Bacon-wrapped tilapia is simple, quick and yummy! It was also the perfect recipe experiment for my inaugural “What I Ate Today” post. I thought it might be helpful for some of the new folks if I occasionally shared my daily menu, so you could get some menu planning ideas and see how the low oxalate diet works  (at least my Paleo-ish, whole foods version of it). I also had a lot of left-over odds and ends in the fridge that needed using up today, so it was a great day to experiment with a new recipe or two.  Here’s what the day looked like.

Breakfast was my everyday standby. Yes, I’m boring. I eat the same very low oxalate breakfast almost every morning, except some mornings I stir-fry a half cup of veggies in the oil before I cook the eggs (onion, red pepper and zucchini is a favorite combination).

Breakfast:

3 eggs cooked over-easy in a teaspoon of olive oil   ( < 1 mg. oxalate)
1 cup Madagascar Vanilla Tea (rooibos)   ( 0.9 mg. oxalate)

Total: about 1.5 mg. oxalate

My lunches these days are typically some combination of left-overs, either warmed up or added to a salad.  My boys usually enjoy cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit, although today they wanted the chicken.

Lunch:

4 -5 ounces roast chicken seasoned with salt, white pepper and a little thyme ( 1.5 mg. oxalate)
1 cup southern -style turnip and collard greens (about 13.5 mg. oxalate)
1 large yellowish-red gala apple (mostly yellow) ( about 4 mg. oxalate)

Total: about 19 mg. oxalate

I usually like to cook something new for dinner on Saturday night, but  I had a little bit of butternut squash, a few rings of pineapple and some uncooked bacon that seriously needed eating. Plus, I’d picked some fresh lettuce and arugula from the garden while weeding this afternoon and really wanted a salad. I was flipping through a magazine earlier in the day and saw a recipe for bacon-wrapped tilapia. Perfect! The recipe included potatoes and a bunch of other high oxalate ingredients. Plus, it required grilling in a basket, but it did spark the idea and I had a few tilapia fillets in the freezer. I rubbed the fish with an oil/spice mix, wrapped each in bacon and cooked them in my cast-iron skillet (see the recipe below). When I was finished, I removed the fish, poured out most of the grease and added a 1 lb. bag of frozen cauliflower to the skillet. I cooked the cauliflower for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, added a little salt and white pepper and served.  It was about the best cauliflower I’ve ever tasted and even my sons asked for seconds. We ended up eating the whole bag! One of my sons ate an entire large fillet with three slices of bacon, too, so I guess this dinner is a keeper. Here’s the oxalate run-down for my dinner.

Dinner:

Bacon-wrapped tilapia fillet (4.5 mg. oxalate  )
1/4 cup pineapple (about 5.5 mg. oxalate)
1/2 cup baked, unseasoned butternut squash (4.9 mg. oxalate)
1 cup mixed lettuce and arugula with homemade vinaigrette ( about 2 mg. oxalate)
1 1/2 cups stir-fried cauliflower (about 5.5 mg. oxalate)

Dinner Total: 22.4 mg. oxalate

Daily Oxalate Total:  42.9 mg. oxalate

I hope you’ve enjoyed a sample menu from a typical day in my Paleo-ish, gluten-free, dairy-free world. You’ll notice I consumed about ten half-cup servings of fruit and vegetables. I don’t always hit this number, but I try for at least seven a day. I also occasionally eat black-eyed peas, a little sugar, greens peas, corn tortillas or rice, so I’m not completely Paleo. But I’m hoping to be again soon. And today was actually a Paleo perfect day for me, so that felt good. I’m stuffed and happy after that monster-sized dinner, so I probably won’t snack before bed. I also ate only one medium-oxalate food (boiled collard greens), so this was a lower oxalate day than some. Overall, a pretty yummy day in my world.

Here’s the recipe for the Bacon-Wrapped Tilapia.

