A ketogenic diet can help you with burning body fat and losing unwanted weight. One tradeoff is that committing to this diet means you might have to cut back on some of the foods you really like; you need to limit or eliminate carbohydrate rich foods like pasta and rice to make this diet effective. Let’s explore some keto-friendly foods that make reasonably interesting substitutes for these carb-heavy foods. All of the following lower-carb substitutes are OK to eat when you’re on the keto diet:
Zoodles
You’ve probably tried zucchini before. It might or might not be your favorite food, but either way, zoodles are a fresh new take on how to prepare this ubiquitous vegetable.
What are zoodles, exactly? They’re simply low-carb noodle substitutes made from long, thinly-sliced pieces of zucchini.
Zoodles only have about 5 grams of carbohydrates per 1-cup serving. In contrast, eating a cup of spaghetti would add a whopping 40 grams of carbs to your intake. You can see there’s a sizable difference between the carb counts in these two foods.
Zoodles are obviously appealing for their low-carb status, but they’re also quite tasty. If you serve them with sauces, oils and other ingredients, the flavour profile of the zucchini tends to be mild and unobtrusive.
The easiest way to make zoodles is by using a kitchen gadget known as a “spiralizer”. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you could also use a vegetable peeler, knife or grater for processing your zoodles.
Making your own zoodles can be fun and satisfying. However, admittedly, it takes some effort to do. It also takes an investment in a spiralizer if you want the best possible results. No worries if you can’t be bothered to spend the money on a spiralizer or bother with cooking these; it’s possible to find keto-friendly meal delivery services in Australia that offer zoodles-based meals.
Shirataki noodles
Shirataki noodles are an ideal keto-friendly food, because they contain virtually no digestible carbohydrates. These noodles are derived from the root of the konjac plant, which grows in southeast Asia, China and Japan. The noodles’ composition consists of about 97 percent water and about 3 percent glucomannan fiber sourced from konjac root.
For a food that’s mostly water, shirataki noodles are surprisingly filling. They’re a prebiotic food, and your body tends to digest them slowly. Eating them can empower you to maximise the amount of time that you feel comfortably full.
Multiple studies have shown that shirataki noodles are a good food to eat when you’re trying to lose weight; so if weight loss is your motivation for eating a ketogenic diet, this is definitely a food you’ll want to take note of.
Cauliflower rice
Rice is mostly off-limits to people who are in the beginning stages of adopting a ketogenic diet. If you reach a point when you want to try carb cycling – the practice of following a low-carb diet for a few days and then ramping up your carb intake to moderate or higher levels for a few days – rice could possibly be appropriate for eating in that case. Some athletes need to boost their carb levels on days when they’re doing high-intensity training; if that’s your situation, you might want to try carb cycling. But if you’re trying to strictly follow a keto diet, rice is one of those foods you’re going to kiss goodbye.
Luckily, there are some interesting possible substitutes for ordinary rice. Cauliflower rice is one of them.
It’s a snap to make cauliflower rice yourself. Simply grab some cauliflower and a cheese grater, and grate the cauliflower. Another option would be to run the cauliflower through a food processor.
Like ordinary white rice, you can eat cauliflower rice plain – but it’s more fun to dress it up with other ingredients. You can make it more appealing by adding a bit of oil to it along with salt and the herbs of your choice. You can also add it to other meat or vegetable dishes. It’s a versatile ingredient with many potential uses in recipes.
Cauliflower does contain some carbohydrates, but when you eat it, you’re only getting 5 grams of carbs per 100 gram serving. In contrast, ordinary rice would boost your carb intake by 28 grams per 100 gram serving. As you can see, the cauliflower rice is a great substitute if you’re hoping to shave some carbs from your intake.
These 3 foods are all delicious and versatile in addition to being keto-friendly. They make wonderful substitutes for the carbohydrate-rich foods like rice and wheat-based noodles that you have to limit when you’re eating a ketogenic diet. If you’ve been missing rice and noodles, be sure to give these fantastic substitutes a try.
But DO check in with your GP
The keto diet is one of the latest diet trends, but that doesn’t automatically mean that it is exactly the right diet for you. The keto diet needs to be implemented with care. This diet does have some risks that you need to be aware of including the possibility of low blood sugar, digestive issues and others.
For this reason, we recommend speaking with your GP before you first implement this (or any other) diet, and we also recommend touching base with your GP or a registered dietitian from time to time while you’re on the diet to ensure that you are being properly nourished. Your GP can assist you with medical advice that is custom-tailored to help you meet your dietary goals, whereas the impersonal article you’ve just read is general in nature and should absolutely not be construed as individualised medical advice.