Guilt-Free Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole / Cheese sauce

I'll admit, I ate more than my fair share of the unhealthy version of this over the holidays.  It's soooo good... I honestly don't know what the original recipe is for it, but I doubt it's really all that good for you.  So I made my own!  I used cauliflower rice instead of regular rice, since there really isn't much nutritional value in rice and it's waaay too high in carbohydrates, beings that it's a grain.  Granted, it's a better grain than others since it's naturally gluten-free, but, well, go back and read about carbohydrates if you want to know more.  Bottom line, carbs=sugar, and excess sugar without proper nutrients to help digest it will only weaken the immune system and set you up for trouble.  100 grams of rice contains 77 grams of carbs.  Swapping it out for cauliflower, you get 5 grams of carbs per 100 gram serving.  Plus all the nutritional benefits of its veggie glory, I'll take that over the rice!

Cheese... yeah I need to substitute that... still haven't pried myself away from all dairy, though my family and I cut out cow's milk completely.  It's just that cheese... it tastes so good... one of these days I'll get there.  We don't eat much of it, so that probably helps.

Anyway, back to the recipe.  I'm excited about this!  It's definitely delicious and satisfying!  And I felt way better after eating a heaping scoop of this as opposed to the rice version.  Still had energy to wash dishes rather than head straight to the couch, too.

The cheese sauce can probably be used for a variety of different purposes - I made it separate and added it into the broccoli and cauliflower, and it was a great consistency for broccoli by itself, or whatever else you'd want to add cheese sauce to.  I'll have to experiment with that in the future!

Here's how it's made:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 1/2 cups cubed cheese of choice - I used colby as that's what we had on hand
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
Dash of black pepper
3 tbsp arrowroot powder

Heat the coconut milk and cheese in a sauce pan over medium heat until cheese begins to melt.  Add in the garlic, paprika, and black pepper and continue to stir.  Little by little, about a half tbsp at a time, whisk in the arrowroot powder (I just used a fork to do this) to help the sauce thicken.  Take off the heat once the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth.



For the broccoli "rice" casserole:

1/4 - 1/2 head of broccoli, cut into small florets (including the stems)
1/2 head cauliflower

Steam the broccoli florets in a steamer basket over boiling water until crisp-tender.  Meanwhile, pulse the cauliflower in a food processor (or if you don't have one, use a food chopper or a cheese grater, but that takes forever so I highly recommend a food processor) until it reaches the consistency of rice.  Combine the broccoli and cauli-rice in a pot and stir in the cheese sauce.  Cook over medium-low heat to soften the cauliflower a bit and heat all the way through.  Serve hot and enjoy!