Making over mashed potatoes

As soon as the weather in Texas FINALLY starts to get chilly, I'm always preparing some of my favorite comfort dishes. Mashed potatoes are an inexpensive side dish that can easily round out a variety of lean protein and non-starchy vegetables. While I'm never going to 'give up' potatoes or whole-grain bread or any other foods; I do realize that traditional mashed potatoes can be a high calorie and high carbohydrate food. Oh no, what's a potato lover to do?

Plot twist!

Make way for a sneaky ingredient to help offset some of those calories without sacrificing the taste. Adding cauliflower to your mashed potatoes is a creative way to add some more vegetables to the plate and reduce your calories. Cauliflower is part of the cabbage family, right up there with broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cabbage. These cruciferous veggies are known for their anti-oxidants in preventing certain types of cancer and heart disease. A recent study showed that phytochemicals such as glucosinolate in cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables, help reduce the risk of bladder cancer.

Try this recipe tonight on your family and let me know what they thought.

Mashed Cauli Tators

Ingredients:

1 pound yukon gold potatoes 1 pound frozen cauliflower florets

1 teaspoon butter 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 cup skim milk

Directions:

Peel the potatoes and cut them in quarters. Cook them together with the cauliflower in boiling water until they are very tender, about 25-30 minutes.

Drain off the water, mash the vegetables with a potato masher and then whip smooth with an electric beater.

Add the butter, seasonings, and skim milk.

Dab with additional butter or margarine. Serve hot.

Serves 8. Each 1 cup serving: 74 calories, 1g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 1mg cholesterol, 18mg sodium, 15g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 2g sugars, 2g protein.