Pureed Cauliflower My New Mashed Potato

SarahDavs
SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
I just had a record breaking dinner, calorie wise. I eat 6 times a day and had gone a little higher with my calories before dinner so I wanted to take it down as much as possible. Well, I did it! 196 calories for my entire dinner. Thanks to 3 oz of boneless, skinless chicken breast, two large celery sticks (filled with one wedge of laughing cow lite garlic and herb cheese), and 1 cup of pureed cauliflower with a 1/2 tbsp of Brummel & Brown yogurt butter spread.

We've been eating a lot of "cauliflower mash" lately, I can't recommend it enough. The calories are so low and yet it tastes very similar to mashed potatoes. It's delicious.

So: Pureed cauliflower is my new mashed potato. Do you have a new dish that you're eating in replacement of another?
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Replies

  • _Liz_M_
    _Liz_M_ Posts: 39
    I began using mashed cauliflower when I was at WW. It is used extensively in their recipe books and works very well. Also good for using on the top of cottage pies etc.
  • MallorieGreiner
    MallorieGreiner Posts: 135 Member
    If you like that and dig pizza, try making Cauliflower pizza crust with fat free mozzarella. =)
  • brigit628
    brigit628 Posts: 50 Member
    is it really that good? i love my potatoes and would love a healthier substitute
  • sbowl
    sbowl Posts: 82 Member
    Have you roasted cauliflower in the oven? It's delicious :) I break it up and lightly drizzle with a little olive oil and seasonings to taste. I put it on a cookie sheet with Reynolds non-stick foil and when it starts to lightly brown, it's done.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    If you like that and dig pizza, try making Cauliflower pizza crust with fat free mozzarella. =)

    i have heard about that I also make pizzas out of portabella mushrooms :)
  • cranberrycat
    cranberrycat Posts: 233 Member
    I have also "riced" cauliflower so that it is more of a coarse grind, then it works nicely as a substitute for rice.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    Have you roasted cauliflower in the oven? It's delicious :) I break it up and lightly drizzle with a little olive oil and seasonings to taste. I put it on a cookie sheet with Reynolds non-stick foil and when it starts to lightly brown, it's done.

    oh yummy!!!
  • SomeMorr
    SomeMorr Posts: 220 Member
    I add a bit of nutritional yeast to give a cheesy flavor in my faked potatoes.
  • JGainingHealth
    JGainingHealth Posts: 194 Member
    I LOVE pureed cauliflower. I could seriously eat the whole batch haha
    I add a bit of nutritional yeast to give a cheesy flavor in my faked potatoes.

    I love putting nutritional yeast in too! None of my friends know what it is and think I'm so weird for eating "yeast" haha
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Try adding a cooked parsnip to your cauliflower mash. I really love the flavor combo!

    And one of my other fave substitutskies is hitting cooked curried carrots with a stick blender and eating that instead of just about any cream-based soup you can think of. LOVE curried carrot soup!
  • Derpina7
    Derpina7 Posts: 552 Member
    Bumping to try this out :)
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    Have you roasted cauliflower in the oven? It's delicious :) I break it up and lightly drizzle with a little olive oil and seasonings to taste. I put it on a cookie sheet with Reynolds non-stick foil and when it starts to lightly brown, it's done.
    Yes! My fiance roasts cauliflower after shaking it up in a bag with olive oil, garlic powder and other seasonings. I love it!
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    I add a bit of nutritional yeast to give a cheesy flavor in my faked potatoes.
    I haven't tried nutritional yeast yet but grew up putting brewers yeast on my popcorn, I could see it being a good addition. :-)
  • hockeymom95
    hockeymom95 Posts: 157 Member
    Bump. Will see if I am brave enough to try.
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    is it really that good? i love my potatoes and would love a healthier substitute

    I think so! The cauliflower really soaks up any flavor you add too, so even just a tiny bit of butter goes along way. :-)
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    Try adding a cooked parsnip to your cauliflower mash. I really love the flavor combo!

    And one of my other fave substitutskies is hitting cooked curried carrots with a stick blender and eating that instead of just about any cream-based soup you can think of. LOVE curried carrot soup!
    You know what? I don't know if I've ever had a parsnip. Is it a little oniony? We've got chives coming up from last summer that I'm going to add next time. :-)

    ETA: ah, I googled: root vegetable closely related to the carrot. Would love to try some.
  • barbaratrollman
    barbaratrollman Posts: 317 Member
    Bump!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Mashed potatoes are still my mashed potatoes...

    ...but roasted cauliflower is pretty good.
  • aikasm
    aikasm Posts: 63
    mmm i love mashed cauliflower it tastes exactly the same!
  • Ajnyvt09
    Ajnyvt09 Posts: 22 Member
    bump
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    mmm i love mashed cauliflower it tastes exactly the same!

    It tastes exactly the same as what? If you mean that it tastes exactly the same as cauliflower, then yes, I agree. If you mean that it tastes exactly the same as mashed potatoes, then I would say that you and I must have different tastes.
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    mmm i love mashed cauliflower it tastes exactly the same!

