Cauliflower Tips!

Cauliflower is a wonderful winter vegetable, a cruciferous vegetable that many people shy away from because they don't cook it right! Nothing worse! If you are one of those people, it's time to retry and relearn how to cook this healthy vegetable full of cancer prevention! It needs to be part of your weekly diet during the winter months!

Cauliflower Facts:

• Cruciferous vegetable from the same plant family as broccoli, kale, cabbage, and collards.

• 2 cups is a great serving size, not a tiny flower as many consider a serving! Be thinking half a plate full!

• Linked to cancer prevention and contains over 80 known nutrients, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.

• 1 cup raw is approximately 25 calories.

• Half of a large head contains around 100 calories and 12 grams of fiber.

• Can be found in white, green, and purple forms in many different sizes. All sizes are great, so choose the size that fits your meal choice.

• Is in season from December through March and can be readily found in your market.

Tips for Using Cauliflower:

• Purchase compact heads with the buds close together. Avoid heads with brown spots or small separated flowers.

• Place the raw vegetable in a paper or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week. Store it stem side down so the moisture drains away from the flowers.

• Don't cut until you are ready to use it to prevent spoilage.

• The florets are the part that is usually eaten, but the stems and leaves can be chopped and added to soups for flavor.

• Remove the leaves and stems and chop the flowers into uniform pieces for even cooking.

• Excellent sautéed in a small amount of broth or stir fried, rather than boiled or steamed, which can lead to a mushy product. It needs very little cooking and should be left a bit crunchy for better flavor.

• It is excellent oven roasted at 425 degrees. Mix one head broken into ping pong ball size pieces with 3T olive oil, ½ t. salt. Roast them for an hour, turning every 15 minutes. Roast until they are nicely browned and caramelized. Top with 3 T Parmesan cheese if you wish. Be ready to single handedly eat the entire batch yourself!

• Excellent substitution for mashed potatoes fixed the same way.

• Great paired with any Trader Joe's spicy simmer sauces along with peas and meat of choice.

• Excellent sliced vertically and fried in a bit of olive oil then baked in the oven for Cauliflower Steaks! Amazing!

• Great in Stir Fries like Cauliflower Green Bean Stir Fry!

• Great pureed as soup.

• Great eaten raw with dips or finely chopped in salads.

This is one of the most versatile winter vegetables and should become a staple healthy diet habit for the long gloomy months! It's a great lifestyle solution to add more vegetables to your meal planning for great weight control!