New Ways to Eat Cauliflower

Trying to get in your five servings of veggies a day, but tired of the same old, same old? Many people don't care for cauliflower the way it's usually served--steamed. But there are ways to make eating cauliflower a joy, while masking it's cabbage-like tang. Here's a list of new ideas that can help you wake up this vegetable and help you eat cauliflower in ways you might not have thought of before.

Mashed Cauliflower
Mashed cauliflower can serve as a stand-in for mashed potatoes, especially if you jazz them up with butter, sour cream, and all the fixings. Best of all, it's easy to prepare. Just take a bag of frozen cauliflower and put it in a microwave safe bowl. Zap the cauliflower for about 12 minutes on high, until it's mushy. Then use a masher or food processor until it's the consistency you like. Add salt, pepper, and butter for a simple cauliflower dish. Add bacon bits, cheddar, and chives for a richer way to eat cauliflower.

Riced Cauliflower
Put through a ricer, a food-processor, or even grated by hand, cauliflower can be used as an excellent substitute for rice. On the stove-top, it keeps the consistency of brown rice when not overcooked. Fried until tender with some soy sauce, green onion, and sesame oil, it will give you a new way to eat cauliflower with your favorite Asian dishes. Shredded cauliflower can also mimic rice in casseroles if not overcooked. Why not try to make a broccoli-rice casserole with cauliflower? Add a little tuna and you have a whole new way to eat cauliflower that might even please those who don't normally like the vegetable. It's one way to eat cauliflower in your favorite dishes while reducing their caloric and carbohydrate content.

Mock "Potato" Salad
At barbeques, veggies often get shunned in favor of home-style favorites like potato salad, fries, and macaroni. Sometimes the only veggie on the plate might be the ketchup on your burger. But cauliflower salad can change all that. By steaming it until tender, and chopping it into bite-sized pieces, it can replace potatoes in your favorite potato salad recipe. This will give you a new way to eat cauliflower, and win over those who normally dislike the vegetable.

Scalloped Cauliflower
Everyone knows that veggies taste better in a cheese sauce, but you may have gotten tired of plain old cheddar. Why not experiment with new ways to eat cauliflower by adding them to more traditional and elegant cheese dishes. Scalloped cauliflower is excellent, and using swiss or other rich cheeses can make all the difference in making a vegetable casserole that everyone can enjoy.

These ideas for new ways to eat cauliflower may help make the vegetable a staple at your dinner table. So don't be afraid to try something new.