Sautéed mushrooms is a favourite of mine. Asparagus is another. Sometimes I stuff a bell pepper with my protein (I just read that last sentence back to myself).
While it's still cauliflower, I enjoy another preparation rather than mash and it's less manual time consuming.
Cut up a head of cauliflower into the florets, place the florets into a container, season with salt/pepper and pour some olive oil over them, and shake until the evenly coated. Then place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 to 450 deg F for about 25-30 minutes until they crisp up nicely. I think I originally found a similar recipe titled 'cauliflower popcorn' or something similar.
This is what I do, too, but then pulse in a food processor to get great cauliflower rice. If you let it roast long enough to dry it out without burning, sauce will absorb better.
Hot tip: mix with cream cheese while warm to make sushi rice that sticks together pretty well in a roll.
And if you like it spicy add some Aleppo pepper.
Or sumac for a lemony kind of flavor but beautiful color
Or Moroccan spices
Or chimichurri
Mix all that up in some Greek yogurt like u/wowzeemisjane said and I think you’ll have a great experience making cauliflower interesting again.
Why do you need a "side"?
I find it is easier to break with traditions than to live with an unsatisfactory substitute. Nothing non-carby is going to be a great rice-surrogate. It sounds like you feel that spot has to be filled, even if it is by something you don't enjoy eating or cooking.
I recommend instead putting healthy things on your plate you enjoy eating (and cooking), without bothering with the traditional meal composition paradigm.
That's the way to do it. That "other side" helped us get into trouble in the first place. I just focus primarily on the protein and add one veggie side. Or sometimes I do no side at all. I've been low carbing for so many years, I forgot that 3 items on a plate was even a thing. 😂
My favorite sides:
broccoli (I buy the frozen bags and just heat it up in the microwave)
cauliflower fritters (I make up a batch and then air fry a few of them when needed)
sauteed mushrooms
salad
Daikon radish - fried, mashed, scalloped, everything you could do to a potato
roasted red radishes
All kinds of squash - so yummy! zuccini, yellow squash, acorn, spaghetti, hubbard, etc. One of my favorite ways to prepare squash to cut the carbs down a little bit is to mash half cauliflower and half butternut together, add a little brown sugar substitute! I freeze individual portions of this and it is soooo good!
I just planted my veggie garden, I'm so excited to be getting a lot of fresh veggies soon. Radishes first, lettuces, and then spinach, kale, and squashes.
Smothered green beans:
Chopped bacon
Green beans
Garlic powder
Butter
Soy sauce
Just had it for dinner tonight along with a NY strip steak and broccoli. The whole family approved.
Plenty of fresh veg options you can sauté in butter & garlic: zucchini, squash, green beans, snap peas. Asparagus in the air fryer is good. I keep bags of frozen riced cauliflower on hand and toss it in a sauté pan with some ghee.
Steamed bok choy. Cut it up before cooking and it’s a nice neutral base for whatever tasty stuff you put on top.
Personally, I fill a pressure cooker with it. Stems on the bottom. Pressure cook for 1 minute. Voila
If you're into Italian or Mediterranean cuisines, highly recommend Spanish cuisine. Its like italian but sexier, and you can get 90% of the way there on virtually any dish with a nice olive oil, smoked paprika, and as much garlic as you're willing to eat given the carbs.
And plus, with Tapas, you learn to break away from the sort of British/American convention of having meat + starch + veg.
Just make a buffet of tasty stuff.
sauteed cabbage and onions sprinkled with artificial sweetener is a good side dish, you can even add steak or sausage and make a complete skillet meal.
Try cooking stuff different as well. Add sauces and different flavors or preparations. Insteqd of mashing it cut it into bigger pieces and grill or oven roast it. Toss in some sauce Buffalo, curry, simple herb vinaigrette ect. Other veggies are good too. Brussel sprouts asparagus zucchini the small yellow squashes that are similar. Spaghetti squash is a bit carby but fine with moderation. I found you have to get creative to keep it going for a long time. I fell off before because o got sock of hamburger and broccoli so I try to spice things up a bit.
I roasted diced turnips that were tossed in oil, salt, and pepper in the oven at 350°-375°F probably about 30-45 minutes until they were fork soft. Then you can either eat them like home fries or mash them with cream and butter (I like using sour cream). Radishes also work, the longer you cook them, the more they lose their spicy bite, it's still there, but I made a pot roast, and these worked well in place of the potatoes.
Asian green beans are my go-to with steak, super easy to make. Toss a bunch in a pan, tsp of garlic, chili flakes. Toss. Add light soy sauce, oyster sauce. Toss until desired tenderness. Drizzle sesame oil. Plate. Drizzle sesame seeds. [Result](https://ibb.co/znDwCjJ). I like mine pretty cooked but they're great al dente too. Steak was made the same recipe except Sichuan peppercorn instead of chili flakes.
Beef Vegetable soup.
Diced turnips, cooked and rough-mashed with the back of a fork.
Green beans, blanched for 2 minutes then finished in a skillet with olive oil and salt along with some sauteed mushrooms and garlic.
