Cauliflower crusted pizza!

OK, I admit it. When I saw this recipe today I had my doubts. It intrigued me. But could it work?

Pizza with a cauliflower crust!

In googling for tips and different recipes I found many many different blogs and sites with ideas, so I struggle to give an original source. Instead this is a mish mash of many recipes and a few adaptions of my own.

This fed a family of 2 adults plus one hungry 6 year old with leftovers.

I used one entire head of cauliflower. I weighed it first. About 1 kg.

Step one is to grate the cauliflower into rice size grains. Once again I am so thrilled that I have the grater attachement for my kitchenaid! It makes tasks like this easy - but you could use an old fashioned grater.

Microwave the cauliflower for 8 minutes. Do NOT add ANY water. There is enough moisture in the cauliflower itself. You are trying to dry it out as much as possible.

Then you need to cool the cauliflower to room temp. I laid it out on a clean teatowel to speed this up, then used the towel to squeeze the last of the moisture out. The dryer the cauliflower the better your base will be.

Add 2 eggs. About 100g of light mozarella cheese, and italian herbs, garlic, whatever you like to flavour the base. Mix well.

Press into pizza shaped bases. You don't want them too thick, or too thin. The base will not rise but it needs to hold your toppings.

TIP!!! The base I made on baking paper worked MUCH BETTER! I highly recommend using the baking paper!

Bake at 240C for about 16 minutes. You need to dry the base out. It should just be starting to brown. If it is moist in the middle pop it back in for a few minutes.

Add your toppings. You will really just reheat these. So if you are adding meats, veges that need cooking or softening it is best to do this first.

Cook for 5 min until cheese melted!

This was suprisingly good. Naturally gluten free for husband. Miss 6 loved it! If you cut smallish slices it could be eaten without a knife and fork.

And it did NOT taste like cauliflower.

This mix made three small pizzas for us. None of us ate an entire one. I still have half leftover. I think the cauliflower makes it very filling.

The base mix is approx 750cal. (divided by 3 pizzas = 250 cal each). Don't forget to add your toppings. I really don't think it needed as much cheese on the top as we used as there is cheese flavouring the base.

And for me, each pizza served 2 meals, especially with a small salad.

Something a bit different and a great way of getting extra veges and fibre in our diet!

My inspirational 12wbter

Mish has asked us to share with her a 12wbter who inspires us. I jumped at the chance. She might live far too far away - but 12wbt has found me a great friend, an inspiration and a #strongwomen role model!

This is my entry ...

Hi Mish and team!!!!

My inspirational 12wbter is someone I have seen grow and push on despite a whole heap of setbacks. Not just one round but FIVE now.

She may be quiet on the forums - but 12wbt is more than forums. Her support on twitter to so many of us is HUGE. What I really love is she encourages women to be STRONG! She is teeny tiny in height but what she is achieving is huge!

As soon as I saw this suprise, I jwanted to send you a shout out about Leander. She is a quiet achiever on 12wbt. She tends to fly under the radar - but I want you to know all about her!

Leander is up to her 5th (I think) round of 12wbt. Over this time she has lost over 50kg!! She has a tiny 5" nothing frame ... the difference is spectacular!

This includes last round when she was injured (and rehabing under the care of a physio team ) and forbidden to train. She stuck 100% to clean nutrition - (and she is vegetarian btw) and lost 10kg that round! No excuses. Can't train - it's all about the nutrition. And although the rehab process almost killed her mentally she stayed true to the program and kept pushing me and other twitter family to smash goals I knew she was dying to achieve.

This round she can train again and she is training hard. Crossfit. 12wbt sessions. Strength sessions. And because running was her mental block - she is even working with a run coach! No barriers!

Oh and even though she hadn't done any long runs she jumped on board with the rellsrunners team and ran with us before the workout in centennial parklands!

She works on her mindset constantly. Not only through Mish's work - but 1-1 sessions with Emma from Emazon Chronicles. She knows the importance of getting the head right.

This round has been a tough round for Leander. Basically after finale last round her world fell apart, and everything as she knew it pretty much changed. It was a tough time. I would have crumbled.
This girl took no excuses. She has thrown her hurt into training.

At finale last year she told me how much she hates boxjumps. Can't get her head around them. So ... what does she do? Conquer the 23" boxjump!
PB for deadlift? 70kg 4RM (and she is just back from rehab)
Hates running? well - she is training to run at Gold Coast.
Starts training with a strength coach? Shoulder press 65kg!

On top of this she is an enthusiasic supporter of all of us on twitter (and is making sure I do NOT use pregnancy as an excuse and still lift and train!)

I have NEVER seen a girl use so few excuses. SHe is gorgeous and kind and beautiful and you need to know about her!

She truly is the spirit of 12wbt.

Her goal - is to turkish getup what she has lost. Over 50kg. Good luck to her! Better her than me!

