Diabetics, Meet Mashed Cauli-tatoes!

For the longest time after I was diagnosed with diabetes, I missed mashed potatoes. Eating a big, tasty mound of mash potatoes was just too many carbs and calories for my new condition to handle, so I just kind of accepted my unfortunate fate that I would have to live tato-less for the rest of my life. It was a very sad time for me. Maybe it was the Irish in me, but I love some steamy, creamy, fluffy, buttery, gravy moat building mashed potatoes! What Thanksgiving dinner could be complete without some tatoes and gravy? What roasted sausage isn't lonely without it's best bud, mashed spuds? Meat loaf, pot roast, saucy squash, and roasted chicken, they aren't even a meal without their constant companion mashed potatoes. And don't even get me started on Shepard's pie, it's not even a pie without it's tatoey topping! So many dinners ended with me longing for my fluffy edible friend.

I had read online in many low carb community chats about how people used mashed cauliflower as a replacement for mashed potatoes. I mean they are both white and rather bland flavored on their own, so it did seem reasonable that one might be a replacement for the other. Though, honestly I did have my doubts, I tried some of the recipes . . . and the results weren't good. Very not good. I mean, it tasted just like what it was, mushed up cauliflower. I'm not really sure why I was expecting more than that. I don't hate cauliflower. In fact, it's one of my favorite vegetables. It's just that, it's not mash potatoes. No matter what I did, no matter what kind of seasoning I put in the mixture or what technique I used to cook the cauliflower, it always seem to taste like white vegetable baby food.

So I got my recipe creating thinking cap on and thought of what it was I really didn't like about mashed cauliflower and how could I change that. The biggest issue I had was the texture. Mashed cauliflower is a puree. It's loose and watery and is more like a thick soup or sauce rather than mashed potatoes. Okay, so I needed to thicken it a bit, how could I do that? I thought of all my thinkeners, when the obvious popped into my head. Well, why don't I just use a little bit of dried potato flakes? So, that's just what I did! The results I got were thick, fluffy, creamy mash potatoes that taste like mash potatoes, but have only a third the carbs! Now I can have a great big dollop of mashed cauli-tatoes on my plate and not have to worry too much because I know that 75% of it is actually cauliflower!

Mashed Cauli-tatoes

3 cups cauliflower pieces

½ cup mashed potato flakes or up to 1 serving of flakes

1 ½ teaspoon Ranch dressing powder

1 teaspoon Garlic powder

1 teaspoon Onion powder

Sour cream to taste

Microwave the cauliflower uncovered in a heat safe bowl, alternating between heating and stirring to ensure that the cauliflower cooks evenly. Continue this until the cauliflower is soft enough to mash with a fork. Pour the softened cauliflower into blender with seasonings and blend until all the lumps are blended out and the mixture is smooth. If cauliflower mixture is too thick to blend, add some sour cream. Pour cauliflower mixture into a bowl, sprinkle in potato flakes, and whisk in the potato flakes and cauliflower together. Let mashed cauli-tatoes rest for a few minutes for flakes to re-hydrate. Finish off this delightful dish with your favorite tatoey toppings. Sour cream and fresh chopped chives are nice. A little low sodium butter gives it a lovely traditional taste. Of course, you could always go with the classic saute'ed onions and gravy.