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Healthy Replacements for Junk Food That Taste Good

By Jiri Kaloc

There is a way to have your cake and eat it, too! If you are willing to give it a try in the kitchen, you can have your favourite foods like pizza, pasta, pancakes, or stir fry without any of the downsides. You can avoid overloading on fast carbs, go gluten-free, low-carb, and still enjoy the meal of your choice. Let’s see what the key ingredients that you should swap are.

Coconut flour pizza, no wheat

If you love pizza, and I’m sure you do, but you don’t handle refined wheat well or you just don’t want a lot of carbs, you can make a healthier variation by replacing refined wheat with coconut flour. It is gluten free, grain free, low carb flour that contains healthy fats, plenty of fibre, has a low glycaemic index and is really healthy. Its consumption is associated with improved cholesterol and triglycerides. Give this recipe a try, the crust is delicious!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ6m0bUFSGD/

Cauliflower stir fry, no rice

Cauliflower is a staple in kitchens as a low-carb, paleo, and vegetable alternative to grains. Rice is very carb heavy and spikes insulin with a high glycaemic index of 75. This can be a good thing soon after a ride when your muscles are hungry, but in the off-season, or just sitting in the office, especially when trying to lose weight, rice might not be your friend. By swapping rice for cauliflower you’re adding a valuable cruciferous vegetable with all of its fibre, vitamins, minerals, and health benefits. Its consumption is associated with reduced risk of cancer and heart disease plus it also helps with digestion. It’s extremely versatile in recipes, the flavour is very neutral it becomes tender yet holds its shape when cooked. Try this stir fry and you’ll fall in love with it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZwYXGjFzY1/

Almond flour pancakes, no wheat

Who doesn’t love pancakes? The answer is nobody. And that’s why it’s good to know how to make pancakes that are low-carb, paleo, gluten free, and grain free! All you need to do is replace regular white flour with almond flour and you’re good to go. Almond flour will increase the protein content and supply healthy fats and a wide spectrum of minerals. It’s a great way to make your Sunday breakfast nutrient dense yet still tasty. Just look at this recipe.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZyo36AHJ8P/

Zucchini noodles, no pasta

Yes, you can have pasta and stay on the low carbohydrate side of things. That’s because you can make your own pasta with zucchini! You can cut it in a variety of ways and my favourite is just peeling it with a potato peeler which creates tagliatelle-shaped pasta. The cool thing is the texture of these tagliatelle is really similar to the real thing. Just add your sauce, meat, parmesan or whatever else you want on top and you have a no-carbs, gluten-free pasta!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZwj_cHATVr/