White rice. A staple food in so many places, but at the end of the day, not the best thing for you. Often used in stir fry, sushi and curries with reckless abandon, these innocuous little white grains seem to sneak in everywhere. It's cheap, easy and readily available yes, but unfortunately, this little devil isn't as innocent as it seems. This is where cauliflower comes in.
Gram for gram, cauliflower contains a fifth of the calories (23kcal/100g, as opposed to 130kcal/100g), has double the "fullness factor", six times the dietary fibre, and has 74% of your daily vitamin C requirements to banish away pesky winter sniffles (white rice, needless to say, has 0%).
Need more convinving? The 'amino acid score' of a food indicates how 'good' a protein it is - that is, how many of the nine essential amino acids it contains, and in what ratio. An amino acid score of more than 100 indicates a good quality or complete protein. Rice has an amino acid score of 71. Cauliflower? 102.
I could go on (a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Phosphorus and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fibre, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid and Manganese anyone?) but what you really need to know is what do do with this magical ingredient.
Cauliflower Rice - The How-To:
1. Whack your cauliflower in a blender and lightly pulse (don't over mix or you'll end up with purée. Great for baby food, less so for faux-rice).
2. Add a good shake of turmeric to give an interesting flavour and colour (also high in vitamin C and magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Iron, Potassium and Manganese - what a coincidence!)
3. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until cooked but still a bit crunchy
3. Voila!
It really is that simple. Such a snap to make compared to boiling rice for years.
Sources:
White rice nutrition: here
Cauliflower nutrition:here
Cauliflower image: here
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