So I’m what is known as a volume eater. This means satiety comes from large quantities of food. How is this achieved on a 1400-1500 calorie budget? Knowing which foods are low in calories and high in protein, fiber, and water so that I can eat a huge bowl  instead of a 1/2 cup serving of something calorically dense like pasta, rice, or ice cream. If you are a quantity eater, here are some dishes you can make with today’s all-star vegetables, cauliflower and spaghetti squash. Get your spaghetti squash now as it’s almost out of season.

Cauliflower:

Several dozen studies link cauliflower to cancer prevention, particularly with bladder, breast, colon, prostate, and ovarian cancers. This cruciferous vegetable furnishes: high levels of vitamin C (healthy teeth, gums and blood vessels); Vitamin K (anti-inflammatory agent); 12 grams of insoluble fiber per 100 calories.

What to do with it?

• Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and oven roast it to buttery perfection reminiscent of french fries.

• Mash it. Exactly as you would make mashed potatoes.

• 

  Cauliflower “rice” 334 calories including the roast beef, onion, carrot, oil and whole head of cauliflower.

  Rice it. I made this for lunch today for the first time. It was fast, delicious, and I ate the whole head of cauliflower for only 144 calories.  Run a head of cauliflower through the food processor. I used the shred blade. Sautée an onion in a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Add shredded “riced” cauliflower, salt, pepper and pretty much anything you would put in rice and stir fry or cover and steam for 10 minutes. For color, I added shredded carrots. For protein, I cubed 3 oz of last night’s roast and tossed it in the skillet.

• Soup it: I already blogged about this. See: Fresh Friday: Fast Fall Comfort Food.

• Steam it: toss with pesto or curry sauce or any sauce you enjoy.

  
  

  

  Versatile. Antioxidant rich. Anti-inflammatory. The perfect spaghetti replacement!

  Spaghetti Squash: 

  After I blogged about how incredible spaghetti squash with meat sauce tasted, I just had to attempt spaghetti squash carbonara. Pasta alla carbonara is an egg and bacon based penne dish named for coal workers because of the coarse black pepper in the dish.

   Emeril Lagasse made it too so it must be delectable: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/spaghetti-squash-carbonara-recipe2/index.html

  

  Zucchini fettucine

  As it turns out, Trader Joe’s in Novato is sold out of spaghetti squash for the season! I will have to make the squash alla carbonara with zucchini instead. The recipe is identical except that you peel the zucchini in long fettucine like shapes using a vegetable peeler. Photo of my recipe coming soon.