Hi CC,

Great question! Cauliflower rice -- a.k.a. cauliflower that's been reduced to rice-sized pieces -- has become super popular, and food manufacturers are catching on. It's an amazing swap for traditional rice, since it has a fraction of the calories and carbs, plus a lot more fiber. And since the taste is mild, it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Trader Joe's makes both refrigerated and frozen Riced Cauliflower, there's Green Giant Riced Cauliflower in the freezer aisle, and Green Giant Fresh makes refrigerated Cauliflower Crumbles... All great!

If you want to use the store-bought stuff in HG recipes, here's how to do it. For every cup of roughly chopped cauliflower called for in the recipe, use 3/4 cup of the premade rice or crumbles. Then just skip the blender step. Heads up: If the recipe calls for a food processor instead of a blender and says to process the cauliflower into crumbs, you will need to do that step. But you can still start with the premade rice or crumbles. (You'll still use 3/4 cup of the premade stuff for every cup of roughly chopped cauliflower in the recipe.)

Can't find the store-bought products and want to whip up a big batch at once? Do it! Working a few cups at a time, pulse roughly chopped cauliflower in a blender until reduced to rice-sized pieces. You may need to stop and stir occasionally; rearrange the cauliflower in the blender, and then resume blending. Store it in an airtight container, and your riced cauliflower will stay fresh for about four days in the fridge. Freezing works too! To thaw it, just let it sit out for several hours, or use the thaw cycle on your microwave. Once it's thawed, use a clean dish towel (or paper towels) to squeeze out excess moisture.

Ready for cauliflower-rice recipes?

Check these out! And for even more cauliflower creations, pick up a copy of Hungry Girl Clean & Hungry, and flip to Chapter 9!