Dear GOD if you came here for the recipe, just click here and skip all the bullshit.
You know how every new year you say to yourself, “Self, it’s time we start the new year with purpose. This year, our new year’s resolution is to [insert ridiculous claim that seems achievable at the time, but is in no way realistic or actually achievable because you are human and therefore weak and only capable of maintaining this goal through January at max].”?
Well hot dog, we did it again. This year I proclaim myself a vegetarian*†, and hot dog it’s almost mid-February, and I’m still keeping this charade up. I started this with a few goals in mind, namely for the allusion of weight loss (insert laugh track here) among other things including:
- exploring my food palette a little more
- cooking is cathartic as hell
- forcing myself to cook on Sundays and after work without the burden of remembering to thaw out my chicken a day in advance
- being more aware of what goes into my body and what goes out
Apparently, its good for the environment too, so yay go me.
My biggest concern when hopping into this was making sure that I would get enough protein in my body without getting bored. Sure, you can get protein from peanut butter and beans, but how many recipes can there possibly be with just beans? (Answer: Infinite.)
Quickly, I found there’s protein everywhere, even in places you wouldn’t expect like:
- eggs, 7g
- greek yogurt, 29g
- oats, 17g
- quinoa, 8g
- edamame, 16g
- lentils, 18g
- cauliflower, 11g
Cauliflower blew my mind because all this time I’ve considered it to be broccoli’s bland cousin when this whole time it’s been broccoli’s flamboyant cousin—you can dress it up in anything from breadsticks to rice to fried chicken. It’s versatile and can be used for pretty much anything your heart desires.
Today I leave you with a personal favorite: Buffalo Cauliflower Bites. Use this recipe for any occasion—meal prepping, the Big Game, or (my favorite) your go to “I just came home from work at 8:30pm and I just don’t want to cook” meal. It’s quick, simple and yummy AF. Chop up some carrots and celery ahead of time, and you have the perfect snack jam-packed with nutrients and goodness.
Enjoy.
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
1 large head of cauliflower
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. water
salt & pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
2/3 cups buffalo wing sauce
1 Tbs. melted butter
1 tsp. honey
blue cheese dip
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, water, salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Add cauliflower florets to the mix and toss to coar.
- Place florets in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
- MEANWHILE, whisk together the buffalo wing sauce, melted butter and honet until smooth.
- Pour suace over the cauliflower and toss to coat.
- Bake for an additional 10 mins or until crisp and starting to brown.
- Serve with dip, carrots and celery.
*”until lent,” I keep proclaiming, knowing damn well that I actually enjoy this and will probably keep this up all year if I can.
† technically speaking, I’m “pescatarian” because let’s be real, sometimes the vegetarian options in restaurants are garbage/ my stir fry needs the occasional TLC
TJ Digital Creative 