Healthy Alternatives to Foods You Miss

IF YOU MISS . . .

Rice or risotto: try cauliflower rice. (It’s available in many frozen food sections, or you can
make it yourself using a blender—just look for recipes online.)

Potato chips: try kale chips (store-bought or homemade), parmesan cheese crisps (store-
bought or homemade) or seaweed snacks (unsweetened flavors).

Pizza: try making homemade pizza with an alternative crust—popular options include
cauliflower crusts and crusts made from parmesan cheese and almond flour. (Do an internet
search for recipes.) Another option is simply to melt mozzarella cheese in a frying pan until the
bottom is browned and crisp; add your favorite (pre-cooked) toppings such as meats, sliced
tomatoes and non-starchy vegetables.

Cookies or waffles: try those made by KNOW foods. They’re made with
egg whites, flax seeds, and a non-insulin-triggering sweetener called allulose.
Pasta: try Shirataki noodles (make sure to rinse them first—otherwise they’ll taste a little fishy)
or experiment with a vegetable spiralizer (zucchini and spaghetti squash make excellent
“noodles”).

Sandwich bread/burger buns: try using lettuce wraps in place of bread—most of the time,
bread is really just a way to get the sandwich to your mouth without a mess! Consider a
search for “Cloud Bread” – a four ingredient option using eggs, cream cheese, cream of
tartar, and salt.

Bread crumbs: try pork rind crumbs (these are available premade; do an internet search).
Mashed potatoes: try mashed cauliflower (butter and/or cheese).

Recommended equipment and ingredients:

  • Vegetable spiralizer (for zucchini noodles, etc)
  • Whip cream maker with CO2 cartridges
  • Cheese graters (classic and/or rotary)
  • Food processor (with cheese grating attachment)
  • Vitamix (or other similarly powerful) blender
  • Instant Pot

Pantry staples:

Make things easier by always having these on hand.

  • Almond flour
  • Coconut flour
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Coconut oil
  • Cream cheese
  • Sour cream and/or creme fraiche
  • Plain, whole-fat Greek-style yogurt
  • Butter
  • Frozen cauliflower rice
  • Swerve sweetener (swervesweet.com). Made from erythritol, it measures cup-for-cup like sugar and browns like sugar, without unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects. However, even some artificial sweeteners can raise blood sugar levels in some people. That’s why we recommend that you, ask yourself —before adding any sweetener— whether the recipe actually has to be sweet. If the answer is yes, could you use less? Recipes can often be made with half (or less) the amount of sugar that is called for.

Recommended Cookbooks:

Fisch, Jen. The Big Book of Ketogenic Diet Cooking: 200 Everyday Recipes and Easy 2-
Week Meal Plans for a Healthy Keto Lifestyle. Berkeley CA: Rockridge Press, 2018.

Fisch, Jen. The Easy 5-Ingredient Ketogenic Diet Cookbook: Low-Carb, High-Fat Recipes for
Busy People on the Keto Diet. Berkeley CA: Rockridge Press, 2018.

Ketchum, Carolyn. Easy Keto Desserts: 60+ Low-Carb, High Fat Desserts for Any Occasion.
New York: Victory Belt Publishing, 2018.

Ketchum, Carolyn. Easy Keto Dinners: Flavorful Low-Carb Meals for Any Night of the Week.
New York: Victory Belt Publishing, 2018.

Ketchum, Carolyn. The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen. New York: Victory Belt Publishing, 2017.

Peterson, Megan Flynn. The Big 15 Ketogenic Diet Cookbook: 15 Fundamental Ingredients,
150 Keto Diet Recipes, 300 Low-Carb and High-Fat Variations. Berkeley CA: Rockridge
Press, 2017.

Ryan, Suzanne. Simply Keto: A Practical Approach to Health and Weight Loss. New York:
Victory Belt Publishing, 2017.

Williams, Liz. The One-Pot Ketogenic Diet: 100+ Easy Weeknight Meals for Your Skillet, Slow-
Cooker, Sheet Pan and More. Berkeley, CA: Rockridge Press, 2018.

Other tips:

  • Plan ahead: buy or pack small bags of low-carb nuts, or stock your car/desk with
    low-carb snack bars, such as the no-sugar-added varieties of Epic meat bars
    (epicbar.com).
  • Avoid temptation: one of the easiest ways to prevent yourself from craving/indulging
    in high-carb foods is to avoid being around them. If your usual lunch spot or coffee
    shop has desserts or other high-carb treats that you know you have difficulty resisting,
    go to a different lunch spot/coffee shop. (And don’t grocery shop when you’re hungry!)
  • Stand up for yourself: it can be hard to “go against the flow” when friends, colleagues
    or family members suggest restaurants with high-carb menus (e.g. pizza, Chinese,
    Indian, Japanese). But vegetarians/vegans/people with medical conditions like celiac
    disease do it all the time. Come up with a few good low-carb options, and don’t be
    afraid to suggest them.
  • Prepare meals ahead of time: it’s a lot easier to stick to a low-carb eating plan if you
    don’t have to worry about preparing a new meal every evening, especially on
    weeknights. Try cooking in large batches and freezing portions ahead of time.