Cauliflower “Rice”

Trying to cut carbs and calories?  Want to get more veggies into your family’s everyday diet?  Well here is one recipe that does the trick! Cauliflower can be a great substitute for rice or cous-cous when prepared in this special way. And 1 cup of cauliflower rice has 20 calories vs. 1 cup of regular white rice which has 240 calories! In addition, cauliflower has vitamin C (almost 100 percent of the daily value in a cup!), healthy plant compounds called phytochemicals and fiber which make this white veggie a winning choice! Below are the quick and easy steps to make what I call cauliflower "rice”.

Step one:  Rinse the head of cauliflower and cut into small-to medium florets. 1 cup of florets will make approximately 1 cup of cauliflower rice.

Step Two: Add the florets to your food processor or chopper and pulse a few times until you get small granules the size of rice/cous cous.  Don’t have a food processor?  You can do this by hand by keeping the cauliflower head whole, and start shaving off the top using a serrated knive or grater with a plate or cutting board underneath to catch the granules.  Then chop them a little more until desired consistency is reached. 

Step Three: Voila! You now have your cauliflower “rice”.  Sprinkle it raw on salads to add some crunch.  Cooking it takes little time. I just put mine in a microwave dish, sprinkle a few tiny drops of water on there and and heat for about a minute per cup cauliflower.  Pat any excess moisture off with a paper towel and then serve! Or you can add a teaspoon of olive oil to a small pan, add the cauliflower and sauté for 3-5 minutes, this gets them soft but a little toasty and lightly browned too, which is nice flavor. You can also throw the raw granules into any of your favorite dishes that use rice, adding them during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking, since they cook so fast.  Cauliflower rice has worked vey well in my Black Eyed Pea and Zucchini Jambalaya and Veggie Fried Rice recipes and I cannot wait to try it in some more!

Nutrition facts for one cup of cauliflower “rice”

Calories 25 Protein  2 g Carb 5 g Fiber  2 g Sugars 2 g Fat 0 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium  30 mg