It’s chilly out, and all I want is comfort food. Comfort food to me means carbs and cream. Pasta, pastries, chowder, chocolate. I could go on.

Last week, I inhaled two bowls of clam chowder at work and immediately felt sluggish the rest of the afternoon.

Sigh, my craving for comfort food completely contradicts my desire to eat healthy.

Until this week.

I found a delicious and nutritious substitute for cream in my soups, stews, and chowders: pureed cauliflower.

One serving of cauliflower has 100% of our daily recommended amount of vitamin C and is high in fiber (source). Not to mention, cauliflower is super versatile to cook with and can often be found in grocery stores plastic-free. So many wins.

Here’s how I used pureed cauliflower this week in my chicken pot pie chowder:

Ingredients

1 small head of cauliflower
1 small yellow onion
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of shredded chicken
2 cups of frozen corn
2 cups of frozen peas
2 cups of diced carrots
2 cups of diced potatoes
1 cup of almond milk
1 tablespoon of ghee
2 teaspoons of thyme
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Side note: I roasted a whole chicken the day before, made broth from the bones, and shredded the breasts for the chowder.
Cut the cauliflower into large pieces.
Bring the broth and cauliflower to a boil in a large pot; cook until the cauliflower is tender. Let cool.
Dice the onions, carrots, and potatoes.
Blend the broth and cauliflower until smooth. Keep it in the blender for a moment.
In the empty pot, heat up the ghee. Soften the onions, carrots, and potatoes until the onions are translucent.
Add the pureed cauliflower and almond milk to the pot.
Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the seasonings, frozen corn, and frozen peas.
Chowder is done once the potatoes are tender.
Enjoy!