Dr. L J Returns to Bloom TV to make Stir-fried Cauliflower Rice

Click Arrow to Play the Segment

Last Thursday I was invited to the health and lifestyle program, Bloom TV studio for one of their new season’s episodes.  I had been there before when they first launched, but now they have a brand new host and many improvements in the show.  Gayle Guyardo was a delight to work with.  She is very well known in Tampa Bay as having been a very respected news anchor her for 30 years.  It really does make a huge difference when working with someone so seasoned and interactive because time moves really quickly in a cooking segment.  You can also see the segment right on Bloom’s page.

Because Bloom is a show dedicated to inspiring and informing their audience on all of the latest innovations in healthy lifestyles, I decided to go with a recipe that can dovetail with many different eating programs; Many people are lowering their carb intake, avoiding grains (Keto, Paleo, Whole30) and looking for ways to add fiber to their meals, while maintaining variety and, of course, deliciousness.  Also, there is a rapidly growing demographic across the US of people seeking plant-based (aka vegan) options.  This recipe can be adapted to vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian lifestyles.

Some of the points we did not have time to cover in this 5-minute segment:

• You can choose any oil for the stir fry.  I chose avocado oil, which performs well at high temperatures without oxidation.
• Adding some sesame oil not only makes it smell great while cooking, it adds such deliciousness!
• I used cashews in this recipe, but other options are sliced almonds, which you can usually find in the baking section of any grocery or the bulk bins at health food stores, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.  These are usually the nuts and seeds that are more auto-immune friendly.
• Snow peas taste great and are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C, however you do need to do some prep work on them, pulling off the top “thread” and steaming them lightly first or they do not cook enough in the stir fry.
• Although there was not enough time to demo – let the garlic and ginger get a little brown and then remove so that they don’t add bitterness to the mix.
• If you want to use fresh cauliflower, wash and dry first.  Break into florets and pulse in the food processor until small “rice-like” pieces.  Steam in a small amount of water for only a few minutes until slightly soft but make sure to drain and dry as much as possibly.  If you have the time, let it sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes before stir-frying

Make sure to let us know how you like this and share your adjustments and innovations for this recipe

Stir-fried Cauliflower Rice

Vegan, Vegetarian & Pescatarian versions

 Allergy-Friendly, Works with Ketogenic, Paleo and Whole30 Lifestyles

Serves 2-3 Main Mail

Serves 3-4 Side Dish

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bag of frozen cauliflower rice, defrosted

3 TB. Cooking oil (avocado or canola)

1 ½ TB. Toasted sesame oil

Garlic (2-3 cloves chopped)

Ginger (Thumb-sized, peeled and chopped)

Water chestnuts (1/2 can drained and chopped)

4-5 Green onions aka Scallions, chopped (hold back 1 tablespoon for garnish)

¾ cup Mushrooms (fresh white, bella, shitake, sliced or dried shitake, rehydrated in ½ cup boiling water and then sliced.  Retain the soaking water!

½ cup defrosted green peas (or 10-15 snow peas, pull the string off)

¼ cup finely chopped carrots

1/3 cup Coconut liquid aminos (regular or Teriyaki flavored)

Sea salt to taste

VEGETARIAN:  2 eggs, beaten

VEGAN:  1/3 cup chopped cashews, walnuts or almonds) and/or

½ block of tempeh – cut into ½ inch pieces and fried with vegetable oil and liquid smoke.  Then drain on paper towel.

PESCATARIAN:  1 cup shrimp (marinated in lime juice and liquid aminos)  Flash-fried in sesame oil until translucency disappears, but do not overcooke

Optional:  Use white or sweet onion to replace scallions

Garnish with 1 TB sesame seeds or chopped cilantro or chili slices

Other optional veggies:  corn, either kernels or baby corn, chopped broccoli crowns, lightly steamed, bok choy or green cabbage, shredded.

Directions:

Defrost the cauliflower rice and pat dry to remove as much moisture as possible.  Set aside

Heat oil in a frying pan (with high sides) or wok.

Cook garlic and ginger until lightly brown (take out if you don’t want it to burn)

Stir fry the mushrooms and scallions.  Add in the other vegetables and cooke lightly.  Scoop them into a dish or bowl.

Stir fry the cauliflower rice until lightly browned (optional you can add in a couple of tablespoons of the soak water from the shitakes for more flavor)

Add the vegetables back in and pour in the liquid aminos.  Stir to blend everything and scoop all into bowl.

Add a little more oil to the pan and quickly stir the eggs, separating them into small “scrambled” pieces.

Toss in with the rice.

Garnish with remaining scallions, sliced chili peppers and cilantro

For vegan:  Instead of the egg, stir fry the nuts, drain and toss into the cauliflower rice.

For pescatarian:  Toss in the cooked shrimp