Whether for those who follow a ketogenic diet or for those who simply want to reduce carbs in their eating plan, these are 8 variations of very common dishes that are always difficult to do without.
It should be noted that in general, replacing grain flour (wheat, barley, rye, etc) with some of the here proposed vegetables, allows us to enjoy a much more abundant portion, but with many fewer calories.
This does not apply, however, when we replace grain flours with those made from seeds or nuts (almonds, flaxseed, etc.) since the latter are more caloric. Even so, this alternative is nutritionally very interesting, thanks to its great contribution of proteins and healthy fats.
These are the 8 keto variants of classic dishes:
- French fries
- Potato omelette (Spanish omelette)
- Cauliflower bulgur
- Keto quiche
- Keto pizza dough
- Keto vegetable curry with tofu or chicken
- Zucchini spaghetti
- Portobello burger
This french fries side dish is not what it seems
This alternative for french fries is not only low carb, but also baked instead of fried.
Peel and cut a celery root into sticks. Salt and spread with a little olive oil, and cook at 200 degrees on baking paper for about 30-40 minutes, until golden.
It can be said that it is nonsense to turn on the oven just for this, but it is a perfect garnish to accompany, for example, baked chicken.
A traditional Spanish tortilla that has a secret inside
I can’t say that this variant is as tasty as the original, but it has fewer calories and is “keto friendly”. We can replace the potato with a turnip or, as in the case of this photo, with a kohlrabi. It’s important to cut it into fairly thin slices, so that it does not turn out to be excessively crunchy. Sauté it for about 15 minutes with a little extra virgin olive oil over low heat, until its consistency softens. Then add onion to the sauté if desired, and prepare the omelette in the usual way.
By the way, there are other typical Spanish omelettes that are suitable for a ketogenic diet, such as wild asparagus or cod omelette.
Replace a rice garnish with this delicious cauliflower bulgur
Separate, wash and cut the cauliflower “trees” into small pieces. As with broccoli, the stem is edible and can be used for a soup. Process the cauliflower pieces until they are reduced to grains similar to bulgur, and set aside.
Chop an onion, a clove of garlic, green and/or red pepper, sauté them in a pan over moderate heat, add two crushed tomatoes, and after a few minutes, the cauliflower bulgur. Salt, cover and cook over moderate/low heat for about 10 minutes.
You can find more details about this recipe by following this link.
Keto quiche
The traditional quiche dough has a proportion of 100 grams of flour, 50 of water and 25 of butter or oil. In this case, I have replaced the flour with a mixture of 50% almond and the rest flax, pumpkin seed and/or soy. The proportions of flour are variable, interchangeable and depend above all on personal taste. Add the same proportion of water, possibly a little more if the dough is very dry and not very malleable. If, on the other hand, the dough is very liquid, just add a little ground psyllium husk. We will also need a few drops of olive oil so that the dough does not stick to our hands (the flours used already have too many fatty acids and therefore we do not need butter in the dough). The result will not be as elastic as when we use wheat flour, and although we can stretch the dough on a board, we will probably have to finish working it inside the mold until we get the desired shape. Complete the quiche with your favorite filling, and bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees.
You can find more details about this recipe by following this link.
Keto pizza dough
The main ingredient in this dough is again a small cauliflower. As in the „cauliflower bulgur“ recipe, we have to process the seedlings as finely as possible, but in this case, squeeze them until getting rid of as much liquid as possible. Then mix with a beaten egg, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The dough should not be very liquid, otherwise it’s advisable to thicken it with a spoon of almond flour. Place baking paper on a tray and form a thin pizza. The dough is not malleable like traditional pizza, so we must do it directly on the tray. Bake first between 20 and 30 minutes at 180-200 degrees until the dough is golden brown, remove from the oven to add the tomato, mozzarella and other pizza ingredients. Then bake for a few more minutes, until the cheese is completely melted.
You can find more details about this recipe by following this link.
Keto vegetable and tofu or chicken curry
This is not a recipe in itself, but rather general guidelines for an Asian-type ketogenic dish. Different vegetables are sautéed in coconut oil and cooked in coconut milk, a spicy seasoning, a protein ingredient (meat or tofu) is added, and it’s accompanied by “Shirataki” rice or noodles. This product is made from konjak flour or glucomannan. It’s an Asian tuber with a carbohydrate zero value and it’i^s at the same time very satiating, thanks to its high fiber content.
The procedure is as follows: cut and sauté in coconut oil those vegetables that require more cooking (onion, garlic, pepper, cauliflower, broccoli, etc; the greater diversity of colors will make the dish more attractive). Add also the diced tofu. Of course, we can use chicken or seafood instead. We can additionally flavor with Thai basil, lemongrass or ginger (these ingredients are usually removed after cooking). Add the spices (curry, chili paste, etc.). Continue sautéing briefly and add coconut milk (200-250 ml for 2 people will be enough) and 1 or 2 spoons of soy, oyster or teriyaki sauce. If you don’t have any of these options, then add a pinch of salt. At the end, add the softer vegetables, such as pak-choi leaves, or canned products like bamboo stalks, mushrooms, etc. The total cooking time does not exceed 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse the konjak rice or pasta (this step is necessary to improve its flavor) and immerse it separately in boiling water for just one minute, since it does not need to be cooked but simply heated. Drain and serve with the curry, just like in the pic.
Bonus: An alternative to vary the flavor is to add a tablespoon of unsalted peanut butter to the coconut milk.
Zucchini spaghetti
This is a well-known option to replace hard grain pasta. There are some tools that allow you to easily cut a zucchini into thin strips that resemble spaghetti. But the same can be done with a simple potato peeler, obtaining slices similar to tagliatelle. Once we have our “pasta”, it only takes 2 minutes to sauté it and add our favorite sauce. It’s important not to cook the zucchini longer than indicated, so that they retain a certain texture similar to “al dente” pasta. And since the cooking is so quick, then it’s also advisable to prepare the tomato sauce first.
You can find more details about this recipe by following this link.
Portobello burger
Portobello mushrooms are very tasty and allow a lot of play in different recipes. It’s enough to bake or roast them for a few minutes to be able to consume them in any way we want. A classic vegetarian alternative is to use them in burgers as a meat replacement. However, in this recipe they become a substitute for bread. In addition to working wonders, we go one step further: we use a delicious combination of halloumi cheese and tzatziki instead of the usual burger with mayonnaise.
The complete recipe can be found following this link.