Cauliflower And Breadsticks

Mark Twain once wrote, “Training is everything. A peach was once a bitter almond; a cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”

I got you with the title, didn’t I? You are wondering what on earth one has to do with the other…..

If you’ve been following along on some of my posts in the last couple weeks you may have seen some of my comments on food “projects” I wanted to try.  Sometimes it’s about a particular veggie or fruit as in my spinach post last week.

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/01/19/spinach-benefits-and-great-hair/

One of the things I’ve talked about experimenting with is cauliflower. That plain, ordinary looking vegetable is also rather versatile which is great if you are following any low carb or gluten free eating plan ( which I’m not)

 

I just like food ya know? Eating veggies is really good for me and they also tip the scale fairly low in calories so it’ a win/win.

Fun food and nutrition facts

Let’s start with the fact an entire head with a 6 inch diameter has only 146 calories. Yes, you read that correctly.

146 calories. Impressive.

It is also loaded with calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin B-6. Most impressive, that entire head offers 472% of Vitamin C!  It also contains 50% of our daily need for potassium. C

Bet you didn’t know that 😉

Ok so we now know that cauliflower is crazy low in calories AND contains lots of good vitamins in abundance for our bodies.

Does it offer any health benefits? 

I’m glad you asked. Why yes, yes it does.  Cauliflower includes plenty of vitamins and minerals, but its real power comes from cancer-fighting compounds known as glucosinolates.

Other top benefits include….

• Reduces Cancer Risk.
• Fights Inflammation.
• Provides High Levels of Vitamins and Minerals (especially important Vitamin C and Vitamin K)
• Improves Digestion and Detoxification.
• Aids in Weight Loss.
• Helps Balance Hormones.
• Preserves Eye Health.

 

You know what kinda, semi-amuses me? That list reads like what some of these snake oil health companies claim with their products, and look at this, you can eat whole, real, natural food and get the same benefits. AND you can buy a whole lot more cauliflower for your money 😉

How to eat it

Cauliflower is essentially a blank canvas. I hope you venture more into cooking with it than just steaming . One of my most favorite, fast and easy ways to cook it is by roasting it.

Sweet heavens, roasting any vegetable adds so much more flavor and overall “deliciousness” to it.

To roast, simply wash and prepare the cauliflower breaking it out into florets. Toss with some olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt. Roast in a hot oven ( about 400) turn frequently so it browns and crisps all over ( the best part) it usually takes about 40-45 minutes. I have to be careful because I can literally nibble away at it while I’m cooking the rest of the meal and my kids really are into this version of cauliflower and like to find some left to go on table 😉

I should say I’ve got numerous recipes pinned on Pinterest for this vegetable. Some are waiting to be tried and a few others I have tried.

I mentioned in Monday Musings  https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/01/22/monday-musings-2/   that I had made the “potato” salad version. Seriously, of my family members that eat potato salad, they all ate it and liked it.

Find it here…. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ARWljr6ZFFOvYUscYjTe9A7nbrhyjxkPAneCDUxOw3Ivn3gw6Jl8SRY/

 

 

Another recipe that has been taunting me is using cauliflower as a crust for breadsticks or pizza. I mean… really? I decided tonight was the night to experiment. This is best done when no one is home and has high expectations of me making a meal while I’m in the middle of food experiments.

Tonight it was the breadsticks.

I found it fascinating that after a quick trip through my food processor it did indeed look like fine, fluffy “flour”.

 once you add in the additional ingredients you pat it out onto a baking sheet so it looks kinda like this….

 

Oops. The final product. I guess I got a bit zealous sampling before I snapped a pic.

My take on it.

Ok, it’s not bread. I had read on several posts the “negatives” to this is the fact the cauliflower contains a lot of water and trying to get enough of the water out so it can bake and not be soggy. I baked longer than recommended time, the outer edges were crispier but the inside was more soft, soft but good. Next time I will try a method I read about that suggested pressing it into paper towels to help pull out more of the water.

It smelled delicious and had good flavor. I can definitely see using it as pizza crust as tomato sauce would enhance flavors.

If you are on gluten/carb free diet this could be a good substitute for bread cravings… but still it isn’t bread… and I guess if I want breadsticks I will most likely have the real thing.

Next up on my “to try list” is Sweet and Sour Cauliflower. I hope that is as good as it sounds.

Now what about you? Have you tried any cauliflower recipes? Have you tried it as crust for bread or pizza?