Faux-mashed potatoes? Faux sho’.

I’m not really a “paleo” guy, but I do agree with the general idea of it. Lots of animal protein, lots of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. In my opinion a little bit of rice, potatoes and oatmeal is okay occasionally, especially if you are trying to build muscle. But, as I said before, I’m trying out this “slow carb” diet Tim Ferriss writes about in The 4-Hour Body and stuff like potatoes are only for your once-a-week cheat day. Enter “faux mashed potatoes”:

The above image is not mine. It belongs to Nomnompaleo.com and you should go there for the recipe for garlic cauliflower mashed “potatoes” because it is freaking awesome and so easy. I mean really. And if you’re the type (like me) that has the general opinion that anything with the word “faux” before it sucks, this is the exception. Only next time I’ll ease back on the nutmeg, just my personal taste.

If you are so inclined, give it a try. It’s an easy and tasty way to stuff some cruciferous vegetables down your gullet.

Binge Day recipe: pizza casserole

One day a week I allow myself to deviate from my normal (hopefully healthy) method of eating. That day is Saturday for me and on Saturday I eat whatever I feel like, guilt free, without restriction. Soda, pasta, cake, pie, McFatburgers, fries, whatever. I call this 24 hour bacchanal my “binge day.” Even though the idea of “cheat days” or “cheat meals” is nothing new to me, I’ve only really embraced the usefulness recently and I’ll get to that in another post. The point is here is a recipe I tried last Saturday: “pizza casserole.” Sounds silly, right? Silly good.

(Not my pic, but it looks pretty good.)

This recipe is from allrecipes.com, but here’s a rundown:

Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour
Servings: 7

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced pepperoni sausage
16 ounces pizza sauce
4 tablespoons milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the onion, garlic and green bell pepper. Drain excess fat. Stir in the noodles, pepperoni, pizza sauce and milk, and mix well. Pour this mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes, top with the cheese, then bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.

Again, this is not my everyday fare, but pretty good on a binge day.