This recipe has a long back story. I’m going to give you an abridged version, in case your attention span is as short as mine.
Since I’ve been tracking my food, I noticed I eat a lot of carbs. Like a lot. Most of them are good-for-you-carbs. And some of them are wine. I have no idea how many carbs one “should” consume… but lets just say the little pie chart at the bottom of the page is always a lot of carbs. And a little fat. And some protein.
Hm. Could this be why I’m seemingly always hungry?
I have no idea. But being the detective I am, I might start testing the theory, and trying to incorporate a little more protein and fat and a little less carbs. Nothing crazy, just a few tweaks here and there.
Now this is where things get interesting. It’s actually really difficult to find low carb vegetarian recipes. I don’t know why. Surely I’m not the only vegetarian who wants to reform from their carbaholism. Interesting.
I did however, stumble across a few “cauliflower pizza crust” recipes. In my opinion, cauliflower is like the tofu of vegetables. It’s boring. But it does take on flavors of other things pretty well. So I was willing to try it. Skip to about 2 hours later, I had a crust that absolutely would not budge from the olive-oil-sprayed-cookie sheet. It definitely wasn’t a crust that would hold pizza toppings. It was way too crumbly. But I’d already invested some cauliflower into this, and I’d already caramelized the onions. I wasn’t going back. It turns out the cauliflower tasted amazing, it just wouldn’t hold a crust shape. But I’m not one for appearances. Taste is really what matters. So I turned it into a scramble. It has all the flavors of a white pizza, but it’s tons healthier. And it’s a “low carb vegetarian” recipe. Or low-er carb. Whatever.
White Pizza Scramble
- 2 cups finely chopped cauliflower (about 1/2 head)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
In a food processor (or blender) chop the cauliflower into rice-sized pieces. Mix with egg, greek yogurt, and spices. Dump into a shallow baking dish and bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. While that’s cooking, slice your onion, and saute it in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to brown (about 8 minutes). Take the cauliflower mixture out of the oven and stir in the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and onions and bake in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until it starts to brown just slightly. Scoop and serve!
It literally tastes like a white pizza, and the cauliflower helps bulk up the meal without a lot of extra calories.
I’m pretty sure I’ll have to test this with other flavors. I’m thinking a tomato basil would be pretty amazing. Perhaps some Feta in there? This could be the beginning a beautiful thing.
Sigh. I’ve been a low-carb vegetarian for years now and it is SO difficult finding new recipes! Most of my meals are almost all veggie with some proteins + healthy fats in the mix. I don’t avoid carbs completely (I actually eat a lot in the mornings) but since I try to watch how many calories I consume it’s always easiest for me to just cut rice, pasta or other grains out of the mix at night.
I’m definitely going to be stalking your meals for ideas
I’m glad I’m not the only one!
We are seriously on the same wavelength here! I’ve been having the exact same problem lately since I started tracking my food – too many carbs! Those little suckers are in everything and especially present for veggies like us. I actually started eating fish again (tuna and tilapia) to help steer me away from all of the carb loaded protein sources (i.e. beans). I haven’t found any recipes I really love (yet)
Will let you know when I do 
I’ve made the cauliflower pizza before and it turned out great although I think I prefer the sound of this- somewhat less labor-intensive
! Here are a couple of veggie recieps that you might enjoy (both are high in protein & low in carbs):
Sesame Tofu Salad: http://kthadani.com/2011/09/10/best-salad-ever/
Balsamic Sausage, Pear & Feta Stir Fry: kthadani.com/2012/07/06/picture-pear-fect/
Awesome!!! Thank you for these ideas! I’m excited to try some new stuff!
I totally feel your pain in finding low carb vegetarian ideas. I found through experimenting that having more than 45%ish of my daily calories from carbs makes me snacky, hungry and bloated. Since my digestive system can’t tolerate soy it makes it even more difficult. Maybe that is a reason I re-incorporated meat into my meals? Either way I find that protein powders really help a lot and have figured out quite a few high protein low carb breads to use as pizza bases and such.
Try this: http://www.thebrainandbody.com/2012/10/19/mozzarella-quinoa-cauliflower-pancakes/ –> So good and high protein, low carb, and gluten free!
Your white pizza scramble looks so god, I will definitely be trying it out!
I’ll definitely have to try that recipe, it sounds awesome! And I know you have some protein muffin recipes that I might need to try as well!
That looks easy and delicious!
This looks delish! and yes I definitely eat too many carbs too!
There is a book – low carb vegetarian cook book which is brilliant. This is the link for the UK amazon store but not sure if you can find it in the US?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Vegetarian-Low-Carb-Diet-Cookbook/dp/0749926988/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351514273&sr=8-1
As a vegetarian, I sometimes have a hard time keeping the carbs low too. This pizza scramble looks amazing though! I’ve had my fair share of meals that didn’t turn out, and I had to figure out how to make it work because I didn’t want to start over!