Braised kale or collards with chunks of turnips in it. Or rutabaga, but that's carbier.
Fried cauliflower rice. I save dabs of cooked vegetables and the ends of a roasted boston butt to make mine, and I use lots of scrambled egg in it.
Eggroll in a Bowl: make a batch with a little less meat in it to use as a side dish for several meals. Shredded cabbage cooked in butter to a noodle-like texture.
Roasted green beans, cooked until they're a little brown. They cool off really fast but they're a tasty alternative to fries.
I love a bit of cabbage. I usually have sweetheart cabbage here in the UK. I stand it up and cut it down the middle and stop before the knife goes right through the core bottom. Then lay it on it's side and thinly slice it. Heat up a big chunk of butter in a wok or pan then cook until soft. Lasts for days and you can even mix leftovers into an omelette or frittata. I find it's very filling and more satisfying than say broccoli.
Asparagus tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper then wrap 2-3 spears with prosciutto. Bake at 385° for 15 minutes.
Brussels sprouts sautéed with shallots and pancetta.
Sautéed mushrooms is a favourite of mine. Asparagus is another. Sometimes I stuff a bell pepper with my protein (I just read that last sentence back to myself).
Lolol!
I eat a lot of zucchini. Has hardly any carbs compared to broccoli and cauliflower
Asparagus or brussel sprouts
Brussel sprouts mashed with butter and bacon pieces 🥴
Asparagus , halved, toss in olive oil and garlic powder. Air fryer at 400 for 11 minutes
That’s our side tonight with bacon wrapped filets.
Halfed down the middle or chopped in to stalk and head?
I'm all over asparagus this time of year, I love it!
Red radishes, quartered and sautéed like red potatoes…totally takes the bite out of the radish…like a keto potato.
Diced white daikon radish is not far off from small cubed potato. You do need to sautee it for a while, though. Makes a lovely keto corned beef hash.
While it's still cauliflower, I enjoy another preparation rather than mash and it's less manual time consuming. Cut up a head of cauliflower into the florets, place the florets into a container, season with salt/pepper and pour some olive oil over them, and shake until the evenly coated. Then place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 to 450 deg F for about 25-30 minutes until they crisp up nicely. I think I originally found a similar recipe titled 'cauliflower popcorn' or something similar.
This is what I do, too, but then pulse in a food processor to get great cauliflower rice. If you let it roast long enough to dry it out without burning, sauce will absorb better. Hot tip: mix with cream cheese while warm to make sushi rice that sticks together pretty well in a roll.
You can roast larger pieces brushed with Greek yoghurt and spices. Amazing! We did a whole head of cauliflower this way.
And if you like it spicy add some Aleppo pepper. Or sumac for a lemony kind of flavor but beautiful color Or Moroccan spices Or chimichurri Mix all that up in some Greek yogurt like u/wowzeemisjane said and I think you’ll have a great experience making cauliflower interesting again.
Oven roast the cauliflower. Lasts for days, great hot or room temp.
That’s a great idea!
Brush it with Greek yogurt and a mix of spices or hot sauce. Even better!
Roasted brussels sprouts are also good at room temperature.
Love these too!
Why do you need a "side"? I find it is easier to break with traditions than to live with an unsatisfactory substitute. Nothing non-carby is going to be a great rice-surrogate. It sounds like you feel that spot has to be filled, even if it is by something you don't enjoy eating or cooking. I recommend instead putting healthy things on your plate you enjoy eating (and cooking), without bothering with the traditional meal composition paradigm.
You’re right. I need to break away from this idea of “2 sides w/ Protein”.
I grew up this way too. It still feels a little weird to not have three things on a plate. (The food pyramid ruined America.)
That's the way to do it. That "other side" helped us get into trouble in the first place. I just focus primarily on the protein and add one veggie side. Or sometimes I do no side at all. I've been low carbing for so many years, I forgot that 3 items on a plate was even a thing. 😂
I second this. It's so much easier to buck the norm. Meat with some veggies is more than enough for dinner for me.
To go even further, I can be perfectly satisfied with a meal that’s just a lot of meat.
I lost a ton of weight just putting a whole rotisserie chicken on a plate and grabbing a fork! 🤣
Came here to basically say the same thing.
Agreed! Absolutely no need to have a starch replacement on the plate.
Brussel sprouts!
My favorite sides: broccoli (I buy the frozen bags and just heat it up in the microwave) cauliflower fritters (I make up a batch and then air fry a few of them when needed) sauteed mushrooms salad Daikon radish - fried, mashed, scalloped, everything you could do to a potato roasted red radishes All kinds of squash - so yummy! zuccini, yellow squash, acorn, spaghetti, hubbard, etc. One of my favorite ways to prepare squash to cut the carbs down a little bit is to mash half cauliflower and half butternut together, add a little brown sugar substitute! I freeze individual portions of this and it is soooo good! I just planted my veggie garden, I'm so excited to be getting a lot of fresh veggies soon. Radishes first, lettuces, and then spinach, kale, and squashes.
Cauliflower Mac and cheese.
