Recipe: Cauliflower Fried Rice

For today's Wellness Wednesday post, I'm so excited to share a new recipe I finally tried this weekend - cauliflower fried rice! I've become addicted to cauliflower ever since I was on my cleanse because it tastes so much like a carb, so when my mom found a recipe in the Oprah Magazine for a cauliflower rice, I knew I had to give it a try. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to replacing normal foods with healthier alternatives, but this one surprised me so much that I had to share it with you. Even though it is technically a vegetable, cauliflower has recently been used as an alternative for so many carbs like pizza crust, mashed potatoes and rice because it tastes so similar. I was hesitant to try making this, but it turned out absolutely delicious and didn't leave me feeling gross like normal fried rice does! 

Ingredients: 

1 and 1/4 pound chicken

1 large head cauliflower

3 scallions

4 carrots

salt and pepper

vegetable oil 

8 garlic cloves 

soy sauce

Here's what you do: 

1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse 1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed into florets, in batches until reduced to the size of large grains. You should have about 8 cups. 

2. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add cauliflower, cover, and cook, stirring a few times for about 5 minutes. 

3. Toss with 1/4 tablespoons of salt and ground black pepper. 

4. Add 1 and 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into smaller pieces (mine were about bite size). Cook over high heat without stirring for 1 minute, then stir and cook about 30 seconds longer. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside. 

5. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add 8 small garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed. Cook over medium heat until garlic is deeply browned, about 3 minutes. 

6. Stir in a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, 3/4 pound carrots (about 4) and 2 scallions, sliced. Cover and cook, stirring a few times for about 3 minutes. 

7. Add 3 tablespoons of soil sauce and bring to a boil. 

8. Return reserved chicken and juices to skillet along with 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil and stir to heat through. 

9. Serve and sprinkle with 1 scallion thinly sliced and soy sauce to taste (I liked adding a lot of that!). 

I recommend adding a good amount of salt, pepper and soy sauce at the end if you like lots of flavor - it made it seem even more like real rice! 

I totally recommend trying this recipe out if you're in the mood for a better "carb" one night.

Have you ever used cauliflower as a healthy alternative?

Let me know if you would like to see more recipe posts - they're so fun to put together!

xoxo