An Attempt at Healthy

 Cooking is not a hobby of mine. Healthy cooking is less of a hobby of mine. I don't experiment. I follow a recipe exactly. I need a recipe. I have no inkling of desire to make up something on my own. I'm a decent cook because I can follow a recipe and I certainly know my way around the kitchen, but I don't feel that I'm an exceptional cook by any means. I know very little about seasonings and, as we learned last night, I have had some seasonings for a very long time that I've never used.

Several weeks, not quite a month, ago Jeremy decided that he was going to eat low carb and low sugar. He proved this to me by making eggs for himself in the morning and eating salads at lunch. I knew I was going to have to make some quick changes. Now, understand, that I am not interested in giving up carbs or sugar. I enjoy both and find them to be, at least mentally, a necessary part of my day to day existence.

All that being said, I have looked for recipes that are kid approved and Mom friendly and still are low carb. They don't exist. So. I make salads every night. I cook a meat, vegetable and side dish. The side dish is for me and the kids. Do you realize that is automatically 3 pots to wash...by hand in this house. Sometimes I just want to make spaghetti or lasagna or ziti or a casserole! At least tacos are a hit! That's becoming an almost weekly meal.

What I have not yet given up is homemade pizza night. One night that I can cook without planning. I had a couple recipes that I've wanted to try, but needed an extra push to make the effort. I invited Matt and Chrissy over for supper. Healthy cooking is second nature to Chrissy so this stuff was no problem for her!

First we made zucchini chips. Zucchini dipped in milk and coated with seasonings and breadcrumbs. They were quite good.

Then cauliflower pizza crust.

It tasted good! The seasonings were nice. The consistency was like quiche. But the prep work! Chop cauliflower head in the food processor. Then cook it for 8 minutes in the microwave. Mix it up with the seasonings. Bake the crust. Add the toppings. And then broil it to melt the cheese. Maybe in a few years I will laugh at myself for thinking this is overwhelming meal preparation, but for right now I can't quite imagine making this a weekly occurrence.

Like Chrissy told me--Healthy cooking is a learning process. And my response--I have a long way to go!