Bacon-Wrapped Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets (about a pound)
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
8 -12 slices uncured, preservative -free bacon

Rub each fillet with a mixture of white pepper and paprika then drizzle with sesame seed oil. Wrap 2-3 slices of bacon around each fillet. I chose to completely wrap the fillets with bacon, but you could also leave a gap between the bacon slices and only use two . Cook in skillet over medium heat until bacon in browned on one side. About 7 minutes. Pour off some of the bacon fat if needed and cook another 6-7 minutes until the bacon is browned (it won’t brown if you’ve got too much grease in the skillet.) Transfer finished fillets to a paper towel-lined plate and let drain a minute. (If you’re cooking the cauliflower, too, this is the time to add your bag of frozen veggies to the skillet, turn up the heat a little, and stir-fry until tender.)

Makes 4 large servings or 8 smaller servings

Low Oxalate Info: All ingredients in bacon-wrapped tilapia are low oxalate except  paprika, which  has about 6.0 mg. oxalate per teaspoon. Bacon-wrapped tilapia has about 4.5 mg. oxalate per large serving (made with three slices bacon).

Other Diets: Bacon-wrapped tilapia may also be appropriate for gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, Paleo, low carb, GFCF and GAPS diets. Be sure to use  uncured, preservative-free bacon if you follow the GAPS protocol.

Mashed cauliflower is my favorite low oxalate comfort food.  Add Paleo meatloaf (recipe upcoming) and some fried apples and that’s all I need to feel warm and cozy after a stressful day at school.  The funny thing is I didn’t like mashed cauliflower the first time I tried it at Ruby Tuesdays Restaurant.  It was grainy and watery, and although the taste was good, it wasn’t worth the other drawbacks.

Mashed Cauliflower with Paleo meatloaf and broccoli -- the perfect low oxalate Paleo, GAPS or GFCF meal for toddlers and pre-schoolers. And hey, not too shabby for us adults either!

I didn’t try mashed cauliflower again until I made it by mistake one evening last fall. The boys and I fixed cauliflower soup for dinner and in a moment of overtired mommy forgetfulness I forgot to turn off the burner.  My cauliflower soup simmered for three hours into the perfect mashed cauliflower consistency.  One spoonful and I couldn’t stop eating it!  It was so yummy!  That’s also when I discovered the secret to fabulous mashed cauliflower — put it back on the stove top or in the oven after pureeing it to pull out the last bit of moisture and add some creamy fat.   Adding an onion doesn’t hurt either!

Hope my creamy mashed cauliflower brings you as much comfort as it does me.  When making big dietary changes like the low oxalate diet it’s really nice to have a few low oxalate comfort foods to keep you going.

Mashed Cauliflower

Two heads cauliflower, broken into pieces (or use about 2 lbs frozen)
One small onion, roughly chopped (optional)
1/4 cup cream (or use 3-4 T butter, bacon fat or olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt (omit if using salted butter)

Steam the cauliflower and onion in a steamer until it’s soft (or boil to reduce the oxalate content of the cauliflower from about 2.7 mg. per half cup to about 2.0 mg. oxalate per half cup).  Pour the cauliflower into a metal colander and let it drain well.  If you have a stainless steel stick blender, put the cauliflower and onion back in your cooking pot and puree with your magic soup wand.  Or you may puree the cauliflower in a blender or food processor. (Note: If your processor or blender has  plastic bowls, you may want to let the cauliflower cool until lukewarm or room temperature before pureeing, so the plastic doesn’t leach nasty chemicals into your food).  Add cream (or fat) and salt and mix well.  Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Makes 8-10 servings

Low Oxalate Info:  All ingredients in mashed cauliflower are low oxalate or very low oxalate.  Each half cup serving of mashed cauliflower has about 3 mg. of oxalate.  The fat choices are all very low oxalate (1 mg. oxalate or less per tablespoon) and interchangeable in this recipe, so use the fat that matches your dietary needs best.  My family prefers to make mashed cauliflower with cream and add butter at the table.

Equipment Note:  I don’t own very many cooking gadgets–just the basic high quality pots, pans, knives and one or two toys–but my stainless steel stick blender is hands down my favorite kitchen gadget for making my life easier!  It is very easy and quick to clean, it minimizes the amount of time I spend transferring soups etc. into other containers or pots, and it allows me to finish my cooking in one process without having to let things cool because of concerns over plastic chemical contamination.  I love my Cuisinart model and highly recommend it (buy a Cuisinart stainless steel stick blender here).  Behold the magic soup wand!

