Fully Loaded Mock Potatoes Recipe - LOW CAL!

How hard is it to get kids to eat veggies?  If you live in my house, it's almost impossible!  My kids' healthy idea of food is Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti, Scrambled Eggs, Chicken Fingers or Grilled Cheese.  Definitely not the same idea that I have!  Once in a while I can get them to eat some broccoli or raw carrots...maybe some celery, but that has to be with peanut butter!  It's like World War III at our house when I try to get my kids to eat healthy!!

Mashed Potatoes are the only "vegetable" they will eat aside from french fries, but they absolutely love Mashed Potatoes.  I had a little light bulb go off the other day in my head -- which is rare!  I realized that Mock Potatoes can be just as good as Mashed Potatoes!  So, I tried to come up with different ways to "spruce" them up a bit.  Tons of ideas went through my head, but nothing too specific.  

My mom and I started talking today about how much we loved fully loaded baked potatoes.  There was only one problem with that; I'm on a diet and eating baked potatoes is frowned upon by the Diet Gods!  lol  Another light bulb went off (wow! 2 within a 24 hour period!) I could make Mock Potatoes with the same ingredients I would put on top of a fully loaded baked potato!  I prayed that my kids wouldn't know the difference upon tasting it...

Alayna, my oldest, helped me with the food processor, which she loved to press the button.  Olivia held her ears and said "Loud" the whole time! LOL  We had such a good time, though.  The whole recipe took about 20 minutes to make, and it tastes absolutely delicious!  To my surprise, the kids ate the entire bowl and asked for more!  I also enjoyed it because of the fact that it's low calorie! :)

• 1 head cauliflower, washed and broken into florets (about 4 cups florets)
• ⅓ cup Hidden Valley® The Original Ranch® Dressing Light
• 1 tablespoon fat-free milk
• 1 tablespoon light margarine (tub-style) or butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream
• A pinch of chives
• 1 tablespoon of real bacon bits
• 1 tablespoon of fat -free shredded cheese
• 3 florettes of broccoli 

Place cauliflower florets into a steamer and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender.


Transfer the cauliflower to a food processor.


Add Hidden Valley® The Original Ranch® Dressing Light, milk and margarine to the cauliflower and blend until the mixture reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Mix in sour cream, chives, bacon bits

Microwave 3 florettes of broccoli for required time on package.  Chop with food processor.  Mix in.

Salt and top with a pinch of cheese, bacon bits and chives.  Serve

If you register with Hidden Valley Ranch, you will get a $1 coupon as well!  Definitely great to get some ingredients for a great price! 

Disclosure

This post is part of a blogging contest from the TwitterMoms community. There is a chance this post could be selected to win a $25 AmEx Gift Card, so wish me luck! For more details, you can view the contest page here.