Cauliflower Tots with The Foraging Fox

I’ve been trying to get back into the habit of eating better these days again. We were so good leading up to the wedding on our keto diet. While I don’t think I can be on strict keto anymore, I’m going to try to find alternatives for carbs and sugar on weekdays as much as possible. If you know me in real life, you know I’m the first one to say eat what you want and figure it out later. But I’ve gotten to the age where I have to watch what I eat or I’ll regret it in the next hour (lol). So back onto subbing out good filling veggies instead of starches and carbs.

Cauliflower was one of my go-to veggies while on the keto diet. I used to make my own cauliflower pizza crust, but ended up hating it because of all the wringing that was involved. It was way too much labor for not a lot of yield. But I loved cauliflower in many other ways like fried rice, cauliflower already sauce, and tater tots. Neither of those recipes require wringing out the moisture from the cauliflower (thank goodness) so there’s not as much labor involved. Things are so convenient now that you can buy riced cauliflower from the store and don’t even need to pull out your food processor. But if you’re like me and would prefer some super fresh cauliflower, it’s also really simple to just push a button at home.

I feel that cauliflower gets a bad rap and is treated unfairly in the world of vegetables. Yes, it’s not as much fun looking as some of the other more popular vegetables but it’s one of it’s so filling and super versatile. Yes, cauliflower is part of the brassica oleracea family (broccoli, brussel sprouts) and you toot a bit more after eating it, but it has so many nutritional benefits. It’s high in fiber and B-vitamins; and supports weight loss and digestion. It’s such a great substitute for grains and legumes as it’s much lower in calorie but extremely filling.

I paired these cauliflower tots with this sugar-free ketchup from The Foraging Fox, Beetroot Ketchup. It follows the line of trying to eat healthy but still being super tasty. It tasted exactly like ketchup but made with beets! And I absolutely love beets. There’s no dairy, gluten, yeast, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, or artificial ingredients in this! It’s vegan friendly and so delicious. It came in this adorable packaging and I couldn’t get over just how ridiculously cute everything was. The Foraging Fox originally is a UK company but they recently started selling in the US. Their products can be found in stores at Walmart or online at Amazon and Vitacost. They have a line of mayo that I’m intrigued to try too.

If you’re like my husband and feel the tots aren’t crispy enough from baking, you can also pan fry them. I would suggest using a nonstick pan to avoid using additional oil. You can make a large batch of these and then freeze for up to 3 months. Simply put them on a tray from the freezer and bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes until they’re hot again.