This salad is really brought together by all the different herbs and spices. It may seem like an unusual combination but it honestly works really nicely! The cauliflower just acts as a base and as it had such a mild taste, it allows the other flavors used to really come through.
Cauliflower supports our detox system, our antioxidant system and our anti-inflammatory system. Specific antioxidants found in cauliflower boost the phase 1 detoxification process. Phase 1 occurs in the liver and is basically where cytochrome p-450 turns a toxic molecule into a less toxic substance through a series of reactions. The p-450 enzymes are incredibly sensitive to their environment and weirdly grapefruit juice and curcumin can reduce their activity! (This is actually a positive thing with curcumin). There are a few co-factors of p-450 enzymes including iron and certain indoles found in cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower is part of the cruciferous family). Phase 2 of the detoxification process is where our liver cells add another molecule onto the toxin which then makes it water soluble. Before this step, harmful toxins are fat soluble which means they are stored in fat cells and can be released in times of fasting, exercise and stress. By making the toxin water soluble it then dissolves in our blood and is lost in our urine. Cauliflower contains sulfur-containing nutrients which the liver cells use for phase 2. Eggs, raw garlic and onions are also good sources.
We all, if maybe inadvertently, ingest a huge amount of toxins every day (p-450 enzyme substrates include caffeine, alcohol, most drugs, pesticides etc) and therefore we need to support our liver’s detox system in order that their toxicity can be neutralized. Without supporting our detox system we have an increased risk of toxin damage which ultimately leads to cancer.
However the detoxification process does also have some negative effects and therefore try and avoid toxins full stop. One of these negative effects is the large amount of free radicals that are produced. These can cause oxidative damage to our cells and lead to ageing (1 reason that excessive smoking, drinking and drug taking can make you look old). Cauliflower can also protect against this as it contains a wide range of antioxidants. It has a high concentration of both vitamin C and manganese, two very conventional antioxidants, as well as a large variety of phytonutrients.
Other great cauliflower recipes:
Ingredients: serves 3 or 2 large
- 1/2 Cauliflower
- 1/2 cucumber
- 2 spring onions
- 30g mint
- 30g parsley
- 1 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red pepper
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
Method:
- Grate the cauliflower into a large bowl. (I used a food processor which saves A LOT of time)
- Roughly chop the cucumber, spring onions, all the parsley, the mint leaves, the pepper and the tomatoes and add them to the cauliflower.
- Heat a frying pan on a medium heat and add the coriander seeds and the cashews. Dry fry for a couple of minutes then set them both to one side to cool.
- Add to the cauliflower the cumin, thyme, oregano, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Mince a garlic clove and add it to the cauliflower.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon in too.
- Crush the coriander seeds and roughly chop the cashews and add them too into the salad.
- Finally combine everything and add the olive oil when you’re ready to serve.
145kcal (without olive oil and using 1/4cup cashews)
Healthfection 
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