I’m taking my vegan side dish to Fiesta Friday with Angie and the gang. You can find delicious recipes all in one place here. Or if you’re looking for vegan and vegetarian recipes go here to TinnedTomatoes.com
Many of you know that I am at home healing from a hip injury. I’m a physician but I’m not a big fan of traditional medication. Did I hear you gasp?
Sometimes, at least for me, the cure is worse than the injury. Narcotic pain medications make me nauseated, NSAIDs like Ibuprofen and aspirin eat holes in my stomach and steroids make me insane. What about marijuana? Medical cannabis is legal in Nevada now but no thanks; I haven’t used weed since college and even then I couldn’t inhale very well and I was the one in a million who hallucinates on it. (I guess I can’t run for President now after that confession.) 😉
Which leads to me my personal natural remedies for pain and inflammation. Please check with your personal physician to discuss natural remedies because some foods and supplements can effect blood clotting and interact with traditionally prescribed medications.
Glucosamine is reported to reduce pain and inflammation in joints. The best studies were done in dogs but there were a few studies in humans which showed that it does work in arthritis patients but takes longer than NSAIDS. I think it is really helping reduce my pain and I haven’t had any side effects.
Turmeric, ginger, rosemary, green tea and fish oil have anti-inflammatory properties and taste delicious so I’m adding even more of these foods to my diet.
Ice is an effective pain reliever that also reduces swelling and inflammation so I’m icing for acute pain.
Somatic movement is helping me increase my range of motion and is reducing the trauma response. Trauma response is when you injure one area, like your low back or hip, and then your brain tries to protect the injured area by contracting all the muscles around it causing lopsided posture and more pain. Read about it here.
That was a long winded introduction to this easy, anti-inflammatory packed delicious, low carb, Paleo, vegan side dish. You could make this a main dish by adding nuts, legumes and/or tofu. I served mine with Orange Marmalade Alaskan Halibut. (Recipe coming soon.)
So many antioxidants and anti-inflammatories in one little vegan dish.
Ginger and Turmeric Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 glove garlic minced
1 inch fresh ginger grated
1 tablespoon fresh grated turmeric or 1 teaspoon powder
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Grate cauliflower by hand or through the food processor grate.
Heat oil olive in skillet. Add garlic, turmeric and ginger and sauté until fragrant.
Add raw cauliflower and sauté until combined and crisp tender.
Stir in cilantro, salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
What's for dinner, Doc? 
Yummy!
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This sounds delish. I even have a cauli growing in my allotment and just ready, and also some verdant cilantro in the polytunnel. So thank you for the timely recipe. Pain-wise, can you get arnica gel in the US. It’s widely available in the UK, and trials indicated it was as effective as ibuprofen as pain relief. Anyway, hope you’re on the mend soon.
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Thanks Tish. I have seen arnica. I’ll give it a try.
Tracey
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I’m saving this one. We love fresh turmeric and use it for inflammation too. I’m buying it weekly at the market. And I love riced cauliflower and this is a fabulous combination of flavors.
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This is the first time I’ve ever noticed it in my usual grocery stores so I bought it. It tastes so much better than powdered or maybe my powder was too old. Ha ha
Tracey
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You and I definitely sing off the same hymn sheet 🙂 love your cauli rice x
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Elaine,
I am inspired by your blog, your spices and your recipes.
Thanks for the inspiration,
Tracey
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Thank you 🙂
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“I guess I can’t run for President now after that confession.”
That made me chuckle. At work. Thanks! Looks delish!
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I hope you get feeling better soon. I’ve been thinking of starting glucosamine for arthritis too. This dish sounds great especially with halibut!
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Thanks Julie. It was so delicious.
Tracey
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I searched for Rice under the ingredient list and it took a while to understand that its ‘rice of cauliflower’. For us Indians ….Rice usually means ..well plain old Rice 🙂 Beautiful pictures and I’m sure it would have tasted good too.
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Sorry about the confusion. Did you like the spices?
Tracey
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Love the spices..I use ginger/garlic/turmeric most the time but have not tried this specific combination…never tried fresh turmeric though. I see them in the freezer section in our Indian grocery store.
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Looks delicious with some lovely spices! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Thanks Lili
It was super easy and delicious.
Tracey
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A great recipe, even I have a cauliflower rice (http://madraasi.com/2015/03/25/caulirice/) but in Indian style. Interesting recipes…
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Your recipe looks yummy and gives people the real rice that I don’t eat. That’s a great option to cut the rice serving down by adding more veggies.
Thanks,
Tracey
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Thanks for a great recipe making cauliflower rice – very flavorful and healthy too! Hope you are feeling better – I nursed a leg for about 6 weeks and the inflammation finally went away. Wish I would have had your “tidbits” then 🙂
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I think it’s wise to keep anti-inflammatories in our diets all the time just for good measure!
Thanks Judi.
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Love this Tracey! Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I need some healthier side recipes 🙂 I am sorry about your hip 😦 I hope you are better soon! I am also not a big pain medicine taker. It was really rough when I had my knee replaced …they fed me so much in the hospital. Ugh! I know some of it was necessary …but I tried to take as little as possible always.
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Arl,
Thank you for your get well wishes. I’ve been hearing “hip replacement” and I don’t like that idea. In my house the meal starts with the vegetables and then we add on the protein so the vegetables are the stars and not the side dish. That helps us reduce calories and improve nutrition. Win-Win.
Be well,
Tracey
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Sorry to hear you are laid up at the moment! But thank you for bringing such a great recipe to FF! I am eternally a fan of cauliflower in all its various guises (and recently discovered roasting it takes it to a whole new level – how did I only just find that out?!), so love this. I am also a big fan of turmeric – my favourite breakfast smoothie has it grated in, because I’ve heard about its amazing anti-inflammatory properties and I suffer a lot with headaches and someone suggested it might be an inflammation problem. So, all the turmeric for me! Sadly I’ve not yet noticed a difference with the headaches, but I do love it! 🙂 I hope you’re feeling better very soon!
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Anna,
I think the absence of processed foods helps more than any spice or herb with reducing inflammation which is why we usually choose cauliflower or other veggies over rice or pasta.
I also like acupuncture for headaches.
Thank you for stopping by,
Tracey
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Hadn’t thought to try acupuncture, I used to have it as a child and I’m a big fan. Maybe I should find a practitioner. Thanks for the advice! 🙂
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This looks great, we have those spices fairly regularly and know it’s a nice bonus they are good for you – hope it’s helping you!
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Thanks Caroline,
At least food remedies don’t usually harm.
🙂
Tracey
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I’m sorry to hear about your hip pain; I hope you’re on the mend. This “rice” sounds fabulous and I appreciated hearing about the anti-inflammatory nature of some of the ingredients. I’m also always looking for new ways to use cauliflower!
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Thank you for your well wishes. I’m glad you like the recipe. It’s actually faster and easier than real rice.
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Sorry about the hip, and I had to laugh about your college weed experience :D. I’ve been eating a lot of cauliflowers lately and always wonder what else I can do with them. I’m going to give this a try. It’s wonderful to learn how these ingredients I have in my kitchen can help relieve pain!
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I’m going to try Elaine’s cauliflower tortillas next.
Thank you for your concern.
Tracey
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