FoodFodder: Turkey Meatloaf & Cauliflower Cakes

My greatest downfalls, when trying to lose weight, are a) I get bored with the food and b) complacency.

You know, when you tell yourself “Self, you’ve lost twenty one and a half pounds! Eat a cookie! It’ll be fine!” and before you know it, you’re eating leftover pizza for lunch and ordering take out for dinner. Then you just stop caring because hey, you’ve lost a lot of weight and why not take a break?

I know this about myself, so I have to be very careful not to fall down that slippery slope of caloric doom, because I don’t just slip, I tumble ass over elbows all the way to the bottom. Let’s not do that.

In order to combat these pitfalls, I have to be creative about what we eat, making sure I am pleasing my diet, my taste buds, and my husband. Not an easy thing to do!

The 17 Day Diet has been wonderful because it provides a very basic starting point, which is fantastic for those of us who want to eat healthy but get so caught up in the details, that we never quite get there. Because it’s so simple, I’m able to create recipes that work within each Cycle and really get creative and have fun with food. I really haven’t been this excited about cooking in such a long time, probably since I started culinary school, and that was almost ten years ago. Crazy to think.

Yesterday, while pondering dinner, I decided to make my turkey meatloaves again and to experiment with making cauliflower cakes. I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if it would work since I was flying by the seats of my pants.

You guys. They tasted just like potato pancakes. They were so good, I almost wanted some for breakfast. They’re a little tricky, but worth the effort. Ryan raved, my mom loved them and that, friends, is a miracle. My mom is the pickiest eater I know. Her food can’t touch, and she hasn’t been eating vegetables for very long, so I tread lightly. If she loved them, I know anyone will, including your child who only eats cheese and chicken fingers.

Enjoy these recipes! They’re kid tested, mother approved! Please feel free to share these recipes, but be kind and give me a shout out if you do! Thanks! Happy Healthy Eating!

Turkey Meatloaves

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 onion, sauteed and cooled
1 clove of garlic, sauteed and cooled
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. Reduced Sugar Ketchup (thanks, Heinz!)
2 T. chili sauce plus 4 T. for topping (I use my grandma’s homemade, which doesn’t have sugar. If you can’t find any, use reduced sugar sweet relish)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a baking dish with Pam.
3. Season turkey with salt and pepper.
4. Combine turkey, egg, onions, garlic, and 2 T. each of the Worscestershire sauce, ketchup, and chili sauces.

5. Form into 4 rounds or loaves and set in pan.
6. Top each loaf with 1 T. chili sauce (or sweet relish or reduced sugar ketchup).

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until well done.
8. LET THEM REST on the counter for 5 minutes so the juices can redistribute. (Otherwise you’ll end up with dry meatloaf. Yuck.)

Cauliflower Cakes

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, grated
1 egg
3/4 c. reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 T. onion flakes (or 3 T. sauteed onion)
2 t. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat cauliflower in microwave for 10 minutes until soft.
2. Combine caulfilower, egg, cheese, and spices in bowl.

3. Heat a small pan on medium to medium high heat.
4. Spray pan with cooking spray and place small mounds of cakes into pan.

5. When browned, flip to other side. (You may have to spray the pan again when flipping. This is that tricky part I was talking about.)

6. Transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet (Silpat works like a charm!) and heat in oven for 5 – 10 minutes until firm.
7. Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt and sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

(This post is part of iPhone Photo Phun, even though I own a Droid. They’re not snobs, though. Come link up!)