Cauliflower "crust"?

[ReneeF]

I've been experimenting with different ways to serve cauliflower to my family -- we've had it as "rice", mashed, and roasted. I recently steamed and mashed some cauliflower, squeezed out some of the water, put it in muffin tins, then added a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of veggies (assorted --- grilled onion, shredded carrot, broccoli, black olive, mushroom). I baked them and called them "pizza bites". I thought it was a fun way to serve a veggie side dish with a tasty Italian flavoring. But I've been told on a few FB boards that this is considered pizza and is therefore not appropriate for a Whole30. I thought this was more similar to a portobello mushroom "bun" or a lettuce "taco" -- a healthy substitute for an unhealthy food -- than an almond flour pizza crust that's supposed to look, taste, and feel like the real thing. Can you please settle this debate for me? What say ye? (Also, would it make a difference if I made one big "cauliflower pie" that might slightly resemble a pizza if you stood across the room and squinted your eyes? Thanks.

[Tom Denham]

The Whole30 team is ambivalent about some of the ways cauliflower is being used by Whole30ers. We would like to settle the debate and give clear-cut answers to every question, but a yes or no answer may not be appropriate in this case. (Comment added 23 January 2015)

 

Original comment: Making cauliflower veggie muffins or a cauliflower pizza crust is fine. Seriously, I am the bad cop around here and I think your idea sounds good!

 

We take seriously the principle of not replicating conventional foods with compliant ingredients around here. If you were using almond or coconut flour as your crust, the answer would be STOP! NO! But, cauliflower? Sure. Principle is one thing, but I don't think you can use cauliflower wrong during a Whole30. (Unless you go for a cauliflower tortilla. We have a ruling against "wrappers." Google the Whole30 and coconut wraps to see the whole story on that issue. This last comment added 23 January 2015).

[kirkor]

Ya I mean at a certain point it can get kind of silly -- are broiled sweet potato medallions too close to chips? If you call your muffin tin bakes "Italian mini-casseroles" does that make them ok? Should "riced cauliflower" be called "crumbled cauliflower"?

[jent103]

I think there are a couple of issues with the SWYPO-type foods.

 

1) A lot of them have little nutritional value, even if the ingredients are all technically compliant. Paleo pumpkin muffins (or whatever) made with coconut or almond flour have way fewer nutritional benefits than a real protein + fat + vegetable breakfast, even if all the ingredients are technically compliant. Egg frittata muffins don't have that issue because they have protein, good fat, and maybe some vegetables too. Your concoction also doesn't have that problem - everything in there has nutritional value.

 

2) The psychological aspect is also big, and that's where the gray zone comes in - sometimes what's SWYPO (or food without brakes) for you may not be for me, and vice versa. If you want nothing but pizza and are trying sixteen different ways to have your pizza on a Whole30, it might be best to not try to recreate it, because recreating it is just reinforcing that habit you're trying to break. (This is also why making compliant sweet coffee creamers is often discouraged.) It doesn't sound like that's what's happening here.

 

People use sweet potato "crusts" for quiches all the time, and Mel Joulwan has a meatza recipe and a veggie pizza recipe in her cookbooks, both of which are specifically Whole30 approved. I think you're fine.