Other Diets:  Mashed cauliflower may also be appropriate for Paleo, GAPS, SCD, vegetarian, GFCF and vegan dieters with the appropriate fat choice.

What could be more comforting on a cold, spring day than a warm bowl of gluten-free cauliflower soup?  It’s sweet, mild and nourishing, and it gives the kids something fun to do as the rain pours down.  Many child nutrition experts claim that kids who help pick out, prepare or cook a food are much more likely to eat it.  I agree.  My sons and I started making gluten-free cauliflower soup together this winter, shortly after their second birthday, and they’re hooked.  They love pouring in the ingredients, stirring the pot and pureeing the vegetables with the “magic soup wand.”  Best of all, their faces glow with pride when we invite Grammy and Grandpa over to eat the dinner they’ve cooked.

My boys aren’t mature enough to add ingredients to a hot pot on the stove, so I invented the following recipe with fun and safety in mind.  It can be cooked all at once using a food processor or blender to purée the soup, or it may be cooled down and puréed using a stick blender  We usually do the latter because it’s easier for me and because stick blenders are A LOT of fun.  Just don’t pull it out of the pot while it’s twirling! (We call it the Magic Soup Wand and it is magic!  We love ours.  Shop for stick blenders here).

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Soup

1 pound cauliflower, chopped (about one medium head or you can use frozen)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup cream or half and half (can substitute low-oxalate 100% natural Swanson’s chicken broth)
¼ – ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 – 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (can omit or substitute goat cheese)

*Note: Although, black pepper is considered a high oxalate ingredient, this quantity of pepper only adds a small amount of oxalate to individual servings (1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper has about 3.3 mg. oxalate.)

Step 1: Let the kids put the cauliflower and the onion in a medium soup pot or a large sauce pan.  Add about 1 – 1 ½ cups water (should be about an inch deep), then let the kids stir it a little (although it’s not really necessary.)  Cover the pot and cook over medium heat about 25-30 minutes until the cauliflower is tender, checking occasionally to make sure there’s enough water in the bottom so the vegetables don’t burn.

Step 2: If you choose to purée hot soup, transfer the cauliflower mixture into a food processor or blender (you may have to do this in batches).  If more than ½ cup of the water remains, pour some out; otherwise keep the remaining water (pouring out the water reduces the oxalate content a little and keeps the soup from being too watery–keeping just a little adds a lot of flavor though so with such low oxalate veggies I always leave a little cooking water in the pot).  Let the kids add the cream and seasonings to the soup while it’s in the food processor.  They can also turn the processor on and stop it to stir occasionally if some of the cauliflower is sticking. Transfer the puree back to the soup pot.

If you use a soup wand (stick blender) with young children, you must either transfer the soup to a cold soup pot or you must set the pot on a cool burner and let it cool for 1 – 2 hours.  After checking the pots’ temperature, let your kids add the milk and the seasonings.  Purée the soup directly in the pot using the soup wand on a low setting.

Step 3: Simmer the soup until it is warm (10-15 minutes).  Do not let it boil or it will curdle.  Let the kids garnish their own soup at the table with shredded cheese if desired.

Makes:  5-6 cups of soup

Variations:  Substitute broccoli or asparagus for the cauliflower.  If using broccoli, add 1 cup of cheese (8 ounces) directly to the soup, then let family members add cheese as wanted at the table for broccoli cheese soup.

Time-Saver: In Step 1 you may microwave the vegetables in a glass dish with about ½ cup water on high for 5-6 minutes instead of boiling on the stove.

Low Oxalate Dieting Tip: Let family members pepper their own bowls of soup at the table instead of adding it to the pot if the low oxalate dieter prefers not to eat black pepper. You may also substitute white pepper instead.

Picky Eater Pleaser: Try adding a larger portion of cheese to a smaller amount of soup to introduce the soup to a cheese lover.

Menu Planner:  I serve this as a main dish with sliced fruit on the side at lunch.  It also goes well with chicken and a salad for dinner.

Other Dieters: This version of cauliflower soup may be appropriate for Paleo, vegetarian, gluten-free, soy-free, and GAPS diets.  It may also be used on a dairy-free or casein-free diet with appropriate modifications.