few at a time. Grill for about 3-4 minutes per side or until the shrimp are no longer gray or translucent. Be careful not to overcook them or they’ll be rubbery. The recipe says 15 minutes total, but mine were done in about half that time. (My grill might have been on the hot side. So keep your eye on them.)

If you don’t have an outdoor BBQ grill, using a grill pan on the stove does a pretty good job. You don’t even have to wait for the snow to melt! I’ve got a cast-iron grill pan that I love and have been using for years. You could even broil them in the oven, turning them once during cooking.

Put the skewers on a platter and serve with lime wedges. Y-U-M.

As I was thinking of something to serve these with I remembered a recipe I ran across in a book for roasted chile and goat cheese tacos. So I threw a few extra Anaheim chiles on the roasting pan, grabbed some goat cheese and homemade corn tortillas …

And ended up with one of the best tacos I’ve had in my life. These shrimp are fantastic by themselves, but whoa, nelly, are they great in tacos. Especially these ones.

Thanks Lindsay for a great new way to cook shrimp! Her blog, Eat 80/20, is all about balance—eating healthy 80% of the time lets you cheat a little for the remaining 20%. In there, you’ll find helpful nutrition tips in addition to a great collection of recipes.

Printable Recipe

Pepitas Shrimp Skewers

by Lindsay {Eighty Twenty Dietitian} on October 13, 2010 in Fish, Main Courses October 13, 2010 FishMain Courses

See post on Lindsay {Eighty Twenty Dietitian}’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

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Pepitas are pumpkin seeds without the shell! You can roast and shell your own (maybe after a pumpkin carving?) or purchase them pre-roasted without shells (look in the bulk section of your grocery store). As with any seed or nut, they have lots of healthy fats and fiber!

Ingredients

• 1 whole Anaheim Chile, Roasted, Peeled And Seeded
• ¼ cups Roasted Pepitas
• 1 whole Garlic Clove, Pressed And Minced
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ cups Canola Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Grated Cotija Cheese (or Shredded Parmesan)
• 1 bunch Cilantro, Stemmed
• 1-½ cup Lowfat Yogurt
• 50 whole Shrimp, Peeled, Deveined, Tail-on

Preparation Instructions

Place all ingredients except cilantro, yogurt and shrimp in a blender or food processor. Blend about 10 seconds, then add cilantro little by little until blended smooth (reserve some cilantro for garnish if desired). Place yogurt in a medium stainless steel bowl and mix with a wire whip until smooth. Add the blended ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Add shrimp to the mixture. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Twenty minutes prior to cooking, soak bamboo skewers in water (to prevent burning).

Preheat grill. Skewer 5-6 shrimp on each stick. Cook over medium heat until done (about 10-15 minutes).

Nutrition info per 2 tablespoons pepitas dressing/marinade: 101 calories, 6 g fat, 3 g protein, 3 g carbohydrates

Nutrition info per 8-9 shrimp: 55 calories, 1 g fat, 11.5 g protein, 0 g carbohydrate, 107mg cholesterol

 
 
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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

  If there is such a thing as an easy gyro, it must mean that some shortcuts have been made. I’m willing to bet very few of you own a vertical gyro grill. I do not. And if you glanced at the recipe, you might notice that instead of lamb, these gyros are made with […]

  Cauliflower, to me, is a humble vegetable. It’s rarely the star of the meal, it doesn’t have a flashy color or a strong flavor, and let’s face it—its complexion could use some work. Despite its frumpy characteristics, cauliflower has a few tricks up its sleeve. Case in point: this Roasted Cauliflower Soup with White […]