Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

I'm not a cauliflower fan. At least, I wasn't. But since surgery, I've been trying more and more things. I've found that raw cauliflower is kind of bland, which is probably why it works so well as faux mashed potatoes and pizza crust.

It also works as a wing replacement.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Why replace wings? Chicken is delicious AND healthy!

You'd not be wrong, but some people don't eat chicken (MONSTERS!) and some people just want to take a break from chicken to get more veggies into their diet. Then there are the people that eat these right alongside boneless buffalo wings, because YAY! NEVER TOO MUCH BUFFALO SAUCE!

So I gave these a shot Sunday night and found out that they really are as delicious as others have stated. My 10-year-old son claims to HATE cauliflower; he devoured these AND ate the ones I couldn't.

So give them a try, won't you? And here's a smart substitute if you're trying to watch carbs, calories, and protein intake, like me: Substitute the white flour for garbanzo flour. Fewer cals and carbs and more protein per servings. I didn't have any on hand, which is why I did this recipe with the white flour. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp. garlic salt 
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 2/3 cup Frank's Buffalo Sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, water, garlic salt.
3. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Toss cauliflower into batter and make sure to coat each piece completely.
5. Place battered cauliflower on a lightly greased, non-stick baking sheet. Note: Make sure you let some of the batter roll off or you'll have a lot of baked batter and cauliflower pieces sticking together. You could set them on a pan (not intended for baking) until they are all coated and transfer them from there to the pan for baking, which will give them a chance to let go of some of the excess coating.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, tossing halfway through.
7. While they're baking combine the melted butter and hot sauce in a large bowl.
8. When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and gently toss it in the hot sauce mixture.
9. Place the cauliflower back on the baking sheet and cook for an additional 25 minutes or until it becomes crispy.
10. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
11. Serve with your favorite creamy dressing or eat plain.

Nutrition Info

• 4 Servings
• 119 calories per serving
• Total Fat: 3 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 8 mg
• Sodium: 1224 mg (Yes, I know, it's a TON; you can lower the salt by using garlic powder and/or a different buffalo/hot sauce. I don't worry about it because my breakfasts and lunches are pretty sodium-light most days.)
• Potassium: 665 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 20 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5 g
• Sugars: 5 g
• Protein: 5 g
• Vitamin A: 1 %
• Vitamin C: 5 %
• Calcium: 164 % (Yay! Strong bones! Who needs milk? Well, we do or we have no butter, apparently.)
• Iron: 7 %