"Cheesy" Crunchy Cauliflower Snack

I was hoping to spend some quality time in my kitchen last weekend preparing snacks, spreads and some desserts for this week, but didn't go as planned. I managed to prepare my crunchy cauliflower snack, and a vegan, not raw soup for the boys. My husband had a design project he needed to finish on Saturday; he was gone morning 'til night, which left me with my two babies as usual. My son was very disappointed to find out that Papa is going to work on a Saturday, but we ended up having a great and fun day, playing outside in our beautiful warm weather and both kids had their mid-afternoon nap, which allowed me to prepare these two dishes.

I love to snack on these cauliflower bites or add them to my salad for extra crunchiness. I also love it that it's easy to make, few ingredients, it's nut free and used minimal oil. This keeps it light and easily digestible. One huge drawback to it is the fact that by the time they are done, half of it is gone...eaten...mostly by me. My son likes its flavor, but he does not like the crunchiness. (More for me!) For this reason I cannot say that it's kid friendly, although it does depend on your child. I went a little crazy on the nutritional yeast, but that's what gives it a "cheesy" flavor.

"Cheesy" Crunchy Cauliflower Snack

4 heads of organic medium sized cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup nutritional yeast
4 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt

Break the cauliflower in small pieces, trim off the darker spots, and wash them well. I usually like to soak it a few times in water for five-ten minutes. Drain it in colander and place cauliflower in a large bowl.

The cauliflower does not need to be dry; moisture will make the seasoning stick better to it. Pour olive oil on top and combine by hand until coated. Sprinkle cumin, chili powder, salt and nutritional yeast, and combine. I love to make raw plant-based dishes; I can do many taste tests without getting ill from raw non-vegan ingredients. Make sure to taste your cauliflower, I like cumin, so I added that freely. Also, keep in mind that when the cauliflower is dehydrated, the flavors will become more concentrated. 

Place the coated cauliflower pieces unto your dehydrator trays. I filled, not all the way, 4 trays of my 9 tray dehydrator. Set the temperature to 115 Fahrenheit, and dehydrate for about 16 hours. Once again, make sure you try it. It may take less time or maybe a little longer, depending on how you like it. If you don't have a dehydrator, you may use your oven on the very low setting. But remember, in order to keep all enzymes intact, it needs to be under 118 Fahrenheit. Using an oven will still allow you to have a very healthy snack. Beats potato chips or even corn chips any day!

It's amazing how much vegetables shrink when dehydrated. Drink plenty of water after eating anything dehydrated. It will replenish the fluids the vegetables lost. Here is the final result. A very tasty and crunchy snack. Perfect for your afternoon office cravings or to replace popcorn on movie nights.  I encourage you to try it and leave me a feedback!