Gluten free plantain tortillas and mashed cauliflower

I'm on the hunt for easy, fast, yummy, gluten free meal ideas.

I say fast and easy because my time is limited taking care of these munchkins...

I'm pretty much convinced that my tombstone will read: "She died folding the laundry." I will only R.I.P. if every last piece of clothing was actually placed in drawers after my departure (take notes honey). This is just one week's worth people. One. Week.

Not only is my time limited, but I just can't go out and buy everything at the Health Food Store and shove it in my cupboards. Although, wow, that would be just plain awesome. Maybe we should renovate our basement just for that very purpose (I could be the star of a new TLC hoarders show...)

It would be one thing if we lived near a big city. Then I could bounce here and there on the fly whenever a special ingredient was needed. But alas, we live 45 minutes away from the nearest heath food store. I must be creative. Like using foods I would normally have in the house and putting them together in new ways. So I can trick my mind. Not really. Well, sort of. (If any of you have changed your diet you know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Bread, crackers, and noodles were always my go-to food for snacks and main portions of a meal. Taking them out of my diet was like pure torture the first few days. You might as well have stolen all my jewelry and my piano.

Now that I've been gluten free for 3 months, it just feels normal. The only hard part is coming up with interesting meal ideas so I don't get bored of the same old same old.

I recently came across a recipe for gluten free tortillas made with plantains. I tried it and it was super easy! Of course the tortillas taste like bananas, but like I told you, I'm trying to trick my mind. Sometimes I just want to "feel" like I'm eating bread of some sort. I made a batch of the tortillas, stored the rest in the refrigerator, and use them all throughout the week. So far I've used them for:

Breakfast: Tortilla with eggs and cheese on top
Snack: Tortilla with melted coconut oil on top
Snack: Tortilla with melted peanut butter and chocolate chips
Snack: Tortilla with hummus, cheese, and spinach on top

I also decided to finally try making garlic mashed cauliflower. I saw it on a TV special once for people on a diet during the holidays to use instead of mashed potatoes. We have a lot of veggies these days and I am looking for innovative ways to eat them. I just get sick of crunching on raw veggies all the time.

I hope you enjoy these recipes! I know I sure have. Now if that laundry could just finish folding itself...

Plantain Tortillas

(makes 12 5″ tortillas) 

To view the website with the tortilla recipe click here.

Ingredients

3 large or 4 small yellow plantains

1/3 cup egg whites (about 2 eggs worth)
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Peel and chop your plantains and place in a food processor.
3. Puree until somewhat pureed, and then add the melted coconut oil, egg whites, salt and lime juice.
4. Puree until smooth.
5. Drop about 2 tablespoons at a time onto a baking sheet lined with a lightly greased sheet of parchment paper, 4 per standard baking sheet.
6. Smooth into a circle with the bottom of a ladle, getting as thin as possible, switching to wet fingers once the ladle stops being efficient.
7. Bake for 15 minutes, until dry to the touch, and just starting to brown on the edges.

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

To view the website with the mashed cauliflower recipe click here. 

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 tablespoon reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  Directions

  1. Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover, and steam until tender, about 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat; cook and stir garlic until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. Transfer half the cauliflower to a food processor; cover and blend on high. Add remaining cauliflower florets, one at a time, until vegetables are creamy. Blend in garlic, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, salt, and black pepper.