- A Little About the Plant
- What is Prepared from Cauliflower
- How to Prepare Cauliflower Florets
- Recipes for Diet Food
Vegetables are widely used by nutritionists in their healthy eating programs. These plant products, which are very rich in fiber, will help you stay full and slim. Vegetables stimulate appetite, enhance the secretion of digestive glands, and contain vitamins, organic acids, and pectin necessary for the body. And they all have low calories and low fat content.
However, in the vast assortment of vegetable crops, there are the most valuable ones for organizing a rational diet. Let’s talk about what place cauliflower has in weight loss programs.
A Little About the Plant
Cauliflower is a common cruciferous vegetable. The modified buds located on a thick, short stem are used for food. The younger the buds are, the better their taste and nutritional properties. Small, attractive buds can be eaten even fresh, seasoned with various sauces and gravies. To shade the neutral taste, chefs boil it in mineral water or chicken broth, adding sugar to the water.
Note. To prepare dietary cauliflower dishes for weight loss, it is better to take the freshest heads of cabbage. You can determine them by the green leaves surrounding the firm, heavy head of cabbage.
Fans of vegetable crops grow different varieties of cauliflower. There are varieties with heads of different shapes, sizes, densities, and colors.
Nutritionists agree that cauliflower is superior to other members of the family in taste, nutritional, and dietary qualities. If white cabbage is contraindicated in gastritis, pancreatitis, and other disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, then recipes from cauliflower are used in dietary and baby food. It is even recommended for use as the first complementary food for babies.
The vegetable contains vegetable protein, a large amount of ascorbic acid, a complex of vitamins and trace elements, including folic acid, sugars, starch, and fiber, useful for weight loss. Its chemical composition makes the product indispensable for organizing healthy nutrition.
What is Prepared from Cauliflower
Any weight loss diet involves limiting the amount and calories of foods consumed. Cauliflower dishes are perfect for weight loss, since the vegetable contains only 30 kcal / 100 g.
Tip. The delicate, unobtrusive taste of the buds is combined with any other vegetables, sauces, and dairy products. If no one will ever recommend using cream in dietary recipes, then a spoonful of low-fat sour cream will help balance a dish made from a minimum amount of ingredients.
Those who want to lose weight eat a young vegetable raw, bake it in the oven, stew it in a slow cooker, fry it in a thin layer of breading, cook it in batter, steam it, and grill it. In the latter case, the buds acquire an incredibly attractive aroma.
How to Prepare Cauliflower Florets
If your weight loss menu includes cauliflower recipes, you need to know how to process it correctly.
- Inspect the firm head of cabbage for dark spots. They indicate poor quality of the product, the beginning of the decay process. A fresh head of cabbage is surrounded by green (not lethargic) leaves, the buds are dense, unopened, and tightly adjacent to each other.
- Rinse the head of cabbage in cool water.
- Before heat treatment, you can hold it in salted water. This will preserve its color and density.
- Divide the head of cabbage into buds of the desired size.
- Start cooking.
Recipes for Diet Food
In a regular menu, cauliflower is most often used as a side dish, an elegant accompaniment to fish, poultry, and meat. But how to cook a vegetable for weight loss so that the dish looks complete and the principles of healthy nutrition are observed? It is necessary to avoid prolonged contact with hot oil and fats, not to oversalt, and to observe small portions when serving. It is worth remembering that fresh or boiled cauliflower is much more useful for weight loss than fried and stewed.
- Cauliflower Salad with Basil Sauce
Divide the young head of cabbage into florets. Make a dressing from basil leaves, garlic, a spoonful of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Put the buds in a slide and pour over the fragrant dressing. You can serve the sauce in a separate bowl – this is a snack option.
- Light Diet Soup
Boil the cabbage in salted water with the addition of diced carrots. Add chicken breast meatballs to the vegetable broth and cook for 15 minutes. Pour the finished soup into bowls and sprinkle generously with fresh herbs. This cauliflower soup is a great low-calorie lunch option for weight loss. You don’t have to worry about calories. One serving of diet soup contains no more than 120 calories.
- Delicate Cabbage in Sour Cream Sauce
The dish has a pleasant sour taste and a delicate creamy consistency. Finely chop the buds and boil. Saute finely chopped carrots in a separate skillet. Combine both of these products in a saucepan, sprinkle with a spoonful of curry, and mix with low-fat sour cream. Simmer for no more than 10-15 minutes until tender.
- Cream Soup with Young Green Peas
Boil the cabbage, 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add fresh green peas. Pass the vegetables through a blender, salt, pepper and dilute with broth. Bring the cream soup to a boil and turn it off immediately. Pour into portions, add a teaspoon of olive oil to the center of each plate.
Cauliflower can be harvested for future use. It retains all its useful properties after defrosting. The use of a vegetable in dietary nutrition for those who want to lose weight allows you to diversify the menu with light and tasty dishes.