Oh and the pic (she may kill me) is before 12wbt - and the day after the party in Sydney. Finally off rehab conditions (well almost) and doing a handstand push up out side Adriano Zumbos! (Secretly - there were handstand pushups at the finale party too mish! You miss all the fun stuff!)

Accountability.

I promised to eat clean. I promised accountability - here it is

Breakfast. Poached egg. (from OUR happy chooks) Wholemeal muffin. Banana. Decaf coffee.

Morning tea. Post gym class. Skim milk hot choc (my pregnancy indulgence)

Lunch - salmon stuffed baked potato. YUM!

Dinner. Stir fry with brown rice. (thanks hubby!)

Other snacks - fruit at a birthday party. One slice cheese. Homemade yogurt iceblock.

All clean. All within calories. Would you believe I feel better already?

Coming clean ...

If there is one thing 12wbt has taught me ... it is all about the nutrition.
Eat clean - you will get results.
Eat crap - you will feel crap, look crap and get stuff all results to talk about.

Plain and simple - food is THE most important part of the program.

Well - I am coming to realise ... that my nutrition has slipped way below the standard I would expect of myself, and I am feeling the results of the bad choices I am making.

Yes I am pregnant. Yes I am meant to be gaining weight. And I am fine with that. But it is more than that. I feel sluggish. Bloated. My body is not happy with the balance that is going in.

Right now, as Mish would say ... is when I need to be focussing on OPTIMAL nutrition! After all - my body is growing another human being ! And on top of that it is still working and training! It is amazing!

So once again - the line in the sand is drawn. I will be accountable.

I am going to eat clean, focus on my nutrition, and to stay accountable I will blog this week how I am going.

Mish's eating plans rock. But right now - I am simplifying them.
Why? Because there are foods right now that turn my stomach. There are foods I couldn't force my body to eat if I tried. And from time to time the nausea is still making some foods impossible.

I have spent the night printing my favourite of Mish's recipes. The ones that fit our lifestyle, our tastes and are time and pregnancy friendly. I have planned for success and I expect to succeed.

How is your nutrition this week? If you are firing - AWESOME! Tell us how you feel!

If you are struggling . Stop. You know what to do. Draw the line. And get results.

Kath xxx

(BTW - although I will share what I eat, and probably photos too - I will not share recipes! This is Mish's program and I love it and believe in it! It works as a package - nutrition, fitness and mindset. I respect Mish and her work.)

Qld crew - Kangaroo point stairs!

In honour of Hoffy's humungous burpee challenge Qld crew turned out at Kangaroo Point to run some stairs.
Some very steep, very long stairs!

There is something very special about training with 12wbters - and today was NO exception!
There is always such a BUZZ in the air!

Big shout out to my driver and local team member who not only RAN the circuit but did it FIVE times (after a 430am wakeup call!)


It was hot, and sunny, then it was rainy ... I don't really think the weather knew WHAT it was doing!

And those stairs seemed an awful lot harder with a baby in your belly!

We wore red for heartkids, we wore our heart on our sleeve (or our face! - Thanks Ange for the facepainting!

It was an awesome time - donation are at $265 and rising! Doing our bit!

(BTW - check the bottom of the sign up the top - bubs is for bubs in utero (they count! - and dogs is for ... well ... the cutest puppies I have ever seen. One complete with a 12wbt tshirt!)

You can help support our cause by clicking on this link! Put QLD CREW in the comments!

https://secure3.everydayhero.com.au/hoffys_burpee_challenge/donate

In honour of a fighter woman.

Today - a fellow 12wbter for life and friend Julie Hoffman showed us what a champion she is! Many many months of training, organising, seeking donations and plain being awesome resulted in Hoffy's Burpee Challenge for Heartkids - a fundraiser to support heartkids in memory of her niece Stacey.

Today this fighter girl became a Guiness book of records champion! Most burpees in minute!

She then fought through an hour of burpees (UGH!) to complete 959 burpees in an hour - surrounded by family, friends and her community.

Did she break the record for burpees in an hour - no. And really - who cares.

She is a fighter woman. Three weeks of illness, and currently carrying a chest infection. Friends say she was hurting. She was doing it tough. But she would not say no. She fought on for the hour and showed us the tenacious fighter woman she is.

Fundraising for heartkids is likely to well exceed $30,000!

Unbelievable!

To support her - please follow the link to her every day hero page

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/hoffys_burpee_challenge

Julie - I am so proud to know you ! You went hard and you did us proud!

20 weeks and still training!

It's Bon Jovi week for me and baby!

"Woah! We're halfway there! Woah! Living on a prayer!"

This week is a good week. I feel well. I feel like myself. A nap or two certainly helps- but I am loving my life right now.

I feel like I'm really looking pregnant right now! I look huge! None of my regular pants fit.Time to suck it up and buy some maternity pants :(

Training is good. Bootcamp is becoming my new favourite thing to do. I love training with others - and we can do it at our own pace.

Running - not my fave. But with the cooler weather coming I am looking forward to doing some light little interval runs for the challenge.

Life is good! Baby and I are well. What more can I ask for?