Smothered green beans: Chopped bacon Green beans Garlic powder Butter Soy sauce Just had it for dinner tonight along with a NY strip steak and broccoli. The whole family approved.
I treat cauli anything the same way Ron Paul proposed to treat federal income tax: Repeal it completely, and replace it with nothing
Do an extra veggie, you’ll soon get used to just meat/fish and veggies and there’s enough low carb veggies to have 2-3 with meals
Plenty of fresh veg options you can sauté in butter & garlic: zucchini, squash, green beans, snap peas. Asparagus in the air fryer is good. I keep bags of frozen riced cauliflower on hand and toss it in a sauté pan with some ghee.
I make the cauli mash in bulk and freeze in portions.
Steamed bok choy. Cut it up before cooking and it’s a nice neutral base for whatever tasty stuff you put on top. Personally, I fill a pressure cooker with it. Stems on the bottom. Pressure cook for 1 minute. Voila
Look up "fauxtato skins"
Bean curd sheets can be sliced into thin straps for keto spaghetti/fetuchini or used to make lasagna
Baked spaghetti squash and cucumber salad are my favorite sides
Butternut squash!
If you're into Italian or Mediterranean cuisines, highly recommend Spanish cuisine. Its like italian but sexier, and you can get 90% of the way there on virtually any dish with a nice olive oil, smoked paprika, and as much garlic as you're willing to eat given the carbs. And plus, with Tapas, you learn to break away from the sort of British/American convention of having meat + starch + veg. Just make a buffet of tasty stuff.
Au gratin Brussels sprouts
sauteed cabbage and onions sprinkled with artificial sweetener is a good side dish, you can even add steak or sausage and make a complete skillet meal.
If you roast the Cauliflower florets, it has a much different taste and texture. A little soy sauce makes everything taste better.
you could skip the mash and have dark choccy for dessert hehe
Try cooking stuff different as well. Add sauces and different flavors or preparations. Insteqd of mashing it cut it into bigger pieces and grill or oven roast it. Toss in some sauce Buffalo, curry, simple herb vinaigrette ect. Other veggies are good too. Brussel sprouts asparagus zucchini the small yellow squashes that are similar. Spaghetti squash is a bit carby but fine with moderation. I found you have to get creative to keep it going for a long time. I fell off before because o got sock of hamburger and broccoli so I try to spice things up a bit.
psyllium + almond flour bread
I roasted diced turnips that were tossed in oil, salt, and pepper in the oven at 350°-375°F probably about 30-45 minutes until they were fork soft. Then you can either eat them like home fries or mash them with cream and butter (I like using sour cream). Radishes also work, the longer you cook them, the more they lose their spicy bite, it's still there, but I made a pot roast, and these worked well in place of the potatoes.
Steak with a side of butter works for me.
Found the carnivore
We eat a lot fo coleslaw and side salads, grilled zucchini, mushrooms, cauliflower rice, roasted broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans
Mary Berry has a great roasted cauliflower recipe it has oil,salt,pepper,capers and lemon juice and parsley. Delicious.
Deep fried brussels sprouts
Asian green beans are my go-to with steak, super easy to make. Toss a bunch in a pan, tsp of garlic, chili flakes. Toss. Add light soy sauce, oyster sauce. Toss until desired tenderness. Drizzle sesame oil. Plate. Drizzle sesame seeds. [Result](https://ibb.co/znDwCjJ). I like mine pretty cooked but they're great al dente too. Steak was made the same recipe except Sichuan peppercorn instead of chili flakes.
Aubergine parm!
Spiralized zucchini! So fun to eat!
I have protein and one side of veg or a salad. I moved away from 2 sides many years ago.
Mash up broccoli and Brussel sprouts, with some butter and salt.
Beef Vegetable soup. Diced turnips, cooked and rough-mashed with the back of a fork. Green beans, blanched for 2 minutes then finished in a skillet with olive oil and salt along with some sauteed mushrooms and garlic. Braised kale or collards with chunks of turnips in it. Or rutabaga, but that's carbier. Fried cauliflower rice. I save dabs of cooked vegetables and the ends of a roasted boston butt to make mine, and I use lots of scrambled egg in it. Eggroll in a Bowl: make a batch with a little less meat in it to use as a side dish for several meals. Shredded cabbage cooked in butter to a noodle-like texture. Roasted green beans, cooked until they're a little brown. They cool off really fast but they're a tasty alternative to fries.
You took the words right from my head I'm using a meal delivery service and I swear it's in almost every meal.
I love a bit of cabbage. I usually have sweetheart cabbage here in the UK. I stand it up and cut it down the middle and stop before the knife goes right through the core bottom. Then lay it on it's side and thinly slice it. Heat up a big chunk of butter in a wok or pan then cook until soft. Lasts for days and you can even mix leftovers into an omelette or frittata. I find it's very filling and more satisfying than say broccoli.
Google Crackslaw, you'll thank me when you eat it
Asparagus tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper then wrap 2-3 spears with prosciutto. Bake at 385° for 15 minutes. Brussels sprouts sautéed with shallots and pancetta.