Cauliflower Fritters

Everyone happy it’s Wednesday? I know I am. It would be better if it was Friday though, right? Oh, how I love my weekends.

After work yesterday I headed to my parent’s “gym” (aka elliptical and weights) as I had plans to hit the elliptical for my workout. My initial thought was to go to the gym after work and do my thing there, but then I weighed my options.

Gym:

  • Other people around me to motivate me (pro)
  • Accessibility to weights should I decide to do strength training (pro)
  • Stuck watching old episodes of Ice loves Coco (con)
  • Stinky people (con)

Parent’s House:

  • Elliptical in the privacy of a comfortable basement (pro)
  • Free reign of the television (pro)
  • I get to see dad and Abbie (pro)
  • I can browse the cupboards and eat cereal to my heart’s content for lunch (pro)
  • No stinky people (pro)

Mom and dad’s casa wins by a landslide. Dad said he would even waive my initiation fee because I had been a member in the past. Such a jokester, that man. 🙂

Such a cozy little nook. I loved it AND I got to watch my favorite channel, The Food Network. Giada De Laurentiis and her aunt were cookin’ up some amazing looking pasta pinwheels (except they had a fancy italian name of course). They looked great whatever they were!

After 40 minutes on the elliptical, I completed 3×10 pushups and 3×26 planks with knee tucks.

Thanks for the free initiation fee dad, and by the way, mom said I get a free membership too.

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Dinner last night was quite a show. It involved a little more prep than my typical weeknight dinners, and I was a mess in the kitchen, but I managed to pull it together.

On the menu: Cauliflower fritters served on top of sautéed vegetables and drizzled with marinara sauce

First, I chopped up a head of cauliflower and steamed in the microwave  for 10 minutes (covered with a little water in the bowl).

Next, I transferred the steamed cauliflower into a food processor and processed until it turned into what looked like mashed potatoes, but I was actually trying to keep them from getting to the phase. There were some small bits still which I had wanted, and the rest was nearly pureed cauliflower. It still all worked out though.

Next, I added 1/2 cup diced onion, 1 Tablespoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 egg, 3 Tablespoons egg whites, 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast, and 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese; and mixed well. You want to make sure the cauliflower has cooled slightly before adding the egg products so that the egg doesn’t begin to cook in this process.

I prepared a large skillet on the stove top by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray, and placing it over low-medium heat. I then formed 2-inch patties in my hand and placed them in the pan for a light fry.

In the meantime, I placed another pan on the stove top and began sautéing 1 1/2 cups chopped asparagus, 1 cup diced onion, 3/4 chopped cup zucchini, 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms, and 2 cups kale.

Once the cauliflower fritters were beginning to lightly brown (about 3-4 minutes), I flipped them and let other side cook for another few minutes. I did this until all of the fritters were cooked. This head of cauliflower made a lot of fritters, but I had plans to freeze the leftovers for another day so it was all good.

Once the veggies were sautéed, and the fritters were cooked, I plated it up. First, the green veggies, then a drizzle of marinara sauce, and lastly the cauliflower fritters.

The texture of the fritters reminded me of mashed potatoes but except in a patty form. Not pictured is a sprinkle of parmesan cheese I added after the photo was taken.

Not bad, huh? Dana and I both really enjoyed this dinner. It was a very fun and different dinner and the first time I have ever attempted making cauliflower fritters. We both agreed that you would definitely need to like cauliflower to truly enjoy these guys. Makes sense though, right? The only downfall of this dish was the mound of dishes which accumulated in the cooking process. Whoopsie!

The rest of the night was spent organizing wedding photos (finally), watching an episode of Modern Family, and relaxing.

To all of my wonderful readers: If you have any recipes you would like me to test out and review, or would like me to try to “healthify” one of your favorite dishes, feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to help you out!

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