Making Mealtime Meaningful: Discover how we're giving back with the 12T Cares program →

I love carbs.

Good carbs or bad, it really makes no difference, until you need to make changes to your diet.

Inevitably, carbs are the first (or maybe second) thing to cut back on sharply or remove from your diet altogether if you’re looking to get healthier.

You need to find alternative foods for bad carbs (refined carbohydrates with a low fiber amount, like sugar) but also keep the better low carb options in your current diet.

Wheat bread accounts for a large part of many people’s diets, but it can easily be replaced with a range of healthier, more nutritious that complement the major flavors of meals and dishes.

Check out this group of carb chameleons. Hopefully, a few options on the list will become part of your dinner rotation.

Cauliflower

If you can find a few ways to incorporate cauliflower in place of carbs you’ll do well when combined with exercise for better health. And, these recipes taste delicious.

Substitute Rice with Cauliflower

Cauliflower Rice
Image Source: jules Via Flicker CC BY 2.0

I like cauliflower rice, an idea inconceivable to me not long ago. It’s good for you, holds flavors, and chunks up easily in a blender to any consistency you need.

I like cooking cauliflower in fresh batches as simple replacements like mash or rice, or to soak up something much saucier.

Substitute Pizza Crust with Cauliflower Crust

Subbing out a normal crust for something more healthy is easy to create yourself, or you can buy pre-made crusts at the supermarket.

Cauliflower crust is a good replacement pizza base for fewer calories and carbs or a gluten free approach.

Cauliflower Grilled Cheese

A comforting grilled cheese sandwich is a beautiful thing, except when you’re limiting bread. If you can get the process figured out a cauliflower grilled cheese is not a bad consolation prize, pairing the crunch of toasted vegetable in contrast to goopy melted cheese.

RELATED RECIPES

Bread Alternatives

Bread, rice, and pasta are where it hurts most for weight loss. They are the most fun, overeating them is easy, and they have relatively little nutritional value.

If cutting bread is out of the question, rye and sourdough are the lowest carb options to work with, while switching pasta to wholemeal is a sensible step.

Sweet Potato Flatbread

Sweet Potato Flatbread
Image Source: Heidi De Vries via Flickr CC BY 2.0

This flatbread is an excellent alternative for people who are avoiding grains but still want to eat sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and buns with their meals.

The flatbread combines flour, salt, and hot mashed sweet potatoes, rolled thinly, then cooked in a dry skillet for a minute on each side.

Ezekiel Bread

Ezekiel Bread
Image by NatureFriend from Pixabay

Ezekiel bread received its name from a Bible verse that mentions a specific process of bread making containing organic grains and legumes.

Ezekiel bread contains whole, unaltered grains that have sprouted before the flour milling process. The belief is that sprouting increases available nutrients in the bread while reducing the impact of carbohydrates on blood sugar.

Ezekiel bread contains grains such as wheat and barley, spelt, millet, lentils, and soybeans so is unsuitable for people with gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

Cloud Bread/Oopsie Bread

OOPSIE BREAD
Image Source: Larry Jacobsen via Flickr CC BY 2.0

Cloud bread — also known as “oopsie bread” — is an easy, grain-free, and gluten-free bread that’s light and airy in texture. This fluffy bread alternative can be used as a burger bun, sandwich bread, tortilla, or pizza crust.

Cloud bread takes less than an hour to prepare and requires just four ingredients — eggs, cream cheese, cream of tartar, and salt (make sure you separate the egg yolks from the egg whites).

When it comes to nutrition, cloud bread is a popular keto-friendly option due to the low carb and calorie count (around 35 calories per serving).

RELATED RECIPE

Vegetable Options

Zucchini Pasta

Zucchini Pasta
Image by MootikaLLC from Pixabay

I’ve tried this veggie attack on my kids a few times and had to really sneak it past them early on, but it’s a quality pasta replacement.

Zucchini pasta is spaghetti made from zucchini sliced with a julienne peeler and boiled for one minute. That’s all it takes and you’re good to go.

Cabbage Noodles

Cabbages
Image Source: Ruth Hartnup via Flickr CC BY 2.0

Cabbage isn’t a sexy vegetable but serves as a useful replacement for pasta and noodles, being light yet still providing texture for other flavors to work against.

To make these noodles you slice a fresh cabbage into long strips, boil until wilted and serve with your choice of protein and vegetables.

Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce Wraps
Image Source: