Recipes for low-carb diets: control weight and gain health

Reducing carbohydrate intake not only helps keep weight in check, but also supports digestion, cholesterol, and mood. Discover the best way to replace them and take note of these 6 recipes for low-hydrate dishes.

Low-carb diets are a great way to control weight and improve our health. It is about reducing – not eliminating – your intake, compensating for the calories we need with a higher proportion of quality proteins and fats.

BENEFITS OF THE LOW-CARB DIET

This type of diet is advised to obtain different benefits:

• Helps control overweight.
• It reduces overall inflammation because it does not cause sudden rises in blood sugar.
• Improves mood and intellectual performance.
• Keeps cholesterol at healthy levels.

LOW-CARB RECIPES

Below, you will find delicious dishes low in carbohydrate. To reduce the carbohydrates in these plastids, these steps have been followed:

• Replace sugars and cereals with foods rich in fiber, healthy fats and protein. In a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, this means including more vegetables, algae, nuts, seeds, eggs, and some fruits.
• Prioritize the consumption of low-carbohydrate vegetables. They are asparagus, spinach, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, eggplant, broccoli, tender beans, cucumber and pepper, in addition to olives.
• Limit tubers. Bulbs and tubers have a higher proportion of carbohydrates; Therefore, in these recipes we must avoid that they are the main ingredient. In this group are beets or carrots.
• Try to compensate. Some people prefer not to include sweet potato, parsnip and potato because they are richer in carbohydrates, but the important thing is the whole. If there is enough fiber, fat and protein, the assimilation of sugar will be progressive.
• Replace cereals with legumes. Wheat and other cereal flours can be substituted, in most recipes, for legume flours. Below, you will find delicious dishes low in carbohydrate.

BOWL OF QUINOA AND VEGETABLES WITH SEITAN AND POACHED EGG

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 250 g quinoa
• 450 ml water or broth
• 1/2 leek
• 300 g seitan
• 1 medium zucchini
• • 4 fresh eggs
• 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
• 1 small bunch of chopped chives
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Salt

Preparation:

1. Toast the quinoa in a thick-bottomed casserole with a splash of olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the water or broth and add a little salt. Cover the casserole and leave it on high heat until the water comes to a boil. Then, lower the heat to a minimum and wait until it has been consumed. It is important not to uncover the casserole.
3. Remove the casserole from the heat and let it sit for five minutes without uncovering it at any time. After that time, you can move the grains with a fork. Reserve quinoa.
4. Clean and chop the leek and zucchini, the latter cubed, like seitan. Sauté the leek in another casserole and add the zucchini and seitan. Salt and pepper to your liking and let it cook until the zucchini is very tender.
5. Add quinoa, sesame and chopped chives. Stir and set aside.
6. For the poached egg, place a saucepan with water over medium heat and add a tablespoon of vinegar. When the water is hot, create a whirlpool by turning it over with a spoon and pour the egg carefully into the center of the whirlpool. After 3-4 minutes take it out with a tinsel. Do the same with the other three eggs.
7. Serve the quinoa in a bowl, place the egg on top and take advantage of the decoration to give it your touch.

OVEN-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CREAMY MUSHROOM AND PINE NUT PÂTÉ

Ingredients for 6 people:

• 120 g bobby beans
• 120 g turnip
• 120 g daikon (Japanese radish)
• 350 g tightly white mushrooms
• 1 medium onion
• 100 g pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon hatcho-miso
• 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast or brewer’s yeast
• The juice of a lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 bunch of chives
• Olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt

Preparation:

1. Prepare the vegetables: peel and cut the turnip and daikon into sticks the thickness of a little finger and remove the tips of the beans.
2. Arrange the vegetables on a baking sheet, add a splash of olive oil and apple cider vinegar, and stir. Place them in the preheated oven at 200 °C and leave for 20 minutes.
3. Peel and cut the onion into half a moon. Clean the mushrooms thoroughly, remove the peduncle and cut them into quarters. Then, heat a stream of oil in a pan, add the onion and let it cook stirring occasionally.
4. Add the mushrooms after a few minutes, season them and wait 10 minutes, until the water they release evaporates and have a toasted tone.
5. Place the vegetables you just cooked, pine nuts, hatcho-miso, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic clove and a tablespoon of oil in the glass of a hand mixer or a food processor. Crush it until you get the desired texture and straighten it with salt if you wish.
6. Arrange the pâté in small bowls, garnish it with chives and accompany it with the roasted vegetables.

CAULIFLOWER CREAM WITH ALMOND MILK

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 medium cauliflower
• 2 medium onions
• 200 g celery
• 250 ml almond milk
• 50 g sliced almonds
• A bunch of fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Herbal salt

Preparation:

1. Peel and cut the onions. Then, put a thick-bottomed casserole on the fire with olive oil and when it is hot sauté the onions for a few minutes. Meanwhile, chop the cauliflower into bunches and cut the celery into cubes of the same size.
2. Add the cauliflower once the chopped onion is already soft andszónale everything together with your liking with the herbal salt. Give it a few turns until the cauliflower is a little.
3. Cover the vegetables with water or broth, increase the intensity of the heat and leave the casserole well covered. When it comes to a boil, lower the flame a little and let it simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Remove the vegetables from the heat when they are made, add the almond milk and crush it with a hand mixer. To achieve the desired consistency, add a little more almond milk or vegetable broth.
5. Paint a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, pour the sliced almonds and give them a few turns over medium heat, until you see them slightly golden and give off that characteristic and pleasant smell of toasted.
6. Separate the cream into four bowls and decorate them with the almonds you just toasted. Also add some poppy seeds and, as a final touch, add the dill bouquets.

TURMERIC PUMPKIN SPAGHETTI WITH WALNUT PESTO

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 400 g pumpkin
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 20 g black olives
• Gomasio
• Ground turmeric
• Extra virgin olive oil

For the sauce:

• 200 g fresh spinach
• 1 garlic clove
• 50 g walnuts
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 200 ml EVOO
• Salt

Preparation:

1. To make the sauce, put all the ingredients in a food processor and crush them until you get a homogeneous consistency. It is preferable that at first you put little oil and add if necessary. In the event that it is very thick, you can lighten it with water.
2. Peel the pumpkin and pass it through the grater or vegetable cutter (spiralizer) to make the spaghetti. If you don’t have one, you can use a vegetable peeler; In that case, the result will be more like noodles.
3. Deboned the black olives and chop them lightly. In the case of cherry tomatoes, cut them in half.
4. Pour a splash of olive oil into a large skillet, add a pinch of turmeric and, when the oil is hot, add the pumpkin spaghetti along with the chopped olives and tomatoes.
5. With the strong fire and, being careful not to undo them, you give them a few turns so that they are done on all sides. Within a few minutes, you remove them. The intention is that they are almost raw, but golden on the outside. Next, you dress them to your liking with the gum.
6. Place the spaghetti with the vegetables on each plate and serve with the spinach sauce on top.

CHICKPEA FLOUR PIZZA WITH VEGETABLES

Ingredients for 4 people:

• For the dough:
• 50 g chickpea flour
• 380 ml water
• 30 ml olive oil
• Oregano
• Black pepper
• Salt

For the cover:

• 350 g onion
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 500 g broccoli
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 150 g mozzarellare
• 3 garlic cloves

Preparation:

1. For the dough: pour the chickpea flour into a bowl and add the water, virgin olive oil, salt, oregano and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. With the help of rods, mix everything until you get a homogeneous mass. Cover it and let it sit for an hour.
2. For the covering: peel and cut the onions into rings or crescents and the peppers into strips. Sauté the onions with a splash of olive oil and, after a few minutes, add the peppers. Salt and pepper to your liking and leave it over medium heat for two more minutes. Book.
3. Cut the broccoli into bunches and pour them into boiling salted water. Leave them for five minutes, then put them in ice water to cut the cooking and drain them.
4. Sauté the chopped garlic with a splash of oil. Add the bunches of broccolis, cover the container and let it cook for about 10 minutes over low heat.
5. Preheat the oven to 220 ºC. Place the dough of no more than one centimeter on a tray and bake it 8-10 minutes. Let it cool a little.
6. Cover the dough with the vegetables, add the mozzarella and drizzle with oil.
7. Put it back in the oven until the cheese has been au gratin.