Riced Cauliflower, A Versatile Base and a Paleo Staple.

Like many people who practice a Paleo eating lifestyle, I have re-taught myself how to cook using very specific whole foods. These foods tend to be lower in carbohydrates (read: low sugar) and high in fat.

I also practice "big batch cooking" which translates to always cooking more than I need, every time I prepare food so that I will have ingredients at the ready for another culinary dish, at some point in the future.

If you have nutritious food already prepared, you are in essence making whole food,  fast food.

The way it should be, (in my humble opinion). 

This reduces your chances of falling off the wagon, so to speak, if you are using your eating lifestyle as a method to treat chronic disease in your body or you have made a commitment to be responsible for the health of your body.

Believe it or not, not everyone has gotten to that stage mentally where they recognize that only "they" can be responsible for the outcomes that they experience from a physiological perspective.

Let me be perfectly clear.

It is not your medical doctor's responsibility to ensure that you fuel and care for your body properly. No prescribed pill can do this either. 

Only you, through your direct actions, can.

Often, this means learning different things, new skills and how to change your existing habits. 

Making a rice replacement out of cauliflower is a good example of this, and thankfully it's not that hard to do.

The tools you will require are:

1. a food processor or a large grater;
2. a large butcher's knife;
3. a frying pan;
4. and a selection of measuring spoons.

The ingredients you will require are:

1. a medium size head of cauliflower;
2. 8 tbsp of coconut oil;
3. 2 tsp of minced garlic;
4. and pink Himalayan salt and ground black pepper to taste. 

Directions:

• After you have washed the cauliflower and removed any of the leaves and core that you can, cut the cauliflower into chunks that you can easily handle and the hopper of your food processor can accommodate.

• Run the cauliflower chunks through the food processor, using the finest grating setting that is available on the machine. (The consistence of a grain of rice is what we want to achieve.)

The bowl of my processor will accommodate an entire medium size head of cauliflower. If yours does not, you will have to use another bowl to store the grated cauliflower in, as you continue the grating process.

This is what the grated raw cauliflower should look like.

• Heat 2 tbsp of coconut oil and 1 tsp of minced garlic in the frying pain over a medium flame.  

 

• Fry the grated cauliflower to cook it and evaporate some of the water that the cauliflower contains so that the consistency of rice can be achieved without becoming mush. The whole cooking time takes approximately 15 minutes, per batch to cook. I cooked a medium size cauliflower in 2 separate batches and I added an additional 2 tbsp of coconut oil, half-way through the cooking process of each batch. In total, you will be using 4 tbsps of coconut oil per batch of fried cauliflower or 8 tbsps to fry the entire head. 

This is what the "riced cauliflower" will look like when it is finished. This can be used as a rice replacement in any recipe that you would normally use rice.

• Season to taste with salt and pepper.

It has a low carbohydrate load and in addition, contains the beneficial fat that the coconut oil brings to the table. 

Cauliflower is a staple in my Paleo kitchen, because it is incredibly versatile.

I often use it as a replacement for both rice and potato and it makes an excellent grain-free crust for pizza.

I welcome your comments and invite you to follow me on my journey.

~ Rebecca Ryan