Sides and meal accompaniments

[LivingDeadGirlUK]

Hi everyone, I am doing a low carb diet to reduce blood sugar levels, I'm pre-diabetic so trying to stop myself developing type 2 diabetes.

Got some hard facts from the Dr today that while cutting out the sweet treats is good, eating half a loaf of bread a day and pasta 4 times a week isn't helping. I love bread and pasta :(

I've been perusing the recipe threads on here and it all sounds lovely but what do you put 'with' it when you can't have a big pile of pasta/rice/bread etc so for example a lovely feta chicken recipe, what would you serve it with?

Different green veg and/or a salad. Easy!

If I'm doing a 'meat/fish and 2 veg + potato' type of meal, instead of potato (or your pasta example), I'll serve either bigger portions of the 2 veg, or add a third or a salad.

You really don't need the heavy carb element, like the pasta/rice/potatoes.

Been trying to love this mantra and its going well so far. When we had pasta I had half a plate with the rest salad. Its expensive though isn't it!?

I reduced carbs for a similar pre diabetic reason.
I did the same halved the carb i would have had and replace the other half with salad or veg.

I find find fine sliced cabbage a very good pasta replacement in bolognaise or carbonara as it carries the sauce and has a texture

I fund cauliflower a good rice alternative. I dont blend ig, just roast it in florets

I went on a keto diet a few years ago for weight loss, but its a more extreme version of a lower carbohydrate diet. At that time, I used an app called 'carb manager'. I just used the free version but it had the option of a keto diet or low carb. It calculated the carbs/fat/protein etc. It might be more than you need, but the website also had lots of recipes.

I'm now not on keto, but still enjoy many of the things I ate then. I've also switched to wholemeal bread and pasta. Sorry if you already know, but always check the ingredient list on packets, esp bread. Lots of those fancy seeded breads, ancient grains etc you'd assume were lower carb and higher in fibre. If the 1st ingredient is wheat flour though- then its just white flour and higher in carbs. If wholemeal flour is the 1st ingredient, then its better.

• Bake cauliflower florets until just soft and starting to brown. You can drizzle with tahini mixed with lemon juice for a tasty, nutty side. Or chop the cauli and use as a rice substitute. Oven baking dried the cauli for a better finish IMO, whereas steaming or boiling makes it sloppy and wet
• Roast radishes with a sprinkle of garlic powder as a different side
• Celeriac is lower carb than potatoes and can be baked and chopped into 'chip' sizes too
• Soya beans (available frozen) are lower carbs than peas

I had gestational diabetes and I had to make a lot of changes...

For potatoes i would use celeriac or butternut squash and either roast/mash or chip it can be done in an air fryer too

For Pasta I use edamame pasta or black bean pasta (can get this from Aldi)

For Rice i use cauliflower or broccoli rice

For Bread I make chaffles. They are a bread like substitute made with eggs and cheese in a waffle iron but you can use an oven or pan...

www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-chaffles-recipe/

You do get used to it quite quickly and enjoy the flavours of the things going with the carb substitutes

Thanks some lovely suggestions guys, my partner pulls a face whenever I mention cauliflower but I like the idea of roasted with herbs and spices. Will give it a go!

I thought of a few others

• slice aubergine and/or courgettes about 1cm thick. Spinkle with crumbled fetta or goats cheese, sprinkle some nuts (I normally use walnuts or pecans) and bake till just tender. I normally add a drizzle of honey but there might be a sugar free sweetner syrup you could use instead, or use none at all
• Ground almonds are a good alternative to bread crumbs- or even half and half to reduce carbs a bit. One of my favourite recipes:
• Chicken thighs or drumsticks (skin on is optional).
• In a bowl, mix about 1 cup almond meal, 1 TB paprika, 1/2 ts of celery salt and ground pepper, 1ts ground onion powder, garlic powder and italian herbs. Mix, then just coat the chicken in the mix. No need for egg or a flouring coating. You can double dip the chicken too. I then bake, but you could also deep fry.

I started low carbing last Monday, I’ve been having double the veg I used to have before. So I’ve basically swapped the carb bit of my dinner for extra veg. Tonight I had chicken and roasted pepper, mushroom and onion plus some frozen peas and carrots. So far it’s going fine and if I get vegged out I’ll switch to salad,

Just be aware @NoSunNoSun that peas aren't especially low carb

a salad or steamed veg