Cauliflower has been taking all the glory for the last little while, and rightly so. It’s a real superstar!
Cauliflower is a super food; a vegetable powerhouse! It is anti-inflammatory and boasts the ability to reduce the risk of cancer. One serving of cauliflower contains 73% of your DRI of vitamin C.
I love cauliflower. I especially love cauliflower “rice”; cauliflower that’s finely chopped into little rice-size pieces. I use it to make lectin-free “risotto”.
Risotto means “rice” in Italian. Rice means “not-so-lectin-free” in English. OK, that’s not what rice means in English. Rice is defined as the seed of the grass species Oryza glaberrima or Oryza sativa.
Rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans.
Seriously, who hasn’t eaten rice, and lots of it?
But is rice good for you?
White rice has very little nutritional value due to its processing. White rice is milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed and then it gets polished. Much of its nutrition is gone, including its fibre, vitamins and minerals. Once it has been stripped of its nutrients, it gets artificially fortified with the nutrients that were just removed in the processing.
Brown rice is also problematic in that it’s “nutrition” is anti-nutritive. In other words, Brown rice contains anti-nutrients, such as phytate, that reduces your body’s ability to absorb certain vitamins and minerals.
Dr. Gundry himself has this to say about rice: “So, contrary to popular belief, whole grain is actually a modern disaster. In fact, whole grain bread, croissants, pasta, and rice are nutritional nonsense. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of your favourite rice dishes. You’ve just got to switch up some of your ingredients — namely, the rice.”
Done! I’ve switched out rice for cauliflower “rice”. That’s right, I’ve made the switch and you can too!
The image below is of cauliflower rice; rice size pieces of cauliflower.
Try my lectin-free cauliflower rice “risotto” and give cauliflower its due glory.
LECTIN-FREE CAULIFLOWER RICE RISOTTO
Quick and easy lectin-free cauliflower rice risotto
Ingredients
- 6 cups cauliflower rice
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 carrots (2 cups), diced
- ¼ cup of vegetable broth
- 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in large pan over medium heat.
- Step 2 Add chopped onions and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Step 3 Add carrots, mix and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Step 4 Add cauliflower rice and 1/4 cup of vegetable broth, mix and cook for 3 minutes.
- Step 5 Stir in 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Step 6 Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cauliflower rice is a new staple in my house. It’ll likely become a staple in your house too. So, freeze the excess cauliflower rice that you’ve made and reserve it for your next “rice” dish.
Tid.bit (a small piece of tasty food):
- Cauliflower is not a flower (unlike broccoli, which is a flower).
- The direct translation of cauliflower in French is cabbage flower.
