Foods for better blood sugar: healthy tips for cooking cauliflower

Not many vegetables are as filling and low in calories as cauliflower. While it's an acquired taste for some, cauliflower is perfect if you like it, most obviously because it has so few calories, so much fibre and so little carbohydrate. But we also like it because, when cooked the right way, it can substitute for mashed potatoes! It even stands in for rice.

• A serving of cauliflower, 60 grams (1/2 cup) cooked, provides a slim 17 calories and 2.5 grams of fibre. Not a bad deal at all.
• Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C — 120 grams (1 cup) raw supplies 75 percent of what you need for the day. That makes it an ideal food for helping protect cells against damage from high blood sugar.
• One caveat: if cauliflower is drowned in fatty cheese sauce, it's no longer a top nutritional choice.
• Cook cauliflower in an uncovered pan to avoid trapping its strong odour. Add lemon juice to preserve its colour. Overcooking not only intensifies the aroma, it also destroys much of the vitamin C.
• Cauliflower, like its cousins broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, is rich in anti-cancer compounds.
• A review of 80 studies found that people who ate the largest amounts of these foods had the lowest risk of all types of cancer, particularly lung, stomach, colon and rectal cancers. In a test-tube study, juice extracted from cauliflower blocked growth of breast cancer cells.

If you're not a fan of cauliflower, try these ideas using broccoflower, a milder hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower.

• Instead of mashed potatoes, try this tasty cauliflower purée: boil a head of cauliflower cut into florets, one diced peeled potato and six peeled garlic cloves until tender. Drain and purée (in batches) in a food processor and thin with enough warm milk to make it velvety. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.
• Serve cauliflower raw or lightly steamed with seasoned yogurt dip.
• Combine cauliflower with broccoli in quiches, omelets and casseroles.
• Toss florets with olive oil and garlic and roast in the oven.
• Bake a whole head of cauliflower to serve with supper. Place a trimmed and rinsed head in a steamer, cover and cook until firm but tender. Place in a baking dish and coat with a mixture of whole wheat bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, dried oregano and minced garlic. Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 175°C (350°F).
• Stir-fry cauliflower and broccoli florets with water chestnuts and season with a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Make a cauliflower salad by combining florets with tarragon vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, white pepper and olive oil. Cover and marinate overnight.
• Shred cauliflower in a food processor until the texture is similar to rice. Lightly steam it and use in recipes that call for cooked rice.

Cooking with cauliflower has never been easier! Keep these healthy tips in mind and add the nutritious vegetable to your next meal.