Chorizo & Broccoli recipe here.
________________________________
At the risk of sounding like a complete food nerd, one of my favourite games to play is figuring out ways to make a Low Carb or at least, lowER carb version of our favourite meals.
Sure the results don’t always end up being exactly the same as the original.
But more often than not the new Low Carb hybrid is something we love anyway.
You’d be surprised what you can come up with!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY:
- How to Make Your Favourite Recipes Low Carb
- My favourite Low Carb ingredient substitutes.
- Examples of how I Low Carb favourite recipes
How to Make Your Favourite Recipes Low Carb
The first part is to keeping an open mind. Have the positive expectation that you can find a way.
Then ask yourself ‘what else could I use instead of this high carb ingredient?’
Don’t worry, here are some examples to get you going.
- Flour = Almond Meal / Flour, Coconut Flour
- Rice = Cauliflower ‘Rice’
- Spaghetti = Spiralized Zucchini, Baby Spinach
- Couscous / Quinoa = Cauliflower ‘Couscous’
- White Bread = Little Almond Breads
- Pita / Flat Bread = Lettuce wraps, Cabbage Lead Wraps
- Short Pasta = Roast Cauliflower, Roast Broccoli, Roast Eggplant, Roast Zucchini
- Roast Potatoes = Roast Cauliflower, Roast Broccoli, Roast Eggplant, Roast Zucchini
- Mashed Potatoes = Cauliflower Mash
- Bread Crumbs = Almond Meal
- Ketchup / BBQ Sauce = Miso Harissa ‘Ketchup’, Tomato Paste
- Sugar = Stevia
- White Chocolate / Milk Chocolate = Dark Chocolate (at least 70% Cocoa Solids)
- Ice Cream = Double Cream, Coconut Cream, Greek Yoghurt
Examples of how I Low Carb my favourite recipes
Spaghetti Bolognese
Serve your bolognese sauce on a bed of baby spinach like this Quick Beef Ragu or spiralize zucchini instead. I just spiralizse and toss in a little salt to soften and let it stand at room temp to warm and then serve the hot meat sauce on top but you can warm in in a pan with a little butter for a few minutes.
Short Pasta
Serve your favourite sauce that you’d normally use for short pasta like macceroni or penne on a bed of baby spinach or Roast Broccoli or Roast Cauliflower or any roast Low Carb Veg. Chop veg into bite sized chunks, toss in a little oil and roast 250C (480F) until tender – broccoli, cauli, eggplant, zucchini and will take 15-20 minutes. Although cooking time will vary with the size of your chunks and how crowded the pan is.
I also love using cooked cabbage like this Super Yum Bacon & Cabbage or cooked Kale like this Killer Kale Gratin.
Lasagne
Use cooked cabbage instead of lasagne noodles as in this Low Carb Cabbage Lasagne recipe. For bonus points I use a mix of sour cream and grated parmesan instead of bechamel sauce (much quicker and easier too!).
Pasta Bakes
Again use roast veg!
Shepherds Pie
Use cauliflower mash instead of potatoes. OR try this exotic Middle Eastern Shepherds Pie with roast cauliflower and a topping of yoghurt and tahini – it’s super yummy.
Avocado on Toast
Use my Broccoli Bread, Little Almond Breads or other Low Carb bread.
Schnitzel
Replace flour or crumb coating with Almond Meal.
Cheese on Toast
Again use my Broccoli Bread, Little Almond Breads or other Low Carb bread. Also loving these Tuna Melts.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Use halved roast eggplant instead.
French Fries
Use this Spiced Roast Caulflower without the salad leaves or labneh instead.
Burgers
Just make these Almond Burger Buns OR just serve your burger patty ‘naked’ with lots of salad and mayo to make it nice and satisfying.
Tacos / Tortillas
These days I just limit my tortilla intake to 1-2 for a meal and it’s fine for my blood sugar if I use corn tortillas (I haven’t tested flour ones). If you prefer to be super Low Carb these Cream Cheese Tortillas are the best substitute I’ve found. Or just use lettuce leaves or cabbage leaves instead.
Curries or Stir Fries
Add extra veg or serve on a bed of Cauliflower ‘Rice’ instead of regular rice.
A Low Carb Pantry ‘Cheat Sheet’.
Many of these ideas are included in our ‘cheat sheet’ from when we were ‘Low Carbing’ Your Pantry on Day 10.
*Note: To download a printable version of the cheat sheet, click HERE.
NOTE: This cheat sheet was created when this program was under the Deliciously Diabetic brand – so just ignore the references to Deliciously Diabetic and focus on the lessons.
Another approach
Another approach is to make the favourites LOWER Carb. Remember the quantity of carbs you eat makes a difference.
For example instead of having 6 tortillas try having 2 and adding extra guacamole to fill you up.
Or just have 2 slices of pizza and a salad instead of eating a whole pie.
Or a small serving of pasta and extra salad or veg instead of a giant bowl of spaghetti.
Another idea is to to halve the sugar in sweet treats. It rarely makes a difference.
Especially as your taste buds begin to change as you eat less sweet stuff.
SUMMARY
Here’s what we’ve covered:
- Keeping an open mind is key to finding Low Carb alternatives.
- Examples of ways I Low Carb my favourite recipes.
- My favourite Low Carb ingredient substitutions.
- Another approach is to reduce the carbs and replace with salad, veg and some satisfying fat.
- You can halve the sugar in most dessert recipes without noticing.
ACTIVITY
Choose a favourite meal and plan how to ‘low carb’ it.
If you need some help, go to the Ask Jules page. Or leave a comment below. I LOVE brainstorming ideas to make healthier versions of my favourite recipes.
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Jules x
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Low Carb Love 28-Day Program is where I share my personal journey of managing my blood sugar eating (mostly) Low Carb. I am not a doctor and this information is not intended as specific advice. Please discuss with your doctor or dietician before changing your food intake. Especially if you’re on medication or have any special medical concerns.
Leave a Reply