Plantiful Kiki Lost 70 Lbs. Eating More Food Using Calorie Density + Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

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KIKI NELSON is an author and speaker who is known as Plantiful Kiki on social media. Kiki lost seventy pounds after adopting a plant-based diet and reduced her risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke – and is the author of Plantifully Lean: 125+ Simple and Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes for Health and Weight Loss on-sale from Simon Element on April 11, 2023:

Born in the Yucatan Peninsula, she lives in Colorado with her husband and two children. Learn more about Kiki at https://plantifulkiki.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/plantifulki... and YouTube    / @plantifulkiki  

Excerpted from Plantifully Lean. Copyright © 2023, Kiki Nelson. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

SERVES 2

4 cups broccoli florets
4 cups white or brown rice, cooked
1 cup Cheese Sauce (recipe follows), warmed
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup Panko bread crumbs

1. If you’ll be including the bread crumb topping,
preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Fill a medium pot with a fitted lid with 2 inches of
water and bring to a simmer over medium-high
heat. Put the broccoli in a steamer basket and
place it in the pot. Cover the pot and steam for
6 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green and
tender but not mushy. (Alternatively, put the
broccoli in a microwave-safe container, add
1 tablespoon water, cover, and microwave for
4 minutes.)
3. Finely chop the broccoli and transfer it to a
medium bowl. Add the cooked rice, cheese
sauce, and garlic salt, season with pepper,
and enjoy. If using bread crumbs, combine the
chopped broccoli, cooked rice, cheese sauce,
and garlic salt in an oven-safe dish and season
with pepper. Sprinkle evenly with the bread
crumbs and a pinch more garlic salt and bake
for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bread crumbs are
toasted, then serve.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
SERVING SIZE: 1 serving (not including the bread crumbs) CALORIES: 578 PROTEIN: 18 g CARBS: 109 g FAT: 4 g
Cheeseless Cheese Sauce
MAKES ABOUT 4 1⁄2 CUPS

Cheese sauce was the very first thing I set out to
conquer as a new plant-based eater. I was a cheese
addict, and I knew that if I was going to be successful
on a plant-based diet, a delicious cheese sauce
was going to be important. The nutritional yeast
gives this sauce an extra cheesy flavor, not to mention
B vitamins, but if you have an aversion to it,
you can simply leave it out. I make this sauce every
Sunday so we have it on hand to use throughout the
week. It’s perfect to pour over broccoli or to top a
baked potato, but I use it for everything!

3 cups diced peeled white potatoes (see Note)
1⁄2 cup diced carrots (see Note)
1⁄2 cup raw unsalted cashews
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
2 teaspoons garlic powder or minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt
11⁄4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon onion powder

1. In a medium pot, combine the potatoes and carrots
and add enough cold water to just cover
them. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the
heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the
potatoes and carrots are soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and carrots in a colander
set over a bowl, then transfer to a high-speed
blender; reserve the cooking water.

2. Add the cashews, nutritional yeast (if using),
garlic powder, salt, lemon juice, and onion
powder to the blender, along with 2 cups of the
reserved cooking water. Blend until smooth,
adding more of the reserved cooking water if
you’d like a thinner consistency.

3. Let cool, then store in an airtight container in the
refrigerator for up to 1 week.

NUT-FREE VARIATION: Replace the
cashews with white beans or hemp hearts.
Add just 1 cup of the reserved cooking
water to start, then add more if you’d like a
thinner sauce.

FAT-FREE VARIATION: Omit the
cashews. Add just 1 cup of the reserved
cooking water to start, then add more if
you’d like a thinner consistency.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
SERVING SIZE: 1⁄4 cup CALORIES: 57 PROTEIN: 2 g CARBS: 8 g FAT: 2 g
SERVING SIZE: 1⁄4 cup (nut-free, made with hemp hearts) CALORIES: 49 PROTEIN: 2 g CARBS: 8 g FAT: 1 g
SERVING SIZE: 1⁄4 cup (fat-free, made without cashews) CALORIES: 55 PROTEIN: 1 g CARBS: 7g FAT: 0 g