mashed cauliflower with garlic

I’ve gone cauliflower mad. Seriously, I have it as a snack with hummus and I use as a substitute for mashed potatoes. Since dealing with this TMJD issue, not only do I need to eat softer foods, but I also need eat to very healthy dishes. I’m discovering new ways to eat and I’m beyond excited about it. Well, I didn’t just discover it. I had a bit of help …

For years, I’d been seeing an Osteopath and absolutely loved the care that I received. However, I wanted someone a bit more hands-on. I really wanted to be educated about my body and how to best take care of it along side a medical practitioner. Welp, ask and you shall receive! I put it out there and found an amazing functional medicine doctor, who sat down with me for three hours during my first visit to talk about the body, nutrition, our nervous system and our emotions. After some labs, I discovered that I had a gluten sensitivity, which in itself could be a contributor to so many factors. I would have to do an entirely different post about all that. To sum it up, my body wasn’t taking in nutrients and I wasn’t digesting properly. This brought to mind the Ted Talk that I saw when I was at the height of my agony featuring Lissa Rankin. That talk resonated with me so much. I teared up when she said that in order to be really well and whole you need have/do the following – Healthy relationships, healthy professional life, express yourself creatively, be spirituality connected, have a healthy sex life, be healthy financially, live in a healthy environment, be mentally healthy and then follow the rules of traditional health (supplements, doctor visits). She really broke down what was missing in the medical profession and why we, as patients, are just not feeling better even if we’re doing what we think we’re supposed to. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to change things and that it was going to be quite a journey to really heal my body inside and out. So what does any of this have to do with cauliflower? I started changing my eating habits by going down the Paleo path, and this was one of the first recipes I followed from Nom Nom Paleo, which is easy to make and simply delicious. And as I mentioned in my last post, I’m going to start sharing my journey with you all.

If you’d like to substitute your mashed potatoes (they make me so bloated), cauliflower is perfect. I pretty much followed this recipe, but didn’t add the nutmeg. Just chop up a head of cauliflower and steam the florets with a few garlic cloves and sea salt. When the florets are soft, go ahead and put them into your blender with butter ( I used Organic Valley). That’s it!

The consistency is a matter of preference. In my case, if I want to have chicken or beef, I try to keep my side dishes very pureed as to not irritate my jaw. But coming from someone who loves mashed potatoes, I will vouch for this mashed cauliflower dish. This beautiful vegetable is also rich in calcium, helps detoxify the body and promotes heart health. Bon Appétit!