Mashed Cauliflower with Spinach and Garlic

My favorite food in the world is mashed potatoes and when I tell people this, they usually just look at me in bewilderment. In all honesty, they are delicious, especially with some cheese and some spinach...delicious!  Since mashed potatoes are mainly carbohydrates, I chose to ditch the potatoes and opt for a low-carb substitute: cauliflower. My mom usually makes 1/2 potato and 1/2 cauliflower but since I had an excess of cauliflower I decided to use it all. Not going to lie, I was very nervous to ditch my favorite, but they ended up being quite delicious.

Ingredients

• Medium-sized head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

• 3 cloves of garlic (you can add more or less depending how you feel about garlic)

• 1 tsp thyme

• Salt & pepper to taste

• 1 handful raw spinach (OPTIONAL)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened Almond milk (OPTIONAL)

Step 1: Fill a large saucepan with enough water where majority of your florets are covered. Bring the water to a boil and then add the florets. (You can also use a steamer basket for this step). Allow cauliflower to cook for about 6-8 minutes, until tender.

Step 2: Drain your cauliflower and transfer to a large bowl (You can use a food processor instead of mashing by hand). Since I don't have a food processor, I used a potato masher to mash the cauliflower. Add in your salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and spinach. 

Step 3: If your mixture is a little too dry, add some almond milk of water. After everything is mixed together, serve hot.

For dinner tonight, I chose to pair my mashed cauliflower with some steamed broccoli and some simple herb and lemon chicken. Chicken is one of my favorites to cook because you can do ANYTHING you want with it and it's usually pretty quick. Although the cauliflower didn't taste like potatoes, the consistency and look is right on, they were still quite tasty especially with the added spinach and garlic. My potatoes were more on the garlicky side, so if you plan on talking with people after this meal, definitely easy on the garlic. To treat the cauliflower like normal mashed potatoes, add some of your favorite ingredients, whether it be cheese, sour cream, chives, bacon, or whatever you prefer. One cup of mashed cauliflower has around 142 calories, about 9 grams of carbs compared to one cup of mashed potatoes which has around 210 calories and over 30 grams of carbs. If you are looking for a low-carb side, this definitely won't disappoint! Give it a try!

ENJOY!!