Shirtless Chef – Kiss My Cauliflower Grits!

Local fitness enthusiast Jason Murphy remakes favorite meals of his youth into healthy dishes. See the full list of his recipes at www.mysaline.com/shirtless.

If there is one thing in my DNA that would give away that I was raised in the south, it would be the absolutely amazing amount of grits I consumed as a child. I would venture to guess 70 percent of my breakfasts growing up had a huge super sized version of grits. I loved the stuff. Some of my fondest childhood memories are waking up at my grandmother’s house to a huge breakfast with grits being what I considered being the foundation of a truly fantastic meal. Later in life, fresh out on my own after boot camp, I would make grits myself, and although they were good, they never quite attained that magical quality that my grandmother’s cooking achieved. I suspect a lot of that just had to be with her, truly one of the kindest and pure hearted people to have ever graced this Earth with her presence. Slowly I drifted away from making grits, leaving that dish to reside in those few childhood memories that are warm and comforting when they decide to visit.

I would be using instant grits when I made them back in the day. The instructions are simple, bring water to a boil, add your grits and salt, cook for five minutes, add butter or cheese if desired. My results always varied. Sometimes they were decent, sometimes it was like eating sand with a bit of butter and salt. The nutritional value of instant grits is really non-existent, with the corn stripped of any fiber, it’s just a big bowl of simple carbs that spikes your blood sugar, and some chemical preservatives added in to boot because…well, I guess big food corporations can’t make anything without sticking some weird chemical in it. In short, like most of my childhood heroes, it ends up being not at all what it claimed to be.

Now, in my new life, grits have made a triumphant return. Not only does it come out with the same delicious consistency every time, now they also come loaded with vitamins, fiber, and healthy fats. That’s right, it’s that culinary chameleon cauliflower here to save the day again. I can hear you guys groaning from here. Every time I mention cauliflower, I’m met with upturned noses, look of disgust, and an automatic disdain for whatever dish I’m describing. It’s like they automatically assume I’m making them eat raw florets dipped in some horrible bottled ranch dip. Guess what? I don’t like raw cauliflower florets either, and I probably dislike it even more than you do. Trust me when I say this, cauliflower will taste like whatever you tell it to be, and if you will just let go of preconceived notions and allow for new experiences, what this cruciferous vegetable can do will amaze you. My grandmother loved veggies, and would often order just a plate of steamed veggies at a restaurant for her dinner. I wish she were still here to try my new cauliflower grits. I bet she would love them.

The possibilities are endless with these grits. They are perfectly at home as a breakfast staple hosting eggs and bacon like the real deal, or spice them up for Shrimp and Grits. I had a can of rotel and some chicken andouille sausage lying around. I browned those up with a 1/2 block of cream cheese as a topping for the grits, and it was one of the best dinners I’ve had in quite a while.

You can use frozen cauliflower rice here, or run a fresh one through a food processor. It really depends on how you like the texture. Frozen cauliflower rice tends to be a little bigger than home processed, but honestly, with the cooking techniques here, either way it turns out great. Just make sure to make the dairy fats here grass fed, so you get the healthy omega-3 and anti-inflammatory properties that are missing from conventional grain fed dairy. Here’s a comparison picture with grass fed irish butter next to conventional grain lot dairy butter:

You can see the deep yellow of the grass fed butter compared to the pale coloring of the grain lot butter. There is just no comparison in taste or health here. Same goes for the half & half or heavy cream, whichever you use, make it grass fed. Give this a try and you will not regret it. It’s simple, quick, and easy. And for those of you refusing to try it because it’s cauliflower, well, I think Flo says it best:

Cauliflower grits:

Ingredients:

20 ounces cauliflower rice – frozen or fresh

1 tbsp grass fed butter

1 cup grass fed heavy cream or half & half

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

3/4 cup shredded Parmsean or grass fed white cheddar cheese

2 tbsp avocado oil

Instructions:

Heat the avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat until it starts to shimmer.

Add the cauliflower rice, salt, and pepper. Stir often to avoid burning. Cook the cauliflower until it is soft and all the moisture has evaporated from the pan, typically 8 to 10 minutes:

Add the butter and stir until melted:

Once the butter is melted, add the cup of heavy cream:

Reduce the heat, and simmer for at least ten minutes, or until the grits have thickened considerably. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese until melted: