For those of you who love mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower is a little trick for an equally comforting, but much lower calorie option. Just boil or steam cauliflower as you would potatoes. Drain and run them through a blender or food processor with salt, pepper, milk and whatever you use for for your favorite spud recipe.
Place cauliflower and 1 cup water in a large pot with a lid. Simmer, covered, until cauliflower is very soft. Drain well and add to blender or food processor. Process until smooth and no lumps remain (you might have to stop and stir it a few times). Add the cheese sauce mix (powder only) from boxed mac & cheese and process more to mix. Add a 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.
Why organic? What do I do with the dry noodles in the box?
Organic mac and cheese tends to have a cleaner and shorter ingredients label, plus you know you won’t find trans fats from hydrogenated oils in there, which may lurk in some conventional brands. Using the dehydrated cheese powder instead of regular cheddar cheese gives you less total and saturated fat, fewer calories, and a lot of well…cheesiness! The ingredients list on my box, ignoring the pasta, are: organic cheddar cheese, organic whey, salt, disodium phosphate, and annatto extract for color. I like short ingredient lists. (FYI: disodium phosphate is a antioxidant to increases shelf life and stability, not a health concern) As for those dry noodles, I’m not a fan of eating refined white flour, but you could always string them into a necklace for a kid you know. Christmas tree decor perhaps? ;)
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Mmmm, mashed cauliflower is super yummy all by itself. I’ll have to try adding some powdered cheese for an extra kick. Thanks for the hint!