ARF/5-A-Day #114

I have a take-it-or-leave-it relationship with cauliflower. Smothered with cheese sauce, and, of course, thereby negating any redeeming healthy qualities the vegetable once had, I will happily eat it. But that being said, I generally am not going to start seeking it out. I don’t hate it. I just don’t crave it either.

This past weekend, when trying to formulate a dinner plan for Saturday night, I was drawn to my Biggest Loser Cookbook and started flipping through the pages. For some reason, the recipe for Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower caught my eye, and in two blinks, a head of cauliflower was heading the top of my grocery list.

Knowing The Husband and the kids weren’t going to touch it, I figured it was up to just me. Kudos to The Neighbors for venturing out of their comfort zone in a fit of “I’ll try anything once.” OMG, this stuff is good. Seriously good. So seriously good that I’ll start craving cauliflower? Awfully darn close. In fact, after The Neighbor Husband had a bite when it first came out of the oven, he remarked, “That plate is coming back empty, that’s for sure.” And it did. So while we’re not Confirmed Cauliflower Lovers, we are, however, Confirmed Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower Lovers and I bet you will be too, if you give the recipe a try.  Heck, I just wrote three paragraphs on cauliflower – I think the tide has turned. 

Of course, given the source, the recipe is a healthy one, coming in with 104 calories and 6 grams of fat (less than 1g saturated) per serving. Just a quick note — if you happen to cook from this cookbook, many of the recipes are written to serve one, so if you have more than one mouth to feed, you’ll need to adjust the recipe accordingly.  Suffice it to say that our new favorite cauliflower recipe is the perfect contribution to tonight’s ARF/5-A-Day roundup.  Now onto what everyone else made:

Sarah from What Smells So Good is up first this week, since she recently celebrated her birthday (the big 2-0!).  Besides a delicious cake, she also enjoyed some homemade Beet Chips:

Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska takes it nice and slow with her Smoky Tunisian Oven Roasted Vegetables with Tabil:

Newcomer Four Foodies joins us this week, thinking outside of the box with her Crab and Avocado “Sandwich” with Mango Coulis:

Claire from Cooking is Medicine delivered a baby and a sweet, lemony treat for our ARF/5-A-Day roundup this week with her St. Louie Gooie Butter Cake:

The Chocolate Lady is back this week, with a variation of Bok Choi that is definitely new to me … the flowering kind!

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Recipe courtesy of The Biggest Loser Cookbook

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) cauliflower florets
2 teaspoons grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl, combine the cauliflower, cheese, parsley, garlic powder, and pepper. Season with salt. Toss to mix. Drizzle on the oil and toss again. Transfer the mixture to a small nonstick baking dish. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, tossing once, or until lightly browned and crisp-tender. Serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving

Per serving: 104 calories, 4 g protein, 11 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat (less than 1 g saturated), 5 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 121 mg sodium

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