Cauliflower Rice

For the longest time, I wanted to get on the cauliflower rice train.  It seemed like such a great alternative to rice or carby sides with dinner (or lunch).  The problem was that I just didn't like it that much.  Fresh cauliflower?  Love it!  Roasted cauliflower?  Sign me up!  But cauliflower rice was always kinda....blah.  Mush.  Just not my thing.

I learned a few things and this Whole30, I mastered it.  First off, I found that I much prefer the frozen riced cauliflower over the fresh one.  Something about the texture is so much better in my opinion.  I've also learned to prep the fresh one so that it's really tasty, too, but if given the choice, I'd go with the frozen one every time.

My "trick" is adding more than just salt and pepper to it while cooking.  My secret ingredient?  Scallions.  Not a ton, just 2 per bag of (fresh or frozen) cauliflower rice.  If I'm making a Mexican-themed meal, I'll add in some chopped fresh cilantro at the end.

Because it's sometimes hard to find the frozen cauliflower rice (I buy mine at Trader Joe's and they're more often sold out than not) or if you prefer the fresh over the frozen variety, I've included cooking directions for both below.

My Favorite Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh or frozen riced cauliflower
2 scallions, thinly sliced, both white and green parts
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil (if making with fresh riced cauliflower)
1/4 cup water (if making with fresh riced cauliflower)
Optional: chopped cilanto

Directions:

If making with fresh riced cauliflower:

Heat 1T olive oil in a pan.  
Briefly sautee the scallions.
Add riced cauliflower rice for about 2 minutes.  
Add 1/4 cup of water and cover, allowing to steam for 3-5 minutes.  
If using cilantro, add in and mix.
Remove from pan and place into bowls.

If making with frozen riced cauliflower:

Make cauliflower rice as per directions on bag, adding scallions in the first step when adding the "rice" to the pan.

Done.....sorta

Well, I did it.  Another Whole30 is in the books!  I spent my last day (technically day 33) at a friend's bachelorette party where I snacked on (Whole30-compliant) prosciutto, vegetable sticks, mixed nuts, and some dried (unsweetened, unsulfered) pineapple rings.  And I topped it off with some seltzer (hey, it's got bubbles, which is kinda like champagne....kinda).

And then this morning, when I went out for breakfast, do you know what I ordered?  Pancakes sounded good, but no....I had an egg white omelette with mushrooms, avocado, and (non-Whole30 compliant) bacon, with a side salad, and a black iced coffee.  Living life on the wild side, huh?

So many people I spoke to viewed my Whole30 (and Whole30 in general) as an all-or-nothing endeavor.  "Oh, Whole30 is over, are you going to eat all the carbs today" and "Now that Whole30 is over, you can eat ALL the foods you were craving for the past 30 days!"  And while technically -- after your reintroduction -- you can go back to your old eating ways (if that's what works for you), but I'm diving into a period I call "Whole30-ish" -- a long term, hopefully lifelong period where I'm following the Whole30 lifestyle, but allowing myself to eat out a little, have an occasional glass of wine, and maybe even a little cheese here and there!

The transition won't necessarily be easy -- sometimes my head goes to that "give an inch, take a mile" mentality where if I can have a little cheese, I can have a lot -- but given that I have a solid Whole30 foundation and a generally healthy pre-Whole30 diet, I should be able to make it work,

Just because my Whole30(33) is over doesn't mean the adventure is!  Stay tuned for more Whole30 recipes and updates!