Cauliflower Pizza Crust!?

Kale has been at the top of the healthy foods list for many years now. Celebrity chefs use it in their designer dishes and fast food joints use it to lure in customers to buy supposedly healthy foods. But there are only so many types of kale smoothies you can create.

Don’t get me wrong. This dark green leafy vegetable packs a lot of fiber, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and even a little omega-3 fatty acid as well as low in calories. Kale has earned it’s place in the limelight. But it’s time to pass the torch.

Move Over Kale, Cauliflower’s In Town

Even though they don’t look like it, kale and cauliflower are related. And like kale, cauliflower provides a lot of health benefits. One cup of cauliflower has 73 percent of your daily value of vitamin C (that’s enough to put the orange on notice). It’s loaded with nutrients like Vitamin K and folate and plays a role in functions from hair growth to glutathione synthesis. Glutathione is essential for your body’s detoxification. (Bonus: It also helps in wine making!)

I admit that some vegetables can be a little boring. But cauliflower is the all-in-one vegetable because of it’s versatility. You can use it raw in salads, grilled, sauteed, steamed, or baked. This white cruciferous vegetable fits most diets too. It’s low carb, low glycemic, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free. It’s inexpensive and can be found anywhere you buy produce.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe

I will usually try anything once. This recipe is easy and only has three ingredients—two cups of grated cauliflower, one cup of grated parmesan cheese, and one egg—putting it together is simple.

  • Heat the grated cauliflower in a skillet (don’t use oil or water) on medium heat approx. 10 minutes or until cauliflower has dried out. Allow to cool.
  • In a large bowl, beat one egg, add the cheese and cauliflower, and mix.
  • Roll the mixture into a ball and press it flat and even onto parchment paper (it makes about a 10″ crust).
  • Place the crust and parchment paper in your oven and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Remove the crust, add your favorite toppings, and pop it back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until the toppings are done.

If you get this one right, it’s not only a healthy stand-in to the carb-heavy pizza crusts you’re used to, it’s a tasty one. Let me know how you do.

The Sky’s The Limit

Roasting cauliflower is where you can really cook outside of the box. I like to roast together whatever veggies I have in the refrigerator. Here is one of my favorite combinations.

Just clean and chop 1/2 head of cauliflower and two broccoli stems into florets, chop two red beets, quarter 4 small red potatoes, and cut one onion into large pieces; toss them in olive oil, dust with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and roast in your oven on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees until tender and browned.

Roasted Veggies

If you are just roasting cauliflower, once you pull it from the oven, you could toss it with buffalo sauce. It is not going to taste like a hot wing (cauliflower can’t perform actual miracles), but if you like a little heat it’s a nice change-up.

Cauliflower Rice with Cilantro and Lime Recipe

Cauliflower RiceIngredients:

  • 1 head of organic cauliflower
  • 3 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 fresh limes, juice of
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

 

 

Directions:

  1. Cut 1/2 head of cauliflower into 3 inch pieces and put in a food processor.  Run food processor for 20-30 seconds until cauliflower has the consistency of rice.
  2. Repeat for the other 1/2 head of cauliflower. (Mine won’t hold a whole head at one time)
  3. Lightly heat up grapeseed oil in a large skillet and add cauliflower rice.
  4. Cook rice for about 2-3 minutes or until it is just heated through.  Don’t over cook.
  5. Turn heat off and add chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 1/2-2 fresh limes to the rice mixture.
  6. Spoon 1/2 cup of cauliflower rice mixture onto a plate, top with meat, fish, or roasted veggies and finish it off with avocado slices on top.

 

Or for your next movie night, chop those florets into smaller pieces, drizzle with a little salted butter, and you’ve got yourself a healthy alternative to popcorn.

Or just put the knife down and roast the whole head.

Cauliflower can really do it all…at least until something else comes to town. Let me know your favorite cauliflower recipe in the comment below.

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2017-08-04T19:59:35+00:00

About the Author:

Debbie Stevenson is a leading nutrition and whole living expert teaching people around the world not just how to live well, but how to become the absolute best version of themselves. As a certified health coach, blogger and successful entrepreneur, cultivating the ideal lifestyle isn't her passion; it's her life. Find more of her free recipes, wellness tips and inspirations on Facebook.

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