Mashed Cauliflower

Back when I was vigilant about monitoring my carb intake this side dish was a staple in my house. Mostly because its deceptively delicious but also because its good for me. Yes, me specifically. I firmly believe that the food we put into our bodies can heal as well as harm us. Now that doesn't always stop me from shoving a hostess cupcake in my mouth every now and again. But it does entice me to get creative with a family of vegetables I have a tendency to overlook. The Cabbage Family. I can easily say that broccoli was the only veggie from this family that I enjoyed eating, that is, until I got to know cauliflower. It really didn't take long for us to get acquainted and now I know how incomplete my life was without it. Not only is it perfect for crudites and scrumptious lightly steamed but by night it dons a cape and a snug fitting leotard and becomes a superfood with cancer fighting properties. Cauliflower contains two major weapons in its cancer fighting arsenal: Indole-3-Carbinol, or I3C, and the photonutrient sulforaphane. In research sulforaphane was found to reduce breast tumor growth by 40 percent by sweeping toxins, that would normally damage cells and turn cancerous, out of the system. I3C works as an anti-estrogen and since high levels of estrogen foster tumor growth lowering the estrogen count lowers the chances of tumor growth. The same is true for all vegetables in the Cruciferous family and with my family history, I need all the help I can get.
So for those of you who only like your broccoli covered in cheese and would prefer mashed potatoes to steamed vegetables I give you: Fauxtatoes. Even my dad likes these. THAT is saying something.



I made this small batch for Liam, he's a fan too.



Here is what you will need:



1 head fresh cauliflower or 1 bag frozen

2 Tablespoons 1/3 less fat cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

2 ingredients. Seriously, it doesn't get any easier than that. If you're not pleasantly surprised at how well this works, then there is no hope for you because you're worse than my husband.





I bought a bag of frozen because my store's produce section is shoddy at best and the cauliflower was already browning.

Drop the cauliflower into a pot with just a bit of water in the bottom. Bring water to a boil and allow florets to steam for 5 to ten minutes. The cauliflower should be tender enough for a fork to easily pierce but not too soft that its mushy, you don't want to steam all the nutrients out of it.

Drain the water and add the cream cheese

If you like lumpy mashed potatoes a hand masher will do just fine... I happen to prefer my mashed potatoes whipped like cream so I'm going to give mine a spin in the food processor.

I SWEAR, its not potato. But it is just as satisfying. Try it soon!