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Food alternatives

M

Madilew

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi all
I'm curious to know what sort of food you have substituted your pasta, rice, potatoes/chips for? I love pasta and this was quite often used in meals, and potatoes etc, but since being diagnosed I'm struggling to find alternatives to make up a main meal. I have had since then but only a spoonful here and there. Has anyone tried The Skinny Food Co rice and pasta? Any ideas would be gratefully received.
 
I base every meal around one or two sources of protein, little or no carbs and plenty of vege. Meals include healthy sources of fat e.g. Olive oil, avocado, fat in dairy which add in energy and satiety. This sounds simple but I did need to do a major rethink on what I ate.
 

Just eat more of the other stuff more meat and, if you like them, veg.
 
lightly steamed cauliflower florets or broccoli florets are a good pasta substitute in my opinion. Sliced steamed courgettes are good too.
 
Cabbage (lasagna), Cabbage strips (linguine/pappardelle), Cauliflower rice, Mashed cauliflower, Spaghetti squash, Daikon cubes (potato), Radishes (potatoes), zucchini (spaghetti), button mushrooms (Gnocchi), Egg plant (lasagna), Portobello mushrooms (hamburger buns), almond/coconut bread.

Not perfect substitutes, but can be tasty alternatives.
 
I had the same struggles at first but eventually just buried all that stuff in a shallow grave and moved onto a bounty of endless pork, steak, eggs, fish, cheese etc. For me personally I found it so much easier to put all those foods in the rear view mirror rather than try to replace them with like-for-like, low-carb alternatives. Beats negotiating with food labels and kitchen scales any day of the week. But of course steak and eggs are more expensive than pasta and rice so I appreciate it’s not always that easy, especially for those of a vegetarian persuasion.
 
When first diagnosed I tried to find substitutes for all the high carb stuff, but now I tend to just eat more of the rest of the meal, as others have said more protein and low carb veggies.
 
I can’t find for all but cauliflower rice I have found really good replacement for rice.

for pasta, I have tried frying sliced courgettes. I think you can get devices to make it into more interesting shapes. It’s okay, not the same to be fair but can make interesting alternative

I have a feeling there are a few alternatives zoodles, courgetti if I have the terms right
 
I’m another that just adds more of the other stuff, but I’d never did eat a lot of those carby things anyway. I use sliced lightly fried in butter cabbage a lot where others would have pasta, or have a pasta sauce over something like broccoli. Cauliflower rice is ok occasionally but I always find I need to add some spices to it. On a roast dinner I usually have some cauliflower cheese instead of spuds made with just cauliflower and cheese (cream and cheddar usually thrown over the top of the cauliflower and roasted). It’s ok mashed with lots of cheese and pepper too. Instead of chips I have a block of halloumi sliced and baked.
 
Andydragon said:
I think you can get devices to make it into more interesting shapes. It’s okay, not the same to be fair but can make interesting alternative
Click to expand...

Spiralisers. Spiralised courgettes make a very good spaghetti substitute.
 
Many supermarkets do a bean based noodle that's relatively low in carbs. We usually get the back bean version from Aldi.
We use Celeriac as a potato substitute.
Ground up Cauli or Broccoli for rice.
Aubergine cut into thin sheets for Lasagne.
 
I have cauliflower rice (made weekly in the oven, then reheated as required) as I was a big rice eater before.
Occasionally I make courgetti for pasta but I am happy with things like spaghetti bolognese on it's own.
For roast potatoes I sometimes have kolhrabi (part boil first), and use a mix of cauliflower and kohlrabi for mash.
But I've got used to have protein with three green/low carb veg most of the time.
 
This week I’m planning roasted celeriac and roasted butternut squash
 
Konjak noodles and pasta from Holland and Barrat. Zero carb. Quite acceptable. Also Konjak rice. Slightly less acceptable but ok.
 
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