Is Cauliflower the New Avocado?

By Jessie Garten

The cauliflower craze has made its way from stores to restaurants and even to my pantry, but this trend is continuing to grow with reimagined uses and cauliflower twists on our favorite meals. In an increasingly health conscious society, this healthy alternative has become the newest trending vegetable. It may not be the most exciting or flavorful food, but this low-carb and nutritious substitute has become a popular ingredient.

Alongside broccoli, cauliflower is a superfood with high nutrient-rich content. The high composure of vitamins B & C provides nourishment and contributes to a healthy lifestyle. According to ​WebMd​, the composition of cauliflower is 92% water, allowing a significantly high fiber content. Fiber is essential because it provides healthy bacteria for your gut, ultimately reducing inflammation and promoting optimal digestion.

To put it into perspective, a cup of rice contains 45 grams of carbs, about nine times the amount of cauliflower. While customers are still drawn to the simple frozen steamed cauliflower or cauliflower rice, innovative frozen products have been developed for convenient, sustainable meals. Today we’re narrowing in on one of our favorite neighborhood grocery stores: ​Trader Joe’s.

While the trending “cauli-pizza crust” can be located at every ​Trader Joe’s​, so can a variety of others. One of my favorites, being the cauliflower gnocchi. This mega-popular product is free of sugar, dairy, grains, and preservatives. For those craving a potato pancake, there’s a cauliflower pancake alternative. Or how about my childhood favorite a steaming bowl of mac & cheese? The cauliflower mac & cheese which combines milk, cheese, and spices, is a great option for the health-conscious individual. Even the cauliflower stir fry, which incorporates a variety of other vegetables, tastes like it came straight out of my favorite run-down Chinese restaurant.

Whole Foods is an additional hall of cauliflower which has a list of cauliflower products from couscous to creamy dip to roasted steaks and risotto. For those who can’t help but open a bag of chips after a long day of work, Whole Foods has cauliflower tortilla chips with flavors ranging from nacho cheese to simply sea salt!

Where has cauliflower made its way to College Park? Always ahead of the game with healthy crust alternatives from keto to gluten-free, Blaze Pizza is now offering a crispy cauliflower alternative. Noodles & Company recently introduced cauliflower-infused pasta to sneak an extra serving of vegetables into your meal. The so called, “caulifloodles,” are cauliflower-infused rigatoni noodles which can be covered in your favorite source from vodka to pesto and filled with proteins like chicken and shrimp!