Crazy for Cauliflower

BEND, Ore. (KFSN) -- If you're a carb counter and looking for a great way to shave some starchy ones out of your diet, get crazy for cauliflower.

Halley Todd is a lot more careful about her diet today than just last year.

Todd said, "So I went to graduate school and during my time in graduate school it was really stressful and I gained some weight."

No, Halley's not dropping those 20 graduate-school pounds with mashed potatoes. She and a lot of carb counters are getting crazy for cauliflower.

Lori Brizee, MS, RDN, LD, Nutritionist and Dietitian at Central Oregon Nutrition Consultants told Ivanhoe, "About a cup of cauliflower that's cooked is gonna be around 25 calories where a cup of potatoes, which are far more dense, is going to be around 200 calories."

Mashed ... raw ... or roasted ... cauliflower is low in calories and packed with vitamin c. And a medium-sized head of cauliflower, which can serve several people, has fewer carbs than a single potato.

"I love cauliflower! I actually eat it a lot. Sometimes for lunch I'll just take cauliflower and hummus," said Todd.

One problem with cauliflower, at least this year: bad weather damaged this season's crop, driving prices up considerably.

Brizee urges her clients to add cauliflower and other vegetables to potatoes as a low calorie way to fortify their meals and serving sizes.

"It's a cruciferous vegetable. And we know the compounds in cruciferous vegetables actually help prevent cancer and heart disease," Brizee told Ivanhoe.

Halley's a believer. Cauliflower is partly responsible for her successful post-graduate school weight loss.

Cauliflower even attracted the attention of one of America's great authors. Mark twain called it "nothing but a cabbage with a college education."