Given that I am a self-proclaimed, recovering sugar addict (my doctor once told me that I was *blush*) I expected incorporating more and more fresh foods into our diet would be painful.
Thanks to the internet and our own creativity, it’s been a lot more simple than I would have thought.
But one of the habits we have had a difficult time letting go of has been popcorn. Of the microwave variety. *winces* And the more we realize how bad it is for us, the more we’ve determined to find some alternatives (eg: popping it in a pan).
So when I came across a recipe for Cauliflower ‘Popcorn’ in our local Birmingham Parents magazine, and read about how kids were gobbling it up, I decided to give it a whirl.
Granted, it took a bit longer than popping a bag into the microwave, but the process of making it was satisfying and it really is delicious.
To make your own, just follow these five simple steps:
- 1 cauliflower (cut florets into pieces about the size of popped corn ) *make sure it is nice and dry, after washing
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- Set oven temperature to 425 degrees.
- Put the cauliflower, oil and salt in a bowl and mix well.
- Transfer to baking sheet, spreading a single layer.
- Cook until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Turn cauliflower about halfway through.
- Enjoy! (*best when served immediately)
The consensus? The kids loved it. The adults loved it.
Mission accomplished.
My next mission? To find a recipe for making homemade lime and sea salt popcorn to replace my last popcorn ‘stronghold’.
How about you? What recipes have you used to replace unhealthy foods in your own diet?
Karla, this looks super simple. I may just have John pick up a head of cauliflower today and try it for Movie Night tonight.
Thanks for sharing :) Have a super week.
Kelli – did you and John make it??
I ended up making it that night :)
I’ve since read one recipe that adds a bit of bread crumbs to it, for a touch of added crispness. I might have to try that as well!
Weird. But I love it!
It really is yummy, Marcy! Let me know if you ever try it. I still find myself tweaking it slightly. It seems hard to make a bad batch (unless you burn it ;)
I have an even better step. Put it into a dehydrator and make popped cauliflower. Here is a great recipe for something sweet and hot. I make buffalo cauliflower and it so healthy. Take sweet and hot peppers marinated in olive oil and seasalt, raw cashews or raw macadamian nuts, salt and some olive oil. Blend it in food processor and coat the cauliflower florets. I add some chipolte seasoning to give it sweet and hot taste. But you can use sea salt and lime, curry, ranch dressing and I have even made kettle cauliflower with cinnamon and agave syrup or for the purist out there raw liquid stevia with some vanilla. It is so good. It never lasts at my house. Here is another great treat and its so sweet. Roasted tomato slices. Take roma tomatos and slice them into circles, drizzle oil oil and whatever seasonings you want and bake them in the oven for about 1 and 1/2 on 375. They are like sun dried tomatoes and they taste so sweet and yummy Try it you will like. Also you do not have to have a dehydrator to make the cauliflower just cook them on low and slow in the oven at 200 until they are crisp. About 4-8 hours depending on your altitude and your oven. Electric is different then gas.
@ADecoratingMom — these sound excellent! Love the variety of flavors you’ve mentioned.
I’ve wondered about trying the dehydrator; ours sometimes still seem too moist. The taste is still great, but I’ve wondered how to get them more crisp.
Thank you for the ideas – we will definitely be trying them out!