Ray's Take

Mashed cauli - can it really be better than mashed potatoes?
YES

But is it healthy too?
YES

Not only is mashed cauli tastier than mashed potatoes, it's WAY healthier.

Win. Win.

Who I am

I'm Ray, a doctor that is obsessed with making food taste way better than any restaurant, while being 10x healthier.

I increase the value of what you eat.

Mashed cauli

Whenever I eat anything, I'm always making a "value" calculation. The value comes from taste and knowing if its healthy.

I'm optimizing for both.

Mashed cauli auto hits both criteria. It has 1/4 the calories, and 1/8 the net carbs of mashed potatoes. It also makes you insanely full. (Not sure why. No research theories or good answers from gpt4).

In any case, mashed cauli goes perfect with steak (or chicken or any other meat), is low cal, and easy to make.
----->lfg.

So for steak, I want it to be tender, juicy, and delicious, while not having too much fat or cals. Remember:

This is insanely good value (taste and health).

My workflow:

• Buy cauli at trader joe's or anywhere they charge per each (not per lb).

• Note - I do go to the store, and choose based on...biggest and heaviest ones. I'm a value player, and you should be too :)

• boil water in a large pot (i use a water heater to boil the water first)

• roughly chop the cauli. I just quarter it.

• throw the cauli into the boiling water (make sure there is enough water to completely cover the cauli) and cover.

• wait for the water to get to boil, and turn down the heat so its a simmer.

• simmer for 10-15 min, or until the cauli is smashable with tongs (or a fork).

• strain the cauli.

• place the cauli in a large bowl, ceramic container, or any other vessel that can go into an oven.

• use a hand blender to blend the cauli. It should be smooth-ish but can have chunks.

• add your spice mix (mine is garlic powder and salt) to taste, optionally black pepper, red pepper flake, parmesan cheese, and fish sauce (just a little, highly recommended). Mix

• Put in oven (doesn't really matter the temp or the time). The goal is to evaporate some water and get a crust on top.

• Check it periodically but its pretty much ready to go no matter what after 10-15 min. I sometimes leave mine in for an hour (this makes it thicker).

Serving

I love mashed cauli with steak, pork chop, or chicken IE everything.

It's awesome bc its a side and a sauce at the same time....while being low calorie.
---> Super high value.

This makes me so happy :)

Nerd knowledge

Here is a breakdown of mashed cauli vs mashed potatoes.

Mashed cauli - no brainer..

Of note, mashed cauli has a bit more calories than regular cauliflower bc after you cook it, some of the water evaporates. Thus its more dense.

Mashed potatoes can have up to 400 calories per 100g, depending on how much butter is added. Butter, oil, and cream is the easiest way to add a ton of calories if you're not careful (or if you don't know what's in it).

For example, Cheesecake Factory's mashed potatoes has 450 calories, 25g fat in just one serving! We could eat over 2 lbs of our mashed cauli and have less calories!