    It tastes exactly the same as what? If you mean that it tastes exactly the same as cauliflower, then yes, I agree. If you mean that it tastes exactly the same as mashed potatoes, then I would say that you and I must have different tastes.
    ^I can only tell a very slight difference to mashed cauliflower and mashed potatoes, maybe it's just my taste buds? But you can control how dense it is by adding only a tiny splash of milk to it. Add things like sauteed garlic and onions/ or powdered and butter. Really it does taste very similar, only the consistency is slightly different. Have you actually tried it?
  • sessik86
    sessik86 Posts: 18 Member
    I'm going to try it mashed. Right now I have it in the oven. I'm trying to make a bbq chicken pizza with cauliflower crust. It's got about 10 min left. I'll let u guys know how it is and I will try to take a pic
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    I'm going to try it mashed. Right now I have it in the oven. I'm trying to make a bbq chicken pizza with cauliflower crust. It's got about 10 min left. I'll let u guys know how it is and I will try to take a pic
    ^Great! I hope you get a picture. I've seen recipes for the cauliflower pizza crust on pinterest and it looks delicious. :-)
  • sessik86
    sessik86 Posts: 18 Member
    I didn't like it. I have a pic and will figure out how to post it later. I blended the cauliflower into a rice consistency. I hated it. I am going to try again in a couple of weeks.

    What I am going to do different
    - I'm going to use a mixer to get a more blended consistency
    - I'm going to spread out the mixture really thin. It was already pretty thin but I think it needs to be thinner
    - I'm going to bake the crust longer to make it crispier. It wasn't crispy at all. I had to eat it with a fork
  • ICOZA7
    ICOZA7 Posts: 33 Member
    I tried pureed cauliflower the other day... idk what I did wrong, but it tasted NOTHING like mashed potatoes and kinda made me wanna vomit. I was super disappointed.
  • rosem1020
    rosem1020 Posts: 41 Member
    can someone post how to mash cauliflower. the last time I tried it, it was not mashed at all and no one like it
    so a recipe to follow would be grreat
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    can someone post how to mash cauliflower. the last time I tried it, it was not mashed at all and no one like it
    so a recipe to follow would be grreat

    How I make it is I steam the cauliflower until you can easily pass through it with a fork, drain the water, squeeze cauliflower in towel to get out excess water. Throw in a food processor add about a tbsp of milk and tbsp of butter, salt and pepper. Blend until pureed, or if you like pulse until it's got some rustic chunkiness (I prefer pureed). You can control how thick or thin it is by adding a little bit of milk to it at a time until you get your desired consistency.

    Things I have added in the past: Peas= blended w/cauliflower and it turns green. Sauteed onions and garlic, or onion and garlic powder. Or roasted garlic.

    I plan to make a curried version of pureed cauliflower next time. :-)

    Of course, everyone has different tastes. Not everyone may like it.
  • SarahDavs
    SarahDavs Posts: 161 Member
    I didn't like it. I have a pic and will figure out how to post it later. I blended the cauliflower into a rice consistency. I hated it. I am going to try again in a couple of weeks.

    What I am going to do different
    - I'm going to use a mixer to get a more blended consistency
    - I'm going to spread out the mixture really thin. It was already pretty thin but I think it needs to be thinner
    - I'm going to bake the crust longer to make it crispier. It wasn't crispy at all. I had to eat it with a fork
    That's too bad, maybe next time it will turn out better. My fiance makes a good low-cal pizza by using the 100 calorie whole wheat tortilla's as the crust, they're pretty tasty. :-)
  • GabyBaby916
    GabyBaby916 Posts: 385 Member
    Here's what I use to make my cauliflower pizza crust. I like this recipe versus some others I've seen because it doesnt have a big eggy flavor to it.

    1 cup Grated RAW Cauliflower
    1/4 cup Egg Beaters or 1 large egg
    1/2 cup or 2 oz 2% Reduced Fat Three Cheese Mexican Blend
    1/8 tsp garlic powder
    1/4 tsp basil (optional)
    minced garlic to taste (optional)

    Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
    Mix the ingredients together until blended well, then spoon it onto parchment paper (on a cookie sheet).
    Spread it out to the size of a dinner plate (or rectangeles or whatever shape you want)
    I make mine thin, but not SUPER thin, usually approx 1/2 inch thick or slightly less. The thinner the crust, the less likely it will be soggy.
    Bake for 25-30 minutes, then lift the edges and carefully flip the crust over. Bake another 10-15 minutes unti the edges are brown and crisp.

    Top with whatever toppings you want and bake until the cheese is melted.
    I usually do 4-6 pizzas from one good sized head of cauliflower, then freeze them for quick individual meals.
    Bake

    Edited to add:
    I like to blend my own tomatoes so that there's no extra added junk, then top with turkey pepperoni and spinach, and mozerella cheese.