Once upon a time, a sad lil’ veggie cried into her leaves. Her older sister broccoli was a star, and this lil’ veggie was a relative loser. Her sister had a gorgeous hue, she was loved by all and hung out with cool kids like steak and cheese, and lil' veg' felt so left out.
As the lil’ veggie cried, her mom stroked her head and told her that she was special too, and that if she put her mind to it she could be ANYTHING she wanted. And by gosh, this lil’ veggie listened.
She grew up and became the Oprah of vegetables, and they called her cauliflower.
The moral of the story is, if you haven’t received the memo yet, there’s a new veggie in town. Cauliflower is huge. It’s the Adele of crops, the iPhone of your meal plan, the pumpkin spice of 2016. It won’t be long until it’s in everything, and if it isn’t in your fridge yet, you’re missing out.
Here’s why it’ll change your life
It’s low cal, gluten free, vitamin-y AF, filling, cheap, easy, widely available and versatile.
Do you need any more reasons? We may be getting ahead of ourselves, but here’s a summary of why even spinach needs to step up its veggie game in comparison.
It’s like everything and nothing at the same time
All of the good stuff, none of the bad. Where’s the downside you ask? We haven’t found one yet. Eat as much of it as you want and treat yourself to these nutritional benefits.
1 cup of cauliflower has:
- 25 calories (girl, please)
- It’s practically fat and cholesterol free
- 77% of your recommended daily Vitamin C
- Vitamin K, Folate, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Calcium, Thiamin – all of the things
- 3g of fibre
- 2g of protein
It’s magic
We don’t know how it does the things it does, but it does them.
Need some antioxidants? Feel like keeping your health in check with some anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties? Wanna keep an eye on that blood pressure, kidney function and brain development? Wanna detoxify your liver and burn fat? Cauliflower is your girl.
It’s the Optimus Prime of your fridge
How can a veggie just transform into delicious things? It’s still blowing our minds. Is there anything that cauliflower CAN’T be? Rice, potatoes, bread, cheese, meat – it can be all of ’em if it wants to. If they find a way to turn it into coffee and wine we literally won’t have to ever eat anything else but cauliflower.
Here are some of the amazing things it can absolutely become:
Chicken Wings
No joke. Batter cauliflower in flour and spices, bake it, sauce it, bake it again and it becomes chicken. Don’t ask us how, it just does. Recipes here, here and here.
Pizza Crust
Grind it up, cook it, dry it, add in some eggs and other stuff and somehow it becomes dough. Roll and press it out, bake it, and add your toppings before you bake it again. Recipes here and here.
Rice/ Couscous
Grind it up and cook it like you’re making the pizza crust, add in some other ingredients for flavour and suddenly it’s rice. Recipes here, here and here.
Cheese Sauce
Cauliflower + spices = fake-but-tasty cheese on veggies, macaroni, your finger, you name it. Recipes here and here. OR keep the cheese and substitute the macaroni for cauliflower in your mac ‘n’ cheese. Brilliant.
Alfredo Sauce
A bit of garlic, milk, cauliflower and some other stuff that is surprisingly not cream or cheese, and you have a healthy pasta sauce. Who knew? Recipes here and here.
Or just eat it our favourite way
Cut it into bite-sized pieces, drizzle it in olive oil, top it with garlic powder and pepper (maybe some cajun spice if you’re in the mood) and roast it on a baking sheet. For a deluxe version, do the whole head like Fat Pasha. YUM.
We really could go on and on, because there are now hundreds of ways to prepare cauliflower. We suggest you do your own recipe search as the variety is pretty impressive.
Let’s summarize
- It’s a superfood.
- It’s cheap and you don’t have to scour a speciality grocery store for it (we’re looking at you quinoa, as we cannot say either of these things about you).
- It transforms your favourite unhealthy meals into healthy ones in a super sneaky way.
- There are already a zillion recipes just waiting to be tried.
If you’re looking to get a bit healthier, or just try something new, do yourself a favour, add cauliflower to your meal plan. You can thank us later.