Very interesting, Liz! As a fellow vegetarian, I definitely eat my fair share of carbs (and then some). I keep seeing cauliflower pizza recipes on Pinterest but I haven’t tried any. The scramble looks like an awesome alternative!
Nut-roast? Beany things? I make a bean casserole that’s baked with cheese on top that’s pretty tasty. Carbs are pretty awesome though!
This recipe sounds awesome. Please fly to Kuwait & cook me some of your awesome recipes!!
What a different and fun recipe idea? Cauliflower seems to be a popular carb replacement these days, just saw a “loaded baked potato” idea using cauliflower this morning too!
35 grams of protein!? Amazing! I love that you stuck with it and came up with something delicious! A lot of Indian recipes are lower in carbs. I make the sauce from this post (http://myinnershakti.com/tag/roasted-chickpeas/), add beans/veggies, and serve over a little quinoa. Super simple yet delicious!
I haven’t bought cauliflower for aaaaaages! This sounds nice tho so may get some when I do a big shop tomorrow and try out. Like you said it can be boring on it’s own so we just need to add jazz and colour!
This sounds REALLY good. I’m definitely right there with you on the carboholism!
I have definitely heard the complaint about vegetarian options being high-carb from other vegetarians. I do love my meat proteins but I am a carbaholic all the same. Especially since I’ve been having recent GI issues, they are the easiest on my tummy. This recipe looks awesome. I rarely cook with cauliflower but a pizza using it as crust is on my recipe trying bucket list.
I’m not a vegetarian but I rarely cook meat. A problem I have is that while I eat a lot of vegetables, it’s hard to get any “fullness” in any version but carbs. So my portion size of carbs might be twice as big as it should be but otherwise I’m starving :/ So I feel you!
Its so true!!
This sounds crazy, but delicious!! I never know what to do with cauliflower but know I should do it because it doesn’t count for anything for me on WW AND it’s usually pretty inexpensive. I may be in love…I’ll let you know!
MMMM… white pizza used to be one of my FAVORITE foods. Literally, it was my most looked forward to meal when we went to the beach… the boardwalk white pizza was absolutely the bestttttttttttt. I can’t wait to recreate this! I love finding ways to make healthy versions of bad foods I used to enjoy! <3
haha I know, right? I love making healthy versions of my favorite foods!
I love cauliflower especially when roasted and seasoned properly. I don’t track my food at all, but suspect my carb count would be high too. Do you use a specific program for your food journaling? I’d love to try one.
I use the daily plate part at Livestrong.com it makes it so easy!
Signed up last night. Thanks so much!
This looks amazing Liz! I’ve heard amazing things about cauliflower crusts but have always been skeptical of them holding up- scrambles sound better anyways:)
It’s the same taste, but way easier!
Given the tiny amount of calories you subsist on, it’s pretty hard to believe that you eat a lot of carbs. You don’t eat a lot of anything.
Your blog seems to get more disordered by the minute.
You’re so smart! Love this idea, my cauli-crust pizza is always crumbly so I add loads of toppings and consume with a fork, which I don’t mind a bit!
& agreed, try a tomato basil one next! Nutritional yeast!
CREATIVE! Love it. I have heard of SO many people having issues with cauliflower crust..but if it tastes great, there’s no reason no to keep on pushing (or just putting a new spin on it). I’d love to eat this if I could eat cheese.
great idea! love scrambles of anything
This looks very interesting. It must be hard to find low carb vegetarian ideas.
i realized a few months ago that my carb part of the pie chart was too big. i’ve since been trying to make sure i’m getting more protein and fat. the fat is way harder for me to add in while still keeping a lower-calorie diet, but i’m doing it primarily with olive oil and higher fat dairy. oddly enough, my stomach has gotten way flatter since i’ve upped my fat. nutrition wins again!
this recipe looks amazing. i’m trying to make more veggie recipes, but everything i see either involves fake meat or is just kinda “um, duh.” i’ll def have to make this!
I’m glad it’s worked for you! I’m definitely curious. I’ve always heard that abs are made in the kitchen
This cauliflower crust recipe is amazing: http://www.sprint2thetable.com/2012/08/cauliflower-crust-pizza/ It makes a real crust that you can pick up/doesn’t fall apart (I had a bunch of weird failures in the past, too). I love using steamed cabbage leaves as “wraps” for sandwiches–steamed cabbage is actually really good/has a hint of sweetness. Plus you know you want a wrap for the contents anyway, not the wrap itself.
Most of them are good-for-you carbs. And some of them are wine.
Ahhh, love this! I love the cauliflower crust, but this seems a lot easier to navigate. YUM.
It’s easier to make and definitely way easier to eat!
Oh cool, I haven’t thought to try it as a pizza crust. I love to eat cauli as rice…..so good. I have also used it in place of the mashed potatoes on shephards pie
Ooh, yummy!
http://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com/
This is one of my favorites!
The flavors are incredible!
http://luvwhatyoudo.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/root-vegetable-tagine/
That sounds awesome! I’ll definitely have to try it!
wine carbs are not real carbs
I’m SO glad someone agrees with me!!!