Category Archives: Side Dishes

When you need that extra special something…..

Dairy-free, Jewish Traditional foods, Side Dishes, The World of Cauliflower

Cauliflower Not-Potato Kugel

There’s nothing like a great potato kugel on Shabbat for the Jewish soul. But wait – what’s that?!? It’s the closest I’ve ever tasted a cauliflower get to potato kugel! And the best part – it’s EASY! Just use the green giant microwaveable cauliflower rice for your rice in this recipe. Takes a while to bake, but hardly any time to put together.

8 cups riced cauliflower (I typically use frozen, but you can also use fresh)
1/2 c oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 c water (I usually put a drop more)
5 eggs
2 t onion powder
2t salt
1 t pepper

Mix all, pour in 9 by 13 pan (or 2 square pans), bake on 450 for one hour and then lower to 350 for another hour.

*I halved the recipe and baked it in a square pan. I used green giant frozen cauliflower, made as per package directions. I used 3 eggs (because I didn’t halve the egg 😂)

I paired it with chicken on the bone made with Walden farms BBQ sauce and it was amazing !

Count this as your vegetable per 1/2 cup, some healthy fat, and if you’re really strict a fraction of your lean (for the egg).

Side Dishes, The World of Cauliflower

Riced Cauliflower Au Gratin

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Riced Cauliflower au Gratin

Delicious! Serve with 3.5 oz of a white fish like tilapia or flounder for a full lean & green.

1.5 cups cooked cauliflower rice (the green)
1/2 c shredded cheese (1/2 lean)
2 tbsp low fat cream cheese (one healthy fat)
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese (1 condiment-optional for topping)

Melt cream cheese in a skillet or microwave. Add a dash of salt & pepper. Pour over the cauliflower in a microwave safe dish. Top with the cheese. Melt in the microwave on high for about 1 min. Yum! Comfort food in the cold!

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you..

Jewish Traditional foods, Kabocha, Side Dishes

Delicata Squash Casserole

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Really easy and so delicious! Delicata squash is a sweet squash that is on-plan!

Ingredients per serving:

1/2 c Delicata Squash or other on-plan low carb squash, such as kabocha or sweet dumpling

1 tbsp. Walden Farms Apple Butter per 1/2 cup squash

1/8 c.  Eggbeaters

Cinnamon on top

Directions: you can cook the squash by either zapping it in the microwave until mushy inside, or by baking in the oven until the skin looks browned on the outside. Slice it in half, remove the seeds, then scoop out the pulp. Measure the pulp out. Per 1/2 cup of mashed squash, add: 1/8 c egg beaters and 1 tbsp. Walden Farms apple butter. Mash everything together and sprinkle some cinnamon on top (optional).

To make each serving more portion-controlled, bake them each in mini-ramekins.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until golden brown on top. How long really depends on the size of your dish. Be sure to check after 30 minutes to see where you are at. A large pan can take up to 1.5 hours.

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This version was sweet dumpling squash without cinnamon. Mmmmm….

 

Per serving: one green, one condiment, and the egg beaters is negligible and need not be counted per one serving.

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Jewish Traditional foods, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Coach Gin’s I Can’t Believe it’s not Potato Kugel

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Coach Gin’s I Can’t Believe it’s not Potato Kugel

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The inspiration for this recipe was when three clients in the same week  confessed to me that they just COULDN’T resist the potato kugel that they were exposed to sometime that day. I thought to myself, this is an epidemic. A crisis. It MUST be addressed!

After many experiments and focus groups with eager friends and my very picky husband, I am proud to present to you the “I Can’t Believe it’s not Potato Kugel.” This was made with simplicity in mind, so I encourage you to dig in and get cooking!

Each serving is one green, 1/2 ounce protein, 1.75 condiments

For a full-sized kugel in a round 8 inch pan (Serves 10), I used:

4 1/2 cups turnip
1/2 cup scallions
1 1/4 c egg beaters
5 teaspoons beef consommé

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Shred turnips in a food processor. I like a large shred. Soak turnips in bowl with enough water to cover them with 3 packets of Splenda for 45 mins. The Splenda is necessary to remove the slight sharp bitterness that the turnips naturally have.

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Chop 1/2 cup scallions (approximately 3 stalks). Drain the turnips from the Splenda water and add the scallions, egg beaters, and beef consommé powder to the turnips. Pour into a metal pan that is sprayed with Pam.

Bake on lowest rack in the oven for 2 hours or more, until it looks nice and brown and crusty. Mine took 2 hours at 350 degrees on the bottom rack and it could have stood to be in there longer to get even darker.

My husband prefers the crispy crunchiness of the kugel from the sides on the pan, so we prefer to make this as muffin cups at home. An additional benefit to muffin cups are that it’s perfect portion control and it takes about 15 minutes quicker to cook them to get nice and golden brown. Use lots of Pam to prevent sticking.

Each portion contains:

  • 1/2 c soaked and drained turnips with some scallions to top off the 1/2 cup (it puffs up in the oven and then will shrink again after cooked a while)
  • 1/8 c egg beaters
  • 1/2 tsp. beef consomme powder

You can use these proportions to make any size kugel that fits your favorite pan.

