Mashed Cauliflower

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If you're someone always on the hunt for low carb meals, you might have heard of cauliflower swap outs. There's cauliflower rice, mashed cauliflower, and even cauliflower pizza crust. The reason this veggie works so well as a substitute for other starchy foods is that it's versatile in its texture and can blend easily into other dishes due to its mild flavor. I like mashed potatoes just as much as the next person, it's a classic comfort food. But let's face it, mashed potatoes are one of those foods that you can easily be heavy handed with when serving and before you know it, you've consumed more than you've intended. Mashed cauliflower is a great spin off because it's extremely low calorie, low in carbohydrates, and abundant in nutrition. You can eat an entire bowl and not feel guilty about adding some inches to your waistline.

*NOTE for Fodmappers!:* --- Since learning about my food sensitivities and having to go low FODMAP, I've had to refrain from a lot of healthy veggies I love, including this one. Cauliflower is a vegetable that contains polyols, which means it can cause major tummy troubles for us so called "fodmappers." However, one cannot deny the health benefits of regularly consuming cruciferous veggies, and so as my body has begun to heal, I've tried reintroducing some in small quantities. In this recipe, I add some fingerling potatoes to balance out the amount of FODMAPS consumed, so I recommend starting out with a higher ratio of potato to cauliflower. It's important to learn your own body and its thresholds, so you'll have to do some trial and error here. If you are highly sensitive to cauliflower, stick to regular mashed potatoes!

Ingredients:

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  • 2 heads of cauliflower
  • 4-5 fingerling potatoes
  • 1 tsp garlic infused oil (you can use 2 cloves of garlic if not following a low FODMAP diet)
  • 1 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Salt, pepper, & dill to taste

Directions:

  1. Fill a large pot with water, season with salt, and set to boil
  2. Chop cauliflower and peel potatoes
  3. Add cauliflower and potatoes to boiling water
  4. Boil until soft (fork should easily go through both veggies)
  5. Drain and transfer veggies to a blender
  6. Add oil (or garlic cloves), thyme, and dried spices
  7. Blend until soft and creamy
  8. *Optional: You can add a splash of non-dairy milk (e.g., almond milk) if you feel it will help blend
  9. Transfer mashed cauliflower to a serving bowl and add ghee
  10. Allow ghee to melt as you use a spoon to mix it in