Save Your Waistline with Cauliflower as Foo-Foo
Ladies, eat this new foo-foo, and you will not sabotage your waistline.
It has been documented that carbohydrates are the un-doer of the best nutritional or dieting plans. Carbohydrates are NOT SOLUBLE. They are cement blocks and stay in the stomach. They distribute fat/starch to waistlines, arms, thighs, and to the rest of the body. Yet, carbohydrates taste soooo good! That's their power.
I stopped eating foo-foo for a long time and ate only soup. I did not want to drag cement blocks around as my body. Gone were the days when misguided Nigerians were told that fatness means that one is healthy/wealthy. (If a person is aware of the risks in obesity and chooses to be plumb/obese, then that's a personal choice.)
I have been exploring ways to enjoy foo-foo without the bulging belly.
The Search: I started looking for alternatives to the high carbs in garri (101 grams of carb) and pounded yam (80 grams of carb). I tried oatmeal (27 grams of carb), but I am allergic to grains. I tried boiled plantain, but one cup has 50 grams of carb. I tried the alternative of Bisquick: processed food and worse than all the other forms of carbohydrate.
Pounded Yam Stats |
I discovered the ubiquitous cauliflower, which contains ONLY 5 grams of carbohydrate per cup!
Unlike the pizzas I make from scratch with cauliflower and squeeze out all the water, this time I use the water as the base to mash the potatoes and the cauliflower. The potato adds firmness to the cauliflower.
Mashed Cauliflower |
Because cauliflower takes longer to boil than potatoes, I cook it ahead of time, mash it, and keep it in a container in the fridge for a few days. When I want foo-foo, I boil only one potato (less than one cup) in a pot, scoop the mashed cauliflower, and mix them until they are hot and of a firm consistency. (One cup of boiled potato = 31 grams of carbohydrate.)
Mashed cauliflower and potato |
On very rare occasions (when I don't have the energy or time to peel and cook potato), I shake in half a cup of the 100% potato pack into a pot and add the mashed cauliflower from the container in the fridge.
Two Suggestions for the healthiest foo-foo:
1. Cauliflower and oatmeal: both are heart-healthy and contain the lowest grams of carb. (I am allergic to grains. Therefore, the oatmeal route is not the best for me.)
2. Cauliflower and potato: Heart-healthy and cancer-fighting cauliflower and potato contain essential nutrients and are low in carbs.
Go ahead: Enjoy foo-foo without the guilt of sabotaging your waistline. Cauliflower is the gift!
Credits: www.Fatsecret.com and www.nutritionix.com
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--Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Thanks for visiting. Have a fruitful day!
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