Make-It Monday: Cauliflower Popcorn

Well I am just stoked to announce that today is my last day of having to go without meat for a week. So I know there are these people called “vegetarians.” Yeah, how do you all live like that exactly? Holy cow. (Ha ha, I so did not plan that pun…)

I’m on the detox stage of the last part of my gut repair diet (which normally takes a body about two months, while I’m nearing my six month mark…) and this phase requires no meat. Y’all, I’m already gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, nut-free, and corn-free and also not allowed to have potatoes, apples, peaches, pineapple, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and any chocolate besides this kind. Among more that’s just too hard to list. And I can only have turkey and chicken for meat. I can, however, now have rice, something I was recently allowed to reintroduce, and I am living on it. (Did you know brown rice seasoned with just salt and pepper is really good? Made that discovery this week.)

All that to say, you better believe I’ve had tomorrow’s dinner planned for days—and you know it’s chicken!

But first I have to get through today. So I wanted to share a recipe that has helped me get through this week of deprivation. (Though trust me, you’ll like it regardless of whether you’re on any sort of diet.) I found it here originally, which I probably found through handy dandy Pinterest.

Cauliflower Popcorn 

(with a bonus variation below)

You'll need:

Chopped up cauliflower (however much you want--about 1/4 of a head is pictured, though I usually do a whole head)

2-4 Tbsp. olive oil (depending on the amount of cauliflower)

about 1 tsp. salt (I use sea salt; amount also depends on how much you're making)

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2) Mix the cauliflower in a bowl with the olive oil and salt to coat the pieces.

3) Spread the pieces out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Why yes, there is indeed broccoli in that picture. We'll get there.

4) Bake for 30-45 minutes depending on how crispy you want the cauliflower. I aim for longer rather than shorter.

Nice and crispy... The black part's the best part.

Now, you can also try this with broccoli!

This was my first time at the broccoli attempt, and I did do those a little too long. While I think the cauliflower needs to go a good 40 minutes or more, the broccoli probably should have gone about 30.

But it was still pretty tasty! Enjoy!

This recipe was featured by Coping with Frugality for Delicious Dish Tuesday and by Vintage Zest for Do Tell Tuesday! :D

P.S. Linking up with Funday Monday, Musings of a Housewife and Sassy Moms in the City's Real Food Recipe Roundup, Create Link Inspire, Share Your Stuff Tuesdays, Show Me What Ya Got, Good Tips Tuesday, Time to Sparkle, Do Tell Tuesday, Delicious Dish Tuesday,Whatever Goes Wednesday, Whimsy Wednesdays, What We Eat Wednesday, Wildly Original Party, Pretty Wednesday, Wellness Wednesday, and All Things Thursday.