ROASTED CAULIFLOWER MAC AND CHEESE
I had been experimenting with different recipes for vegan “Mac and Cheese” since my daughter’s husband loves it. I liked this recipe because the cheese sauce is not heavy and does not require a high speed blender to create.
Find recipe at “Fat Free Vegan”: Vegan Roasted Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese.
Read about the health benefits of cauliflower from NutritionFacts.org below:
Cauliflower is one of the vegetables that is especially good at boosting our intestinal defenses, which may lower the risk of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis, as well as leaky gut. Cauliflower also contains a phytonutrient that acts through the Ah receptors, leads to frontline immune function against intestinal pathogens, and plays a role in boosting immune function. Bile binding—a predictor of how well a food lowers cholesterol—is another of its powers.
Like other cruciferous vegetables, cauliflower is capable of providing sulforaphane, which boosts our liver’s detoxifying enzymes. The enzymatic action from eating cauliflower may also protect brain, eyesight, fight against free radicals, induce detoxification enzymes, and help prevent and treat cancer.
Cauliflower was found to be protective in people suffering with gout, possibly because of the fiber, folate, and vitamin C, which appear to protect against uric acid buildup and gout."
When preparing any cruciferous vegetable including cauliflower, use Dr. Greger's "whack and wait" technique: Chop the cauliflower and wait 40 minutes—enough time to produce the health-promoting sulforaphane.
What I did differently:
-Used a whole medium head of cauliflower cut into florets and roasted for 30 minutes and then added the garlic the last 5 minutes
-Used 5 cloves of garlic since they were not very big
-Reduced salt in the cheesy sauce to 1/2 tsp
-Used brown rice elbow macaroni
-Once assembled I baked it just to see how it would taste, but is not necessary. I thought it lost creaminess so I preferred it unbaked.
