I'm a Believer

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 776.6 (running: 599.2; walking: 33.4; biking: 144.8) Money Found For Food Bank: $66.07

2,015 in 2015 Change Hounds progress: Nancy: 776.6 Aaron: 501.1 (b: 440.1; w: 61)  Elly: 182.1 Total: 1460.6

I have very little to report about my run from this morning. Getting hit with an actual life issue before 6:30 a.m. totally set the tone for the morning to suck, and it led straight into having to cut my run short by a mile just for the sake of time. So, suffice it to say that the run happened, but it's not the star of today's show.

Instead, let's talk food. Namely, this:

While not beautiful (because none of my cooking is), those are tots. Cauliflower tots. No joke. And, SO yummy!

Before I even tell you how to create these little drops from Heaven, let me again say I tend to hate cauliflower. I used to be able to tolerate it in the raw form disguised dipped in ranch dressing. But, cooked in any way? Ohhhh, noooo. Puke. And, then, whenever the new craze of "let's use cauliflower to fool everyone into thinking it's actually mashed potatoes" came into the mainstream, well, that was just disgusting. And, a lie. I'd say it was the recipe used by the person who suckered me into trying it, but I think, at its onset, the cauliflower pushers hadn't done enough recipe development to get anyone on board in any real way except for those who already liked cauliflower. We who have always hated it just wanted to gag.

So, with the knowledge that I usually hate it, I have to testifyyyyyyy that these are THE BOMB. I completely understand if you don't believe me because I have been in your shoes. It took me some time to cross over. I'll wait patiently for you with my tots.

The Fiesta Cauliflower recipe I have been making helped a great deal in convincing me the cauliflower swap has potential to be a good thing. These tots have made me a total believer. Give 'em a try!!

I used this recipe but tweaked it to fit the Trim Healthy Mama teachings. I'm actually surprised they turned out so well because I am hardly ever successful going rogue. Chalk one up for Nancy! So, here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups finely chopped cooked cauliflower (I just used a whole head. I would have measured had I used frozen.)
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• A bunch of shaking from my Italian and Onion Powder seasonings. If I had to guess, there's a heaping Tablespoon of each in there. But, it's a guess. Season to taste here ...

 

Directions: 

• Cook the cauliflower 'til soft. I pressure cook it for 4 minutes. Break it up until it looks like tater tot mush meaning there can be small pieces in there, but, for the most part, you do want it broken down.
• Add the cauliflower, almond flour, cheese and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Mix with a large spoon until everything is combined.
• Preheat oven to 400F. Shape the tots as best you can to look like the real deal but don't kill yourself over it. Mine ended up much like balls. I didn't care. Bake on pan lined with parchment paper. I highly recommend the parchment paper because they do stick a wee bit.
• Bake for about 15 minutes. Bottom of tots should be brown. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes or until desired crispiness. 

I actually made my first batch in a toaster oven, so the time took longer. The next batch went into the oven, and they were done inside of 30 minutes. So, there you have it.

And, they are DELISH. The only negative feedback from anyone in the fam was that the texture wasn't 'tater tot-like'. And, that's accurate because they're baked, not fried. I actually did make a serving on them fried in coconut oil when I was testing the recipe ...

... and, they were good, but not really worth the effort for me. I liked the baked variety, but I am willing to make a serving for the voice of dissent. Oh, but in my next frying attempt, I will fry a serving of them after taking them out of the oven. The mixture is kind of wet, so some of them fell apart going into the oil. Baking them will put 'em together, and frying for just a little bit should bring about that crunch that was missing.

And, because I was feeling snazzy, I baked some in fry form:

Again, freakin' delicious, but the tot balls were easier to put together. So, I suspect I'll just stick with that.

Who knew cauliflower could be something this family ended up craving?!?! Mmmm ... already can't wait to get some more ... I'm beggin' you to try this recipe. It's that good!

And, tomorrow? I might run especially when I'm itching to make up that mile, or ... I'm still not sure. I might just need the day to regroup! I think I'll let the morning happen and see what I decide to do with it. Having already run two days and due for a break, I have some wiggle room. I'll check in tomorrow with the verdict ... in the meantime, do yourself a happy favor, and get yourself a head of cauliflower ...!