New diet trends and substitutes seem to be popping up every day, but none have been as prominent as low-carb diets. Most notable is the ketogenic diet, which completely cuts carbs and sugar, and increases your fat consumption instead. Though there are a ton of low-carb meals that can make the transition easier, sometimes there are small carb-filled joys (namely bread) that you miss in your daily meals, making it hard to cut out carbs to achieve your health goals.
The good and bad news is that low-carb diets are not super effective or necessary for weight loss long term, and most people gain the weight right back, because it’s not sustainable to cut carbs out forever. Also, low-carb diets tend to emphasize thinness over health and a positive body image. However, some people ditch bread for other health conditions, or for the reason that they just need a habit to initiate their health goals. So, whether you’re trying to jump-start New Year’s health and wellness or your doctor is yelling at you to stop eating pasta, then check out these easy swaps.
- Cauliflower
-
I’m honestly at a loss for why we don’t use cauliflower as an ingredient in more dishes. It contributes a sweeter flavor than most breads or pastas, but the texture is very similar. I personally love cauliflower risotto, and almost always order my pizza crust to be a cauliflower crust if possible. Also, if you are ever trying to sneak more veggies in, cauliflower can be used in eggs too. There’s even a recipe for cauliflower breadsticks that only take 10 minutes to prep.
- Zucchini
-
Zucchini is a surprisingly great swap in recipes that might require bread or noodles. Its relatively flavorless, and it’s sturdy enough to make dishes such as zucchini pizza bites or pasta. A lot of restaurants have hopped on the “zoodle” trend where they simply replace normal pasta with zucchini in some of their lighter dishes, and it’s definitely something worth trying. Of course, zucchini is not a perfect swap for pasta (nothing is, let’s face it), but it lets you enjoy the sauce and other yummy parts of your favorite pasta dish—without dealing with the side effects of eating a plate of carbs.
- Lettuce
-
Unpopular opinion: burgers do not need buns to hit the same. They just don’t. Whether you want to eat low carb or not, I definitely recommend lettuce wrapping. It fulfils all the duties of a bun by holding your sandwich masterpiece together, but it also doesn’t get soggy or take away from the taste. Also, if you’ve ever gotten a burger with a bun so big you have to unhinge your jaw to eat it in front of everyone, you can appreciate the appeal of a smaller bun. You can easily lettuce-wrap most sandwiches, from chicken to veggie
- Parmesan cheese
-
This right here is my all-time favorite carb swap. All you have to do is put a little bit of oil in a pan, sprinkle in some parmesan cheese and cook on high until it gets nice and crispy. I am telling you right now, you will never eat another crouton again. Home-cooked parm crisps great on salads, on top of soups, or just as a really yummy treat for when you’re a week into your keto diet and that bag of Goldfish is staring you down.
Again, I want to remind you that completely cutting out carbs is not always a healthy or sustainable why to lose weight. However, a lot of people have to do it for other health reasons. With New Year’s resolutions often come pressure to change your body and lose weight, but a healthy weight looks different on anyone. Often, diet culture can feed us unhealthy expectations of what we should be doing and what we should look like. Going on diets that completely cut out food groups are not sustainable and may impact your health. So, unless your doctor is telling you otherwise, go eat your dining hall spaghetti and garlic bread and live your best life.