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It tastes even better with some protein, so I can’t wait to see who makes this into a yapchick (add in some beef for a full lean and green)! Please let me know if you were daring enough to try this recipe in a crockpot!

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy-free, Jewish Traditional foods, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Homemade Healthy Babaganush

Homemade Healthy Babaganush

One Serving – makes one 1/2 cup all for YOU!

One green, and either 2.5 condiments or one healthy fat (your choice!)

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Take 2 Asian eggplants. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until wrinkly, about 20 mins.

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Cut in half, use spoon to scoop out the mushy insides.

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The insides measure 1/2 cup. (1 green)

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Put into food processor. Place 1 tsp minced garlic (one condiment), 1 tsp lemon juice (.5 condiment), and 1 tablespoon Walden Farms tangy mayonnaise (one condiment) —

OR 1.5 tbsp light mayo (1 healthy fat). Salt & pepper to taste.

Swirl it just enough to make it mushy and uniform and there you have it – 1/2 cup serving of deliciousness.

I created this recipe because I just LOVE babaganush and didn’t understand why it had to be so fattening when bought in a container. I just love to dip my chicken into this. I also love making mini cauliflower wraps or spaghetti squash wraps and eating my chicken with the babaganush inside them like soft tacos.  Mmmmm!

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy-free, Lean & Green Meal Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Sweet Curry “Chicken” and “Rice”

Curry “Chicken” on Shirataki Rice
Full L&G
As per Nutrition Support, 1/2 cup of Shirataki Rice = 1 green

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Whipped this together on the fly.
1/2 tsp curry powder (1 condiment)
2 tbsp Walden Farms Honey BBQ sauce (1 condiment)
2 cutlets of Gardein Chicken Scallopini

What is Shirataki Rice? It’s shirataki (yam flour noodles) shaped into rice! I bought mine on Amazon.com. I just rinsed it really well, and heated them on a skillet sprayed with Pam for a good 10 minutes to get dry. Then, I added my sauce ingredients. Next time, I will add more colorful vegetables to increase the vitamins! I was in a RUSH! Click here to get yours with Prime!

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I made it with tri-colored peppers too… yum! I just added vegetarian beef crumbles for my protein.

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Lean & Green Meal Recipes, Side Dishes, The World of Cauliflower, Vegetarian

Cauliflower “Fried” Rice

Check out this video to learn how to make Chinese style  Cauliflower “Fried” Rice

To make this compliant with the 5&1, only use plan approved vegetables (no onions, carrots, peas, brussel sprouts).

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**I collected this recipe as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy, Side Dishes, The World of Cauliflower

Cauliflower Potato Salad

Check out this video to make Cauliflower Potato Salad

**Nutrition Support Approved Conversion

Makes 5 servings
Per serving
1 ounce protein
2 vegetables
3 condiments
2 fats

INGREDIENTS

4 ½ cups cauliflower florets
¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the dressing:

½ cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 packet Splenda or Stevia
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbs lemon juice
¼ cup red onion, diced
½ cup celery, diced
3 hardboiled eggs, chopped

**I collected this recipe as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Dairy, Dairy-free, Jewish Traditional foods, Lean & Green Meal Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Coach Gin’s “Any Vegetable” Quiche

Coach Gin’s “Any Vegetable” Quiche

This is something my guests just gobble up – it’s divine! Very light tasting. And so easy!

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This was made with a bag of chopped, frozen broccoli and yellow American cheese

Full Lean & Green with the cheese
Makes 2 (large!) servings

Per serving
1 Leaner protein
3 vegetables
1 1/4 condiments
1 fat

20 oz bag (defrosted) of any on plan vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, works with sautéed mushrooms + leeks too)
2 tbsp low fat mayo
2 1/2 tsp chicken consommé powder
3/4 cup egg beaters
1 cup low fat plain cottage cheese
4 ounces low fat cheese (white or yellow American cheese, shredded low fat mexcian blend, any hard cheese you’d like!)

**If you omit the cheese, it’s just a delicious non-dairy casserole.

Defrost your vegetables in the microwave by zapping for about 7 minutes. Mix all. Tear the American cheese into little pieces and mix in. Spray pan with pam. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 1.5 hours. I used an 8×8 pan for this and it fit perfectly.

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.

Sauces, Side Dishes

Peanut Shirataki Noodles with Leeks

Peanut Shirataki Noodles with Leeks
Lean & Green

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Sometimes you end up splitting your lean & your green. This is a great vegetable side dish that feels like a real meal.
Just prepare tofu shirataki noodles as usual (rinse thoroughly, then dry skillet fry them until they are so dry that you can see one noodle edge is getting crispy!), and sautee leeks with them. Add 2 tbsp Walden Farms peanut butter for one condiment.
~Or mix and match the WF Peanut Butter and Asian dressing for one condiment (one tbsp each)
~Or even add 2 tbsp PB2 or another brand like Jiffy equivalent of powdered peanut butter, with water to reconstitute to the consistency you want, which counts as your optional snack on the 5&1 and 4&2 plans.

This is a side dish that my guests gobble up and never know is “healthy” or “low calorie.”

**I created these recipes as a compliment to my comprehensive healthy weight loss & maintenance plan. Please contact me at gininthekitchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in health coaching! I’m happy to give you a free Health Assessment and explore whether my program might be right for you.