Healthy Living

Since launching over three years ago, we were determined to make healthy living a focus.  This venture proved to be much more difficuly than we initially anticipated, unfortunately leading us to down a path we never intended. 

Fast forward 3 years into our travels, we have recommitted our lives to not only living healthy, but encouraging others to join us on this journey of healthy eating and am active lifestyle...will you join us?

Recipes on the Roll

Have you ever thought eating healthy meant only bland flavors and boring recipes? 

We did, too.  That is, until we started considering plant based recipes that made our meat counterparts seem more like the boring fare.

We started out traveling with this idea that we were going to get healthy and honestly over three years it has been more of a long journey fighting unhealthy habits. And quite honestly we might have been eating worse than ever before since we hit the road full time!  After researching for the last couple of years, we have come face to face with undeniable evidence that eating more plant based is the way to move forward with better health.

This may seem like common sense, but we didn’t realize how much we had always made meat and animal products the center of our diets and the research behind why that shouldn’t be our centerpiece on the dinner table was hard to stomach.  (Pun intended.)

Our plates are more flavorful and colorful than ever before and we find it hard to believe that we never considered cooking this way. It has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and we now look forward to cooking. So, here we go. Let’s embark on this journey together of delicious plant based options and see how fun (and delicious) eating more plant based can be! We’ll share our favorites with you and feel free to share your favorite recipes with us.

This recipe was a long shot. Cauliflower in place of chicken?  Eating your veggies doesn’t have to be boring and bland and this recipe will wow even your pickiest food critic.  If you like food with an Asian twist, then this recipe is the one for you.

There are several variations out there, but this one comes from Yup Its Vegan.

Ingredients

For the baked cauliflower:

·         1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

·         1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup water plus more as needed

·         1 small head of cauliflower cut into florets (scant 4 cups of florets)

For the sticky sesame sauce:

·         2 and 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil divided

·         1/2 inch ginger minced or grated

·         2-3 cloves garlic (to taste), minced or grated

·         3 and 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar (or less, to taste)

·         2 and 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

·         1 teaspoon rice vinegar

·         2 tablespoons tomato paste

·         1 teaspoon chili paste like sriracha

For the sticky sesame cauliflower:

·         battered cauliflower (above)

·         sticky sesame sauce (above)

·         toasted sesame seeds for serving

·         chopped green onions for serving

Instructions

1.     Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

2.     In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, garlic powder, and salt. Add 1 cup of water and stir. Continue adding water 1 tablespoon at a time until a pancake batter-esque consistency is reached. You want batter that is thick enough to stay on a cauliflower floret but thin enough that you can easily shake off the excess. I usually need another couple of tablespoons of additional water.

3.     One by one, dip the cauliflower florets into the batter, gently shake off extra batter, and place them onto the baking sheet. Leave plenty of space between florets on the baking sheet so that they can get crispy. You may not be able to quite fit a whole head of cauliflower on two baking sheets.

4.     Bake the battered cauliflower for 20 minutes, rotate the position of the trays, and then bake for another 5-10 more minutes or until crispy and browned.

5.     Meanwhile, heat two teaspoons of the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and ginger and saute over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 60-90 seconds, or until the garlic and ginger are softened and fragrant.

6.     Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir well. Continue cooking on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and thickened slightly. Turn the heat to low and leave on the burner, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Stir in the remaining sesame oil just before mixing with the cauliflower. (I do this to make sure there's a nice noticeable sesame flavor).

7.     Once the cauliflower is done baking, use a spatula to gently mix it together with the sauce in a bowl or the saucepan if large enough. Spread it back out on the baking sheets, and return it to the oven for just 2-4 minutes, to thicken the sauce onto the cauliflower. Watch it carefully, as the sticky sesame sauce can burn quickly. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped green onions if desired.

Recipe Notes

The final result of this recipe will NOT be super crispy, but rather, sturdy yet tender after the sauce is added. I don't recommend eating it by hand.

If you make it, share it! We’d love to see how yours turned out!