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From the Skeptical Cardiologist's Cookbook: Darwin Dali-ghts ©

Dr. Anthony Pearson

Food preparation is not the forte’ of the skeptical cardiologist.
However, a “heart-healthy” snack he created yesterday is generating such a buzz in the Pearson kitchen that he felt compelled to share it.

Ingredients

One head of cauliflower, raw, uncooked and broken up into florets . Mine was organic from Whole Foods. Peanut butter. Mine was ground from peanuts a week earlier at Whole Foods.

Preparation

It takes about 2 minutes to convert a head of cauliflower into bite size pieces. Be sure to leave the stems intact because they can be used as “handles”, if you will, to dip the cauliflower pieces into the peanut butter.

Response

My friend Charles had his doubts initially but became a huge fan after  having a few bites. His skepticism evolved into a passionate belief in the snacks.

 
 
 
 
 
Salvador was entranced and made vertiginous by the phantasmagoria of colors, textures  and shapes that emerged from the combination of cauliflower and peanut butter.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Nutritional Content

This snack, which I have dubbed  a Darwin Dali-ght ©, combines two heart healthy ingredients.

 A head of uncooked cauliflower contains 146 calories. It is chock full of things we cardiologists think are good for you including:

 
It has negligible amounts of cholesterol and fat (but we are no longer concerned about these) and 11 grams of sugar (it is not added sugar so this is OK).
Some authors (such as the ubiquitous quack Mercola) have proclaimed it a superfood, going on and on about various antioxidants and obscure chemicals found in it that may have anti-inflammatory or anti-cancer properties but this is all speculation.
A whole head of cauliflower contains  about 1800 mg of potassium which is 50% of the daily allowance. Depending on what source you consult you will see it listed as both low in potassium and high in potassium. Given that a 100 gram serving of cauliflower contains about 300 mg of potassium,  I will be recommending it to my patients with low potassium and telling my patients with high potassium to stay away from it.
Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain 3.3 grams of saturated fat and 12.3 grams of unsaturated fat. We don’t have to worry about these fats, they  don’t contribute to obesity or heart disease (see here).  The fat in the peanut butter adds to the satisfaction and feeling of fullness created by the Darwin Dali-ght ©. Peanut butter is also full of great antioxidants and potassium.
The bandmates of the skeptical cardiologist (including the son and youngest daughter of the skeptical cardiologist) dug into some Darwin Dali-ghts after yesterday’s jam session and were pleasantly surprised at how tasty and satisfying these heart-healthy concoctions are.
Nota Bene: I have discovered today how to make the © sign on a Mac keyboard (alt g).  Also, please note, that I have not heavily researched whether this combination of foods has been created or copyrighted previously.
-ACP;)
 

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