Are you craving comfort food like spaghetti, pizza or chips, but looking to reduce your intake of carbs? We’ve gathered a list of tasty low-carb alternatives to popular starchy foods that will leave you feeling just as satisfied.
With these few simple ingredient swaps, following a low-carb diet will be easy as pie…
Swap 1: Cauliflower rice instead of rice
If you have a few extra minutes, try spreading the grains out on a baking tray, toss in a dash of olive oil and roast for twelve minutes. This intensifies the flavour and the resulting cauliflower rice becomes fluffier.
Check out our guide on the best way to cook cauliflower rice for more ideas.
Swap 2: Courgetti instead of spaghetti
Find out how to make courgetti and browse our courgetti recipes.
Courgetti and other vegetable ribbons work really well when combined with pasta spaghetti, too, so if you’re just aiming to up your veg count, why not try serving your Bolognese with half pasta spaghetti and half courgetti for a colourful change. Our recipe uses pasta pappardelle together with shavings of lightly cooked swede and is absolutely delicious.
Duck ragu with pappardelle & swede
Swap 3: Butternut squash waffles instead of regular waffles
You can buy waffle-shaped slices of butternut squash pre-prepared in the supermarket. Drizzle with a little oil and bake in a hot oven for 20-30mins (check pack instructions if you’re not sure) and flip them over halfway through cooking, so they’re lightly golden on both sides. Serve as you would normal waffles with your favourite sweet or savoury toppings.
Swap 4: Cauliflower pizza instead of pizza dough
Swap 5: Butternut squash wedges instead of chips
Dukkah-crusted butternut squash wedges
Check out more butternut squash recipes.
Swap 6: Sliced aubergine or courgette instead of lasagne sheets
Swap 7: Cloud bread instead of regular bread
Cloud bread is almost entirely made from eggs and therefore tastes not dissimilar to a soufflé omelette. However, baked in little mounds, they come out looking like halved bread rolls, which makes them ideal for sandwiches. Pop them into your lunchbox for a lighter alternative to regular sandwiches, or on those days when you simply fancy a bit of a change.
Find tasty filling ideas in our guide on how to use cloud bread.
Find more recipes and information on low-carb diets….
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Do you have another clever carb replacement? Leave a comment below…