One of my passions is experimenting in the kitchen, and being “in the Zone” for the last 20 years hasn’t changed that a bit. What has changed are the ingredients I use, and the amount of time I have to spend cooking, which is limited at best.
Both of these recipes are fast and easy to whip up with no real cooking skills needed. Give them a try. Your family will love you for it!
Grain-Free Grilled Cheese
Makes 1 fully balanced meal
The inspiration for this recipe came from one of the current cauliflower hacks circulating online. It’s amazing what folks can come up with from a simple head of cauliflower. This one took some changes to be Zone worthy, but it was well worth the effort. The result is a delicious and very filling meal. To balance the meal, serve with a colorful cabbage slaw and some berries for dessert.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups steamed cauliflower, white or the colorful type (steamed just until tender but not mushy)
- 2 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
- 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella
- 2 1-oz. slices reduced-fat cheese (I use part-skim mozzarella because it melts nicely)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- Grate cauliflower to a fine consistency in a mini food processor. Take care not to puree it.
- Press the grated cauliflower between paper towels to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Transfer cauliflower to a mixing bowl and combine with the egg whites and grated mozzarella.
- On a parchment-covered baking sheet shape the mixture into two squares the size of bread slices.
- Bake until golden.
- Assemble the cauliflower “bread” and cheese slices as you would a grilled cheese sandwich and heat in a skillet on the stove top over low heat to melt the cheese.
Beth’s Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Yield 28 mini muffins, each containing 3 blocks fat
This recipe makes a surprisingly tender, light and fluffy muffin, each one containing approximately 4.5 grams fat and negligible amounts of protein and carbohydrate. This is based on a recipe my daughter makes, and my grandkids love. I changed a few things to make it fit the Zone. Consider one muffin to be the dash of monounsaturated fat in the average-size Zone meal.
Ingredients:
- 2 bananas
- 1 cup of a combination of almond butter and peanut butter (I use mostly peanut butter in the mix)
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- Optional: 1 small squirt of agave syrup
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Prepare a 24-cup mini-muffin pan by wiping a small amount of olive oil into each cup or use muffin papers instead of oiling the pan. Place 4 additional mini-muffin paper baking cups in a baking dish to yield a total of 28 muffins.
- Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well with an immersion blender.
- Spoon the mixture into the 24-cup mini-muffin pan plus the 4 additional paper mini-muffin cups.
- Bake at 400° for 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool for a minute or two before removing the muffins from the pan.
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