Last week, I got the urge to make something relatively simple for dinner. I wasn’t in the mood to do a lot of cooking and have a bunch of pots and pans out, so I went simple and roasted some veggies, baked some marinated chicken and made the most delicious garlic and cheese mashed cauliflower.

These days, it seems as though everyone is finding alternatives to carbs or gluten or dairy or… you get the idea. I’m not big on falling into the trap of those eating lifestyles, but I do like to experiment with bits and pieces of those “diets” every once and a while. I’ve made cauliflower crust pizza, which was good, but definitely not a regular pizza crust replacement. Garlic and cheese mashed cauliflower, on the other hand, could easily be a replacement for regular mashed potatoes. I honestly felt as though I was eating a big ol’ serving of starchy goodness, so I had to share it with you.

Garlic & Cheese Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp. ricotta cheese
• 1-2 tbsp. milk
• 1/2-1 tbsp. butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the cauliflower and steam it until it’s very tender (borderline overcooked and mushy).

2. When the cauliflower is ready, add in the remaining ingredients and blend well.

3. Serve. Easy as that!

I will definitely be making these again soon. They were so tasty and so healthy that it seemed almost too good to be true!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite healthy substitution? Have you ever tried any of the diet fads that are currently trending right now?

I haven’t, but I did eat this Paleo meal last week that someone made for me and was pleasantly surprised with how good it was! I’m not against eating like that, I just don’t feel the need to make the change to that lifestyle right now. We are going to make some more Paleo meals in the near future and I’m excited!