Nutritious Vs. Vicious Take 3: Fettuccine Alfredo

Pin It Fettuccine alfredo seems to be one of the most popular dishes at places like Olive Garden.  My sister orders it wherever she goes and I know a lot of my friends do too.  I am not exactly sure what it is about it that makes it so addicting, but I decided it was my turn to take a stab at turning it into something nutritious-n-delicious.  I have tried making it with tofu in the past, but I wanted to try something different this time... and by different I mean cauliflower.  Yep.  Cauliflower.  I am sure many of you are reacting to this in the same way that two of my roommates did.  They were freaking out and exclaiming that they hated cauliflower, it is gross, and that they refused to try it.  Like normal, I just ignored their comments and told them to just wait and see how it turned out.
As I got to work, everything was going smoothly until I realized half way through the food processing step that I probably should have cooked the cauliflower a little more before pureeing it.  My end results were not quite as smooth as I had hoped it would be, but even so it sure did taste delicious.  This is a great way to get your veggies in for the day without even knowing it!  I will admit the Cauliflower Alfredo is not quite the same as the stuff you will find at Olive Garden, but I don't think it is appropriate to compare the two anyway.  Olive Garden Alfredo should be a treat every once in a while if you must; whereas, Cauliflower Alfredo can be enjoyed several times a week if you so choose.

CAULIFLOWER ALFREDO

Sorry about the picture quality again...I was too lazy to get out my camera so I just used my phone. Haha.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Cauliflower (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup Water

1 tsp Chicken soup base (low sodium)

1 tsp Onion flakes

1 tsp Garlic powder

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup Skim milk

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook (steam, boil, or however else you want to cook it) the cauliflower until pretty soft, but not mushy.

2. Heat the water and stir in the chicken soup base, onion flakes, garlic powder, basil, and Italian seasoning until mixed well.

3. Add all the ingredients in the food processor (blender might work too) and puree puree puree!  Let it go until completely smooth only stopping to scrap down the sides once or twice to make sure it all gets incorporated.

4. Return sauce to a pot or microwavable dish and heat a little more before serving.

5. Serve with Nasoya's Shirataki Fettuccine noodles or sub regular 100% whole wheat fettuccine noodles.  I also added cut up chicken to mine to get my protein in.

6. Enjoy!

Makes about 5 half cup servings.

Nutrition Facts:
Because this is a Nutritious Vs. Vicious post I decided to compare my alfredo to Olive Garden's.  I know I said before they are not comparable I just want to show you how vicious their alfredo can be.  Therefore if you are really craving some alfredo try this recipe before you head on over to Olive Garden and eat over half a days worth of calories in one sitting.  (Note: I am not trying to dis Olive Garden in anyway.  It is ok for an occasional treat.  I just want to open your eyes to what you are putting into the body God has so beautifully created for you.)
The nutrition facts are based on the sauce alone.  I used the nutrition facts for the Alfredo Dipping Sauce from Olive Garden.  The actual dinner portion with chicken and noodles is a whooping 1440 calories....scary.

NUTRITIOUS                                VS.                        VICIOUS

Calories: 56                                                                    Calories: 410

Total Fat: 2.5 g                                                               Total Fat: 38 g

     Sat. Fat: 1.6 g                                                                 Sat. Fat: 24g

Cholesterol: 8.5 mg                                                        Cholesterol: ?

Sodium: 274.6 mg                                                          Sodium: 520 mg

Potassium: 179.6 mg                                                      Potassium: ?

Total Carbs: 4.5 g                                                          Total Carbs: 8 g

     Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g                                                        Fiber: 1 g

     Sugars: 2.4 g                                                                  Sugars: ?

Protein: 5 g                                                                     Protein: 7 g

Vitamin A: 1.4%                                                            Vitamin A: ?

Vitamin C: 31.9%                                                          Vitamin C: ?

Calcium: 10.7%                                                              Calcium: ?

Iron: 1.4%                                                                       Iron: ?