Low Sodium Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed cauliflower.

I had decided that I was going to eat cauliflower only roasted in the oven which is quite delicious until I saw this recipe from Whole Foods. This tastes similar to mashed potatoes but with fewer carbs.  It's very good topped with grated cheese.

Mashed Cauliflower (4 servings)

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small florets (about 6 to 7 cups)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Method: 

Bring a large pot of salted* water to a boil. Add cauliflower and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and then drain well and transfer cauliflower to a food processor. Add oil and reserved water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and puree until smooth. (Or, mash cauliflower with a potato masher). Season with salt* and pepper and serve.

Medium head of cauliflower trimmed.

Cauliflower cut into small florets.

Cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Mash with potato masher, I like it kind of chunky. (Or you could puree in a food processor.)

Add pepper, olive oil, butter and stir.  Ready to eat. Top with grated cheese if desired.

*To make this a low sodium dish, I did NOT add salt to the water, nor did I season with salt, only pepper.  I also added a tablespoon of butter in addition to the olive oil.   
This freezes well too.

Low Sodium Sloppy Joes

When we were in Key West a few weeks ago, we ate at the famous Sloppy Joe's Saloon, and I had a Sloppy Joe sandwich.

Sloppy Joe at Sloppy Joe's in Key West.

That was the first I had had probably since my children were small.  I had forgotten how much I liked a Sloppy Joe.  We are trying to stay on a low sodium diet whenever possible, so I decided to make some low sodium Sloppy Joes.

I found this recipe online at this website.

This is another quick sandwich meal that will cook while you are out. Small children and teenagers seem to like this too, so it's great for a party or family get together. Hunts makes a low sodium catsup that seems to be pretty widely available.

1 1/2 lb Ground Beef
1 Onion,Chopped
1 c Low Sodium Catsup *
1 Green Pepper,Chopped
2 T Brown Sugar
1/2 t Garlic Powder
2 T Prepared Mustard
3 T Vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar.)
1 T Worcestershire
1 t Chili Powder

 * I used about 1/4/ c low sodium catsup, 1/4 c low sodium tomato paste, and 1/2 c salt free pureed tomatoes.

In a skillet, brown beef and onion. Drain. Stir together remaining ingredients in crockpot. Stir in meat and onion mixture. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Yield: 8 Servings

Beef and onion in skillet.

Brown beef and onion.

Mix remaining ingredients in crock pot.

Add meat and onions to crock pot.

I cooked for six hours on low in crock pot.

Ready to eat.

These were very good, and I really didn't miss the salt.  

Low Sodium Oyster Dressing

Low sodium oyster dressing.

My biggest challenge for Thanksgiving dinner this year was making a low sodium dressing.  I usually use Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing mix which is extremely high in sodium.  I've discovered a whole wheat bread from Trader Joe's that has no salt, so I made my own bread crumbs and added my own salt-free seasonings. Penzey's has a number of salt-free seasonings including poultry seasoning, and they are located conveniently nearby in Cameron Village.  I made the bread crumbs a day in advance so they would dry out.  Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used Canola)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cups dry bread crumbs
1 pint oysters, liquid reserved
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's salt free Poultry Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
2.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.  Mix in the bread crumbs and remove from heat. Add the oysters and eggs, and season with pepper, poultry seasoning and thyme.  Stir in enough reserved liquid from oysters to moisten and mix everything thoroughly.  Transfer to the casserole dish.
3.  Bake in the preheated oven until the top is toasted and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

6 to 8 servings

The main ingredients.

 

Four cups of dried bread crumbs using Trader Joe's salt-free whole wheat bread.

Remove sauteed celery and onion from heat and add bread crumbs.

Add oysters and slightly beaten eggs.

Add seasonings.

Mix well and transfer to casserole dish.

Ready to eat.

This was very good and a big hit at dinner.  If you're limiting the sodium in your diet you might like to try this recipe. 

Lamb Couscous with Vegetables

Lamb with vegetables over couscous.

I was looking for a one dish meal the other day so I thumbed through my recipes and found this recipe for Lamb Couscous.  I usually make the full recipe and freeze what we don't eat.  It freezes quite well.  It's easy to get a quick meal by grabbing a container from the freezer and heating it.  Couscous, which we almost always have on hand, can be prepared in about 5 minutes.

Lamb Couscous with Vegetables

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

¾ lb boneless lamb stew meat

2 cups cubed zucchini

1 cup cubed rutabaga (yellow turnip)

½ cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic minced

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

4 tablespoons raisins

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

¾ teaspoon ground coriander

Fresh ground pepper to taste

2 (15 ounce) cans low sodium chick peas drained

1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added tomatoes undrained

1 ½ cups water

1 cup uncooked couscous

Preparation:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot over medium heat.  Dredge lamb stew meats in flour to coat.  Brown meat and then set aside.

Brown lamb that has been dredged in flour.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to pot .  Add zucchini, onion, carrot, garlic and rutabaga.  Saute for 5 minutes.   

Vegetables ready to be sauteed.

Stir in chicken broth, lamb, spices, tomatoes, and chickpeas. 

Add chicken broth, spices, lamb, tomatoes, and chickpeas and simmer covered.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

While the lamb stew simmers, prepare couscous.  Bring water to a boil in saucepan; gradually stir in couscous.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

Serve stew over couscous.  

Yields 6 servings.  (1 cup stew, ½ cup couscous)

We each had a serving, and there are four more servings in the freezer ready for a cold winter day.