Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes" with Goat Cheese and Parmesan

So last fall I went hard core no carbs, South Beach Diet phase 1, for a few months and dropped over 20 pounds. It was really hard to not eat carbs since I love sweets and bread products, but losing the weight made me feel better about myself, and it was something I just needed to do for my health.

Well, I got lazy, started chowing down on all my favorite carbby foods again, with no restraint, and I re-gained a few of those pounds. The husband's pants have been fitting a bit tighter lately as well, so we decided to give South Beach another try, but this time focus more on less carbs, rather than NO cabrs, because let's face it, carbs taste good! And no carbs gives me headaches and makes me crabby- I'm no ray of sunshine on a normal day, so doing something that puts me in a bad mood is no way to live life.

In our quest to cut the carbs, I pulled out this recipe for cauliflower mashed "potatoes", which obvs contain no potatoes. Let me tell you, I am not a fan of many vegetables, and cauliflower is definitely on that list. But, once they were pureed, then combined with goat cheese and parmesean cheese, I could.not.stop eating them! The consistency was spot on- smooth, creamy, velvety. Yummm. The two different cheeses added extra creaminess, as well as amazing flavor.

The husband, who is a veggie hater and steak lover, commented that this dish was the star of the meal and better than the steaks we had for dinner. If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!

Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes" with Goat Cheese and Parmesan Cheese
Source: Kayln's Kitchen
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 Tablespoon half and half or cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 ounces goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Chop up cauliflower into small chunks, discarding the stem and leaves.

Put cauliflower and minced garlic in a saucepan (or microwave safe bowl if you want to microwave it) with enough water to cover the cauliflower. Cook for 20 minutes, until cauliflower is soft.

Drain the water and let cauliflower sit in a colander for about 5 minutes to allow extra water to drain off.

Puree cauliflower in a blender or food processor (I used my immersion blender for this, with the cauliflower in a saucepan. It worked great!). Put pureed cauliflower in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and mix in the goat cheese, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to melt the cheese, then remove from heat. Sprinkle chopped chives over the top and serve warm.