Cauliflower Muffins...What?

Yesterday I was getting really hungry.  This is day 3 of my strict paleo eating plan. (I refuse to call it a diet because diets mean counting all the things you consume and limiting amounts of everything but stuff like celery and cabbage.) With paleo I am completely eliminating several food groups.  There are no grains, beans, sugar, or dairy but I can eat all I want of everything else. (Which sometimes feels like little more than unlimited cabbage and celery unless I plan and cook ahead.)

Day 3 is always the hardest day for me, I guess because I am not eating sugars and my body is used to being fed junk.  Sugar hides in nearly everything we consume so I have made my own versions of Worcestershire sauce, bbq sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and a few other condiments, (Ever looked at the sugar content in a tablespoon of ketchup?).  Since I am leaving sugar behind Cold Turkey, my body is really craving it and starts to revolt by handing me a searing headache for a few days unless I feed it with plenty of "real" food. This morning I had lots of paleo condiments available but nothing pre-made to just heat and eat.  Plus I wanted cookies bread, or cereal, or even a crappy bowl of oatmeal (and I really don't care for oatmeal).

I looked through the refrigerator and found not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 heads of cauliflower, (You eat a lot of cauliflower in various forms on this eating plan and Sprouts had it for 89 cents per head) so I guessed I might as well use some of it for whatever I was going to make. I had seen a recipe posted on facebook but I couldn't remember who posted it and I just don't have the patience to scroll through more than few posts, so I did what every impatient person does; I googled it.   I have no idea if this was the recipe posted, but I had everything on hand needed to make it and I just wanted something to eat other than cabbage or celery.

I actually made it just as the recipe stated since I have never in my life made cauliflower biscuits and really had no idea how/if it would really work.  You can find the link to the site here at Delighted Momma if you want to see prettier pictures than mine.

Cauliflower Biscuits

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 head of cauliflower, washed, patted dry and grated (Use the food processor)
2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup almond flour (Grind your own in the blender. The almond skins are fine in this recipe*)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 eggs



Using the shredder blade of the food processor grate all the cauliflower.  Pour the oil into a pan and wilt the shredded cauliflower.  It takes about 7 minutes, stirring constantly (I didn't and it got a little brown on the bottom.  Mix the almond flour, nutritional yeast and the garlic salt with the hot cauliflower in a ceramic or glass bowl.  Stir well and allow it to cool enough so that eggs added to the mix will blend rather than cook. (I suggest slightly above room temperature).

Grease muffin cups well (error on my part: use only non-stick tins and grease them anyway.) and fill them almost to the top of the pan. Using my ancient wedding present muffin tin, I wound up with 9 muffins but they are slightly smaller than current tins.  Bake these puppies for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the pan and enjoy!

Pros and Cons:  Though this tasted nothing like a biscuit it was a delicious way to eat more vegetables in a manner that did not feel like a veggie at all.  It was more like a muffin and held together like one after I finally got them out of the pan.  I only had the 2 in the picture that came out of the pan intact.  The rest broke halfway through and I had to soak the pan to get the bottom half of 7 of them out of it. Bummer! Lesson learned and pan ordered! I bought this one  because it got great reviews, was under 10 bucks, and ships with Prime.  (For the record, I have no affiliation with Amazon or anyone.) I will be making these again so I might as well go ahead and have what is necessary to bake a better product.

I have a couple of issues with the recipe.  I had a rather large cauliflower and would rather the recipe list an amount of grated vegetable than just 1 head.  I think I probably had more than was optimal for the recipe.  When I make it again I will be sure to measure the amount and will update it here.  If I were to do it again using the large cauliflower, I would add a little more almond flour, nutritional yeast and perhaps an additional small egg.

The flavor was fine, but only fine.  I think some dill would be a nice addition and I can see making this during the fall when I make paleo chili, adding some cumin and chili powder to the seasonings.
I will also try it with some crumbled cooked paleo chorizo, sautéed onions, and a little more nutritional yeast for a cheesier flavor. Who knows what is next, but it is a starting point for some experimental cooking.

BTW, even though this is a paleo recipe, it would be a dang fine way to "hide" a serving of vegetables from picky eaters in the family.