{"id":15783,"date":"2022-04-22T17:40:30","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T22:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=15783"},"modified":"2022-04-25T14:37:30","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T19:37:30","slug":"cauliflower-a-healthy-substitute-for-mealtime-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/cauliflower-a-healthy-substitute-for-mealtime-favorites\/","title":{"rendered":"Cauliflower: A healthy substitute for mealtime favorites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pizza. Mac and cheese. Buffalo wings. Cauliflower?<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking the vegetable at the end of this list of tasty favorites seems a bit out of place. But cauliflower is actually being used more and more these days as a way to make healthier alternatives to these and other popular dishes.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Nutritional benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cauliflower is from the same plant family as a number of other vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. And if you\u2019re looking for a way to cut some of the fat and carbohydrates from your diet while increasing your intake of important nutrients, it may be time to give it a try.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur diets should include about 2-3 cups of vegetables per day, and eating cauliflower is a great way to reach that target,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/saint-francis\/about\/education\/dietetic-internship\/internship-director\/\">Ashley Simper, a registered dietitian at OSF HealthCare<\/a>. \u201cIt benefits people of all ages because of the vitamins, minerals and fiber it contains.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cauliflower is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Low in calories<\/li>\n<li>Low in carbohydrates, which our bodies convert into sugar<\/li>\n<li>High in fiber, which aids digestion and helps you feel full longer<\/li>\n<li>High in vitamins C, K and B9 (folate), which provide numerous benefits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>V<\/strong><strong>ersatility<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cauliflower is often used as a substitute for starch and meat in various recipes. Some of the most popular examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meat:<\/strong> Steak, ground beef, chicken nuggets, buffalo wings<\/li>\n<li><strong>Starch:<\/strong> Pizza crust, rice, mashed potatoes, gnocchi, crackers, mac and cheese<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Preparation techniques include:<\/p>\n<div class=\"alignright cta\">\n<p>Check out healthy cauliflower recipes!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.osfhealthcare.org\/recipes\/\">Visit osfhealthcare.org\/recipes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Chopping\/ricing (by hand or in a food processor)<\/li>\n<li>Boiling<\/li>\n<li>Roasting<\/li>\n<li>Saut\u00e9ing<\/li>\n<li>Steaming<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cMost people are surprised that they can&#8217;t taste the cauliflower too much in various recipes,\u201d Simper said. \u201cOther people might be able to taste it slightly but enjoy that it\u2019s not a strong flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Buyer beware<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While cauliflower itself contains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/282844#benefits\">many health benefits<\/a>, the nutritional content in processed cauliflower products can be another story. Food manufacturers often add a number of unhealthy ingredients to help improve the flavor lost from the starch or meat that the cauliflower is replacing.<\/p>\n<p>A good example is gnocchi, which are small dumplings typically made of potato or flour and covered in sauce. When comparing certain varieties of potato gnocchi and cauliflower gnocchi, cauliflower gnocchi\u2019s total carb content looks really good with less than half the grams of its potato counterpart. However, fat and sodium content are much higher in the cauliflower version. A 1-cup serving has 5 grams of saturated fat, 11 grams of total fat and 620 mg of sodium, but the potato version has 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of total fat and 560 mg of sodium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, a cauliflower product may or may not be a healthy option depending on the other ingredients,\u201d Simper said. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s important to read the nutrition facts label and ingredients list to see what else it may contain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other than processed cauliflower, general downsides to this veggie include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It\u2019s bland by itself<\/li>\n<li>It has a strong odor when cooked<\/li>\n<li>Its vitamin K interacts with some blood thinners<\/li>\n<li>Like other vegetables, it can cause gas, bloating or digestion issues for some people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pizza. Mac and cheese. Buffalo wings. Cauliflower? You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking the vegetable at the end of this list of tasty favorites seems a bit out of place. But cauliflower is actually being used more and more these days as a way to make healthier alternatives to these and other popular dishes. Nutritional benefits [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":15785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[26,2,47,6],"coauthors":[726],"class_list":["post-15783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-exercise","tag-diet","tag-health-tips","tag-healthy-eating","tag-nutrition"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cauliflower: A healthy substitute for mealtime favorites<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cauliflower can be a healthy substitute and alternative to popular dishes like pizza, buffalo wings and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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