What do you eat instead of pasta / potatoes / rice

[LadyLooLaa]

A while ago I lost a load of weight, then with Covid, stress and general gluttony I have put most of it back on.

I am determined that 2024 is going to be the year of health. So along with being more active I am going to sort out my diet.

I know that I do best when I avoid obvious carbs like pasta, rice and potatoes. I will have these on occasion and in moderation, but need some inspiration for what to have instead of these as an accompaniment to the ‘main’ part of my meal.

I am a pretty good cook so don’t mind a bit of effort but am also a bit overwhelmed at the moment so can’t face anything too onerous.

Oh and I don’t really eat meat. Not sure if that makes a difference.

All and any ideas are gratefully received.

Put lentils. You can get them in a microwave packet

Puy not put

Sweet potatoes in various forms.

Cauliflower in various forms, particularly like it roasted with spices or roasted with garlic and puréed (with a bit of butter and double cream).

Sounds wanky, but a big salad. 😂 So whatever veg and protein then on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, carrots, avocado, grated cheddar, avocado, etc.

Basically, lots of veg and healthy fat.

Quinoa. Really protein rich and filling. I mix the different colours and make a big tub of salad with lots of veg, seeds, lime juice, garlic and ginger. I can then have it for lunch all week.

Look up the Mediterranean diet, very focused on protein like meat/fish and vegetables/salad, low on carbs in general.

I just tend to leave them out.

So I’ll have fish and mushy peas (no chips)
curry as it is
baked cheese dip with veg sticks (no breadsticks)
I don’t tend to eat anything that’s a sauce designed to go on a carb, only things that are substantial enough to stand alone.

I just have more vegetables

Oh I love lentils. That’s a good call. I’d got so stuck in a rut I think I forgot what I actually like to eat.

I’m not a massive fan of cauliflower but tbh I’ve only ever really had it boiled/steamed so I might give that a go.
I love a big salad but when it’s cold I don’t fancy them as much.

Quinoa is going on the shopping.

Great ideas. Thank you! Keep them coming please!

Lentils, beans (cannellini, black, pinto etc), chickpeas, unleavened breads like lavaash or chappatis (buy them frozen, cheaper than chips)

PM

Quinoa, Bulgar wheat, pearl barley, lentils, chickpeas, beans and sweet potatoes.

Mashed root veg is nice in winter (carrot, swede, celeriac etc.)

I just made cauliflower rice for the first time and it was surprisingly nice. Just grated in the food processor and the stir fried it with onions/garlic/ginger, spices and chicken plus chickpeas.

I use french beans or stem broccoli as pasta substitutes. A bag of french beans in the freezer's as quick and handy as pasta

Veg veg and veg. Sainsbury's do really nice pickled slaws. They do a red and a pink one. They are tasty and filling and low calorie as no mayo. I had that tonight with fajitas (meat and veg) salsa (also Sainsbury's) and hummus. Very filling. You could do tofu or mushrooms or squash instead of meat in the fajitas. I made enough for lunch tomorrow too.

Hmm we do eat meat / fish / chicken, so tend to just replace the carbs with extra veg - basically make twice as much veg as you normally would. I guess this would also work depending on whatever your protein portion is 🤷‍♀️

When I was successfully losing weight I basically replaced carbs in my main meal with a bed of fresh spinach leaves or a'huge pile of lettuce, with oil and vinegar dressing. Reasonably filling and it did the job.

Following because absolutely need inspiration too!

Butter bean mash is really nice.

Yes this. Merchant Gourmet Puy Lentils are lovely.

Beetroot or carrot 'chips'. Shaved parsnip ( with potato peeler) sprayed with oil and roasted

Cauliflower rice or mash

Mashed celeriac

Couliflour rice to replace rice but this tends to only work with strong tasting dishes like paella or curry.

I make a great sagg gobi paneer dish with couliflour rice thrown in after the paneer is browned. Plenty of ghee, salt, curry powder, garam masala and garlic cook the rice for 4-5minures only or it goes mushy. Add spinach in the last 30 seconds.

Enjoy with any curry or add the curry paste to the above.

Mashed parsnip, turnip, sweet potato, carrots, beets.

Various beans, mashed, seasoned, and 'refried', especially black beans, pinto beans, and cannelini beans.
Legumes in general.

Quinoa, bulghur, millet, buckwheat, barley, amaranth.

Polenta in small amounts, same goes for couscous.

Whole wheat pasta and brown rice. These are much more filling than refined pasta or rice.

Black bread / Russian rye bread.
Danish / Scandinavian seedy bread.
Any bread with a lot of seeds and nuts.
Genuinely whole grain bread.

Spaghetti squash and squash in general, including pumpkin.
Spiraled courgettes, etc.

Porridge oats.

Pure nut butters.

Bananas.

Lots of green leafy veg to fill up.

A lot of the metabolic effect of foods depends on what goes with it in a meal - potatoes, rice, or pasta can be a plus or a minus depending on how much of them you eat, certainly, but also what sort of sauce you douse them with. Mashed potatoes made with half a pound of butter, and gravy on top, won't be as healthy as mashed potatoes made with buttermilk and chopped green onions/ scallions/ spring onions. Pasta Alfredo won't be as healthy as pasta tossed with sardines and capers, iyswim.

As well as some of the things mentioned, a quick cook (10-12 mins) pearl barley mix.

Celeriac mash and celeriac chips are really nice and once you master the seasonings and cooking you can’t tell a whole lot of difference. You can do half celeriac and half cauliflower mash if you fancy cutting out more carbs.