Dairy Free Cauliflower Frittata

During the last six months I've had to eliminate DAIRY from Miss M's diet and as a seven year old who use to be able to everything we've found it difficult at times. Since we started this journey we've had to add citrus fruit and tomato to the list of foods to avoid so I seem to be learning new things all the time. I've been Gluten Free for twelve years now and you'd think it would be easy to adjust our diet but unfortunately I've had a heap of hassles adjusting our way of eating so that it was 100% dairy free. That was until I discovered Paleo. Eating Paleo means we can both eat everything without me having to make changes to nearly every aspect of the meal. I've also introduced the rest of the family to eating Paleo and dairy free just to make my time in the kitchen shorter.

So after a busy day at the shops getting three kids eyes tested and then having them all fitted for glasses I ran out of time to pick up a few things for dinner. I knew that I had a head of cauliflower which was coming close to needing to either been eaten or thrown out, so I put together this really easy and yummy Cauliflower Frittata with cauliflower puree. 

I've also decided to cut down on the amount of SUGAR that's in my kids diet. To do this I'm going to change out the processed foods and replace them with healthier home made treats for the kids. I'm also hoping that this small change will impact on the kids behaviour especially around the time when I'm making dinner and trying to get them bathed. I was really happy with how this frittata turned out.

Cauliflower Frittata serves 4

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

water to boil, retain ¼ cup of cooking water

400g can of coconut cream

10 eggs, beaten

300g ham or bacon, cut into large chunks

5 mushrooms, thinly sliced

onion, thinly sliced

5 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons of almond meal

salt and pepper for seasoning

oil for greasing

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180°C and grease your frittata dish.

2. Bring water to the boil and when it's boiling add the cauliflower florets. Boil until tender you don't want them to be mushy they need to hold there shape.

4. Meanwhile whisk the eggs and coconut cream together and season with salt and pepper.

5. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms, onion, sun-dried tomatoes and the ham or bacon until it's cooked to your liking.

6. Grease your frittata dish and then sprinkle the almond meal over the base of the dish. Place the fried vegetables and meat onto the base of your dish.

7. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the vegetables and meat making sure that you've half filled your dish.

8. Place the pieces of cauliflower in the egg so that some of the cauliflower is sticking out of the dish.

9. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, check after 20 minutes and if the cauliflower is browning too quickly turn the temperature down to 160°C for the last 10 minutes. 

Note: depending on how you like your eggs you might need to cook it for a further 10 or 15 minutes if the egg isn't cooking around the cauliflower.

Cauliflower Puree

Ingredients

remaining boiled cauliflower

¼ cup of cooking water

Method

1. Place the cooked cauliflower and a little bit of water and blend together until the cauliflower is smooth. If it's lumpy blend a bit more.

2. Add more water as needed until you have a smooth consistency that you're happy with.

3. Spread the puree onto your plate and place the frittata on top. Serve with a green salad and enjoy.

I'm happy to report that all the kids ate their dinner and I didn't have to prepare individual meals for any of my fussy eaters. This recipe is great because there is no hidden nasties in the coconut cream and it's also dairy free so I'm able to give the kids a healthy dinner without them knowing it.

Having tried Paleo last year I know that this recipe is also Paleo especially if you use coconut oil to grease your frittata dish and to fry up the vegetables and meat. The other change I'd make would be to use dehydrated tomatoes instead of sun-dried tomatoes. 

Overall, I'm really happy with the way this frittata turned out and my daughter didn't get a belly ache after eating it which was an added bonus. Hands down, what a great start to 2016. 

Happy New Year everyone I hope that 2016 is a great year for you all and that you are blessed with lots of great opportunities during the next twelve months. See you soon.

       Megan

Stress Free Lunch Box Planning

Last week I dropped three of my four children off to start of the new school year. To say that I have to be better organised this year than I was last year is an understatement. Each one of them has sports, library, music and swimming on different days so keeping on top of their timetables is essential for a stress free morning. Now knowing who's doing what each day has helped but organising their lunches everyday is time consuming and somewhat difficult at times. My younger sister told me about a great Lunch Box Planner that she had being using and she'd found it saved her time and stress in the morning getting ready.

While she explained the concept to me I realised that she was using a 'menu plan' which is a concept the two of us have been using for years. As of yet I haven't had the time to organise myself but starting Monday I plan on having a very similar set up so that our mornings are less stressful, better organised and this should then allow me to eat my breakfast at the table instead of on the way to the car.

The first thing she did was purchase a PDF file from The Organised Housewife and she then got it printed. To save time on printing it out each week my sister put it inside a picture frame and this allows her to write on the glass using a fine non permanent white board marker, once the week is over she wipes it off with a tissue and then starts again. It's that easy and the best part is that when she bakes she know how many muffins, biscuits etc she needs to make and it saves her time as these items can be frozen to allow them to be fresh when the kids eat them.

Pictures provided to me for use in this post

Now according to my sister, her children are going to have Mini Hot Dogs and a peach for lunch tomorrow at school. The best thing about her plan is that she can make her own bread rolls the day before so that they're fresh for the children. The planner allows my sister to cater to her children's eating requirements (also great for children with allergies). If she gets sick, her husband can see what the kids are having for the day and the planner also allows her to have everything on hand when she needs it.

Pictures provided to me for use in this post

The PDF file also provides other templates that you can choose from. There's one that has the fruit up before the morning tea picture and this plan would help me plan out the fruit that the kids would take to school each day. That PDF file would come in handy for me as two of my children have fruit snacks at the beginning of the day and I know that taking an apple everyday becomes boring after a while.

So this weekend I plan on sitting down and planning out what we're all eating for the week and what the children will be taking to school. I'll also know what biscuits I need to make and I can have these frozen ahead of time. The other great thing about doing this all together is if I'm doing sandwiches I'll be able to prepare them over the weekend, freeze them and pull them out on the morning they're needed.

Now I'm off to get new lunch box idea's from Pinterest, no one is going to want to have sandwiches 5 days a week like we've been doing. So do you plan what your kids are eating for the week or do you just wing it? I know that this is going to save me money when it comes to planning my grocery list for the week and it'll allow me to get into the kitchen some more instead of buying packet biscuits.

Megan