THE LOW CARB GUIDE

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.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

• Head of cauliflower
• 1 Tbls Sesame oil
• 1 Tbls crushed garlic
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2 eggs (yolks and whites scrambled)
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or liquid amino acids
• Ground black pepper
• Chopped Green onion (for garnish)
• Sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash cauliflower, remove the leaves, cut up into pieces and put in a food processor or blender. Blend until cauliflower becomes the consistency of couscous (small parcels).
2. In a large pan, heat sesame oil and add crushed garlic, let sit for a couple of minutes (stirring periodically). Add carrots let sit for a minute before adding cauliflower and peas.
3. With a wooden spoon create a circle in the middle of the pan to fry the egg by moving the contents of the “rice” to the sides of the pan. Pour eggs into open space and let cook, then proceed to mix in the eggs with the remainder of the ingredients. 
4. Add soy sauce, black pepper and any other seasonings you’d like. Pour some into a bowl top it with some green onion and some sesame seeds and enjoy. 

Makes: 6 servings

Calories per serving: 140 / Fat: 7 g  / Carbs: 15 g / Sugar: 5 g / Protein: 8 g

Swap 2: Zucchini instead of Spaghetti.

Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Avocado Pesto

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large zucchini, spiralized
• 1 Tbsp. avocado oil

For the Sauce:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• Cracked black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Spiralize your zucchini and set aside on paper towels so that any excess water is soaked up.
2. In a food processor, add avocados, basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, and sea salt and pulse until finely chopped. Then with the motor still running, add olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified and creamy.
3. Drizzle avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat then add zucchini noodles, cooking for about 1 to 2 minutes until tender.
4. Add zucchini noodles to a large bowl and toss with avocado pesto. Season with cracked pepper, serve and enjoy!

Makes: 5 servings

Calories per serving: 210 /Fat: 2 g  / Carbs: 12 g / Sugars: 6 g / Protein: 5 g 

Swap 4: Cauliflower pizza instead of pizza dough.

Cauliflower Pizza

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

• 350 grams Cauliflower
• 1 large egg
• 30 grams shredded mozzarella
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp granulated garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Topping:

• Sliced tomatoes
• 30 grams Mozzarella
• Any choice of vegetable for topping 
• Fresh Basil or Oregano

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. 
2. Place cauliflower in a food processor until particles are small like rice. Then steam the cauliflower until soft. 
3. Drain the cauliflower making sure to get all the water out. Then in a bowl mix all the crust ingredients.
4. On a silicon baking sheet flatten the crust and place it in the oven for 15-20 minutes. 
5. Take out the crust and top with pesto, tomatoes, mushroom, mozzarella and basil or oregano. Place in the oven for another 10 minutes. Take out and enjoy it!

Makes: 2 servings

Nutritional information per serving: 200 / fat – 10 / carbs -14 / sugar -6.2 / protein 15.3

Swap 5: tahini bread instead of regular bread

Tahini Bread 

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tbsp. of raw tahini 
• 5 eggs
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1/3 tsp of salt 

Add-ins: 

• 5 sun-dried tomatoes – chopped
• 4 basil leaves – chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix all the ingredients together, pour into an English cake tray and bake for 25 min (350)

Makes: 10 servings

Nutritional info per serving: calories: 90 / fat 7 g / carbs 2 g / sugar 0 g / protein 5g

Swap 6: Portobello mushrooms instead of buns.

Portobello Tacos

INSTRUCTIONS

●  4 Portobello mushrooms
●  1⁄4 large onion (chopped)
●  1⁄2 pound of ground turkey
●  1⁄2-1 red chili pepper (diced)
●  1 clove garlic
●  1⁄2 Tbsp. avocado oil
●  1.5-2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
●  salt to taste

Toppings:

●  2 green onions (finely cut)
●  1⁄2 cup cherry tomatoes (sliced)
●  1⁄2 cup Kalamata olives (sliced)
●  1⁄2 cup guacamole (avocado mashed with lime and salt)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a large frying pan or medium pot, cook onions in avocado oil over medium heat until soft.
3. Remove stems and spoon out mushroom insides. Dice finely and add to onions.
4. Add ground turkey and chili peppers. Once browned, add taco seasoning and salt (if needed).
5. Bake mushrooms for 10 minutes top-down for 10 minutes then flip over and bake another 10 minutes.
6. Spoon ground beef into mushrooms, followed by guacamole tomatoes, olives, green onions, and cilantro

Makes: 4 servings

Nutritional information: Calories 350 / Fat 18 g / Carbs 19 / Sugar 5 g / Protein: 30 g

Here are some more cool swaps!