Ever wonder why the mashed potatoes you eat at home don’t taste the same as those you eat anywhere else? We have a few food traditions over here that I haven’t told you about. Your Momma loves to sneak veggies into so much of what you eat. So, this would be why your mashed potatoes taste kinda different…

Cauliflower! It’s a Cauliflower Potato Mash!

Mashed potatoes are notoriously unhealthy; packed with butter and cream, traditional recipes lack the nutritional content that would justify eating so many carb-laden potatoes. Start a new food tradition with your kids by adding cauliflower to the mash and you will be jump starting the nutrients. I promise it tastes just as good! And you won’t be stressed about the salad they refuse to eat because you’ll know they already got their veggies!

I don’t make mashed potatoes all that often {I’m Latino and am used to pairing rice}, but when I do, I try to boast up the nutritional content by adding an entire head of cauliflower. Yup. The whole thing.

Food Traditions: Recipe Tips

Make your mashed potatoes like you normally would {mine always have a fair amount of garlic}. About 5 minutes before your potatoes are done boiling, throw in your cauliflower florets. Strain, put potatoes and cauliflower back in pot, add milk, butter and seasonings, and smash away!

Since I didn’t really grow up eating mashed potatoes, it wasn’t difficult adjusting my taste expectations for the additional flavor of cauliflower. I started doing this several years ago with a ratio of about 25% cauliflower, but we are more at about 50% potatoes and 50% cauliflower. It took Daddy D awhile to accept the sneaked in veggie.

This simple side dish of smashed cauliflower and potatoes make for a cheap and nutritional addition to almost anything!

I’m slowly getting my mojo back in the kitchen, and Alina has been my number 1 fan. Is there really anything better than having your munchkin feverishly chow up your cooking? And salads? This kid loves salad all of a sudden! Awesome sauce!

Do you mix potatoes and cauliflower? What sneak attacks do you play on your family?

This post was originally published at the author’s own blog, De Su Mama.

This post is part of the MomsRising Healthy Holiday Food Blog Carnival.