Tag Archives: low iodine diet

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

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Cilantro lime cauliflower rice

Summer is always a very busy time for me with out of town family visits and trips, so it’s really nice when I get to spend an entire weekend at home doing nothing. This past weekend I spent my time binge-watching House of Cards and old movies on Netflix. It was awesome. I also made this amazing cilantro lime cauliflower rice. 😀

Makes 4-5 Servings

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
2 tbsp unsalted grass-fed butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup cilantro
1 lime
1 cup no salt or low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions:
1. Remove stems and leaves of cauliflower and cut florets into large pieces. Grate the florets by hand with a box grater.
2. Add butter to a pan and turn on heat to medium. Stir in garlic and cook for one minute.
3. Add in cauliflower and chicken broth. Cover and lower heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in cilantro, salt, pepper and lime juice and turn off heat.

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Café Con Leche

Cafe con leche
So this Texas weather is insane. Yesterday we were in the 80s and wearing shorts and today we’re expecting cold rain and temperatures dropping into the 30s. I love Texas. On mornings like this, I love to have a hot cup of café con leche. Café con leche is basically equal parts coffee and milk, much like café au lait. There is something magical about coffee with hot milk and a touch of cinnamon.

Cafe con leche

Café Con Leche
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp fresh ground strong coffee or espresso beans
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tsp raw honey or other sweetener (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat almond milk and vanilla on medium heat in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. While milk is heating, brew coffee in a regular coffee maker or using a French press.
3. Once milk has come to boil, turn off heat and stir in raw honey.
4. Carefully pour brewed coffee into the milk and stir to combine.
5. Ladle coffee into a mug and top with ground cinnamon.

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Tostones (Fried Green Plantains)

Tostones
Oh tostones, how I love you. Seriously, I am a bit obsessed with these things. I have to really try hard not to throw green plantains into my grocery cart every single week.

The first time I tried tostones was in a Columbian restaurant in Mexico City last summer. In Mexico City? Yep. This Columbian restaurant was amazing, I went several times throughout my visit. After returning to San Antonio, I was obsessed with replicating these delicious plantains. There’s something about the crunchy outside and soft inside that is soo good. If you’re missing french fries, starchy food or just need carbs to supplement your intense workouts, tostones will do the trick. I love to eat mine with guacamole, Frank’s Hot Sauce or salsa. I also love to make empanadas, burger buns and tostadas out of these things. More green plantain recipes coming soon. 😉

Tostones (Fried Green Plantains)
Makes 12 tostones

Ingredients:
3 dark green plantains
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup coconut oil
Salt

Directions:
1. Heat a medium size saucepan on medium heat and add the coconut oil.
2. Peel plantains, rinse and dry them with paper towels. If you’re not sure how to peel plantains, just Google “how to peel a plantain”.
3. Cut each plantain into quarters.
4. Carefully place plantain quarters into hot oil with tongs. Turn plantains every 2 minutes until all sides of the plantains have been cooked. You may need to do this in batches.
5. Remove plantains from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
6. Line a tortilla press with wax paper and one by one, place each plantain in the tortilla press and smash softly. The idea is not to press down too hard or the plantain will crack or break into pieces. If you don’t have a tortilla press, using a large mug or bowl will work just as good.
Tostones
Tostones
7. Place smashed plantains back into the oil and fry each side for 2 minutes. Remove from oil and place back onto paper towel lined plate.
8. Add a few pinches of salt to the hot tostones and serve with your favorite salsa or guacamole.

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Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Lettuce wrap pork carnitas tacos
Whoa, that title is certainly a mouthful! Couldn’t think of an easier way to describe these simple, but delicious tacos. I love throwing food in the slow cooker in the morning and coming home to a delicious meal. I don’t mind cooking dinner every night, but it can be hard with my work schedule and my husband’s busy school schedule. During the week, I only get to spend a couple of hours a day, at most, with my husband and usually weekends are spent running errands and more school work for him, so if I can spend less time in the kitchen, I try. In less than three months, our lives will be much easier when he finally receives that master of architecture degree! Woohoo!

Now, onto these carnitas. I usually make carnitas with pork shoulder, but pork loin roast was on sale so I decided to try it and it came out just as great. My husband loves crispy carnitas so after they’ve been slow cooked, he likes to toss them in a little EVOO in a pan to get them extra crispy. They are delicious right out of the slow cooker though, so choose which one you prefer.

Slow cooked pork carnitas

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless pork loin roast
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
Leaves of romaine lettuce
Cilantro
Tomato
Avocado Slices

Directions:
1. In a slow cooker, place a tblsp of EVOO and half of the onions and garlic.
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and place in the slow cooker. Add the remaining onions and garlic on top of the pork, along with another tblsp of EVOO.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Roughly shred the pork with a knife and fork and mix it with all the onions, garlic and juice from the bottom of the cooker.
4. For crispy carnitas, throw some of the shredded pork into a pan with a tblsp of EVOO and toss around on medium to high heat for about 5 minutes until most of the carnitas get crispy. You don’t want to overcook them or they’ll become dry.
5. Place leaves of lettuce on a plate and add a generous amount of carnitas on each leaf and top with cilantro, tomato and avocado slices.

Try these tacos with your favorite salsa or my paleo avocado cilantro crema, it’s divine!

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