Basic Cauliflower Risotto:
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Found this in Spark People Recipes.
(I do not have Nutrition information, as the person who entered it in Spark Recipes, which does have nutrition information,
only entered a link to another website where she had entered it.)
I will actually enter it in Spark People Recipes to get the nutrition information, with a follow-up posting.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 head Cauliflower, roughly chopped, then riced (see below)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 whole shallot (or small onion), minced
[optional} clove of garlic
½ cups vegetable or chicken or beef stock
2 Tablespoons half-and-half (I might try 0% greek yogurt?)
¼ cups Parmesan cheese, grated ,plus more for shaving
1 Tablespoon Italian Parsley, chopped
Sea Salt And Black Pepper to taste
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Directions:
Rice cauliflower
(Pulse cauliflower in a food processor until it is completely chopped to the point that it looks like grains of rice.)
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Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
Add minced shallot (onions) (and minced garlic) and saute in oil until softened.
Add riced cauliflower and begin to stir around to coat.
Add stock, a little at a time while cauliflower cooks.
When cauliflower is tender, add cream or half-and-half.
Season with salt and pepper and stir in grated parmesan cheese.
Finally, sprinkle with parsley and place in a serving dish.
Top with shaved parmesan (use a vegetable peeler for this) and more ground pepper.
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Using 4 servings per one medium head cauliflower,
and with 3 Tbl 0% greek yogurt and 1 small onion:
Fat: 5.6
netC: 5.4
P: 5.7
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nearly 1 P, 1/2C, 2F

Another option in place of half & half (mostly Fat) is:
1.) Protein Powder and water to consistency of half & half.
OR
2.) combination of half & half, water & Protein Powder to consistency of half & half.

Sounds good, John!

I don't know how it would work in this recipe, but I have also used milk in place of the half and half in other recipes and it works out pretty well. If something more thick consistency is needed, I suppose you could mix in some yogurt or greek yogurt, as you suggested.

I had never thought about mixing the protein powder and water, that might work well, too!

OOPS! a typo .....
I meant to state for alternative 2:
Combination of greek yogurt, protein powder, and a little water to consistency of half & half.

I noticed that skim yogurt or very low fat (or perhaps any yogurt) curdles when cooked so it does not behave the same as cream when you after thickening soups or sauces. I would probably use half fat "creme fresh" or a bit of cream in that recipe. After all, we are not after something which looks like cream but behaves like cream that's why protein powder mixed with water may look like it but I find it hard to believe it would give the same effect.

I think adding mushrooms to this receipe will make a nice variation...

Thanks for your two tips Bozena!
I will employ them.
Its only two Tbl of half & half, 3 g fat - which my wife buys regularly for her coffee.
So, I will stick with that, and add some mushrooms.
Ymmm - can't wait - will attempt it tomorrow, maybe ....

Mushrooms sound good, Maybe even chopped red pepper

Mushrooms is classic variation with risotto, also another one is with peas (risi e bisi). I like risotto very much (real rise one) but avoid as it is not Zone friendly. Sometimes I make one based on barley (with mushrooms). Another thing I found is that puy lentils cooked with spices etc have for me a similar taste and consistency as risotto. I typically have puy lentils as a side for my baked salmon

I love the "risotto" recipe made with steel cut oats , the one in Zone book (Zone Meals In Seconds, I think it is).

Made this, this evening - didn't feel up to standing very long; however, my wife picked up our Grandson for the evening,
while our son goes to Main with his brother for a friend;s birthday, and our grandson's mom is working.
So, I put ice on it, and sat often (My Piriformis Syndrome.)
Didn't have any onions or mushrooms, as my mother-in-law just left after her 2 week visit from the UK.
And our neighbor was out, as her only four year old refrigerator is out, and the $80 service visit revealed that it is junk.
They are temporarily using our youngest daughter's old college dorm refrigerator, to get buy wiith.
I am rambling on.
Anyway, our neighbor did send over some fresh picked chives from her garden, I had some garlic cloves,
and some fresh organic celery. Threw all of those in the fry pan and sauteed.
Moved to a pot, added 1/2 head riced cauliflower, and proceeded to make the cauliflower risotto with the cream and cheese and spices. .
(The other half head riced cauliflower, about 3 cups, 1-1/2 cups after cooked - will be used to make our cauliflower pizza crust on Sunday.)
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I do not know what real rice risotto is supposed to taste like, but the texture was what I would expect,
a cross between our cauliflower mashed potatoes and CranCat's cauliflower rice.
The taste was good. I also added a touch, about 1/2 tsp ground cloves.
Just enough, that there was no taste of cloves at all, but enough to cover the cauliflower taste.
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I bet it would have been even better with mushrooms, .....

I hope your pain gets better soon! I am still having some difficulty doing a lot on my feet, so I have not been spending time in the kitchen. We are having catfish tonight, and I need to get off of this puter and get my veggies in order!

I made my variation of cauliflower risotto (inspired by John's idea) the other day and it came up pretty good. My version did not contain any cream though and I also used mushrooms.
I took a raw small cauliflower and grated it using vegetable grater. I chopped white onion which I cooked in a little olive oil until translucent. Then I added my "riced" cauliflower to my onions and chopped 4-5 mushrooms. I fried them for a moment, then added a teaspoon of butter and sprinkling of salt. After 1-2 min I poured some hot water over the mixture, perhaps 1/4 cup. I let it cook until evaporated and added more water, I repeated that until my caulflower was cooked. In the meantime I spiced it up a bit with paprika, chilli and Maggi (soy sauce) to get richer taste. I think that was about it. It tasted nice and we had it with some turkey meatballs for dinner. I would say be careful not to overcook it, keep the caulflower "al dente"

Good for, and sounds a lot better, nutrition wise, without the cream ...

Actually, I forgotten to add that the first liquid I poured over my "risotto" was a bit of white wine to enrich the taste. Pour a bit over the fried veg and let it evaporate to dry and then start with hot water