Okay, there are many free websites for weight loss & counting calories. I use www.thedailyplate.com and some others use www.sparkpeople.com.

What I was thinking was...we could count calories together, support each other, and post some recipes that will help balance out our 'pyramid' and meet our individual goals. Those of you that already do this, maybe you could help me :-) since I just started. Those who want to do this, but have been putting it off--consider this a great time to start!

Below, I will post 2 different recipes that I've found since I've start counting. Right now, I am looking for low cal, low protein recipes. If you know of any I would greatly appreciate you sharing them with me! When you post a recipe, please reply, then change the subject to the name of the recipe. This will help the search feature on the forum a little as well as keep the thread organized.

Thanks for joining me! ~MissApril

Cauli-fried Rice 

Ingredients

• 3 cups raw cauliflower
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Grate the cauliflower (including the core) using the medium sized holes of a grater or grater attachment of the food processor. With your hands squeeze out as much water as you can. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large, heavy frying pan and add the garlic. Saute until the garlic sizzles. Add the grated cauliflower, sprinkle with salt and stir and fry until its tender-crisp, about 5-8 minutes, the length of time will depend on the cauliflower. Stir in the green onion and pepper. Check the seasoning and serve.

Originally found on recipezaar.com

 Hello,

There are many weight-loss boards on the Net that I am sure would support you in your quest for health. I think you might find what you needed there, and I hope you succeed in your goal. Congratulations for wanting to work on your health!

seaturtle:

many weight-loss boards on the Net that I am sure would support you in your quest for health

Wow...Thanks! I don't do multiple forums. I really just come here b/c its not blocked at work, I'm totally into frugality, and it helps pass the time. When I'm not at work, I'm not attached to a computer. Considering I fix the internet for a living & my shift is over 12hrs long each workday, it gets a little old.

TBH, this rubbed me the wrong way, but I'm going to remind myself that a lot of the message gets lost via this medium & assume that you meant it in the best possible way.

Hi April,

Have you had a chance to try the cauli-fried rice? I was curious since I suddenly have about 4 cups of cauliflower. It's not very popular in my house, and I was hoping for something a little creative to try with it.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with calorie-counting...

Joyous, have you tried a non-pasta pasta bake with it?  I'll do this for my family from time to time.  Cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces, rinse off.  Place some spaghetti sauce in bottom of casserole (sized depending on how much you want to make).  Then layer, in this order, cauliflower, sauce, shredded mozzerella cheese; repeat.  Top with mozzarella cheese and also some shredded parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 about 40 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked through.

When I make mine, I brown about 3/4 pound mild italian sausage and add that to the spaghetti sauce.  It seemed kinda bland without it, but then again I used store-bought spaghetti sauce and added nothing to it.  The cauliflower makes a great replacement for traditional pasta.  Using 1 head of cauliflower, 1 jar of sauce, 1 package of shredded mozz cheese, and 3/4 pounds of mild italian sausage this filled a 9x13 pan for me.

What a neat idea! I would never have thought of that. Is it common to use cauliflower instead of pasta in some pasta dishes?

 My roommate & I will be trying it very soon. We love cauliflower. I believe it will do well in this application. We should try it by Saturday. It got really good reviews on recipezaar & I can't wait to try it!

Cauliflower is one of the most low cal foods! lol... And it lends itself to many flavors & mediums.

Joyous:

What a neat idea! I would never have thought of that. Is it common to use cauliflower instead of pasta in some pasta dishes?

Honestly, I don't know.  I got the original recipe from a magazine and then modified it to include meat and the parm cheese.  But it's definately tastey and it's a great way to get more veggies in your diet!  Besides, you can still get the carbs by having garlic bread!

 Absolutely NO offense meant. I had no idea what you do for a living and thought you might just not know. I was actually trying to help. Sorry it offended you, but I did not mean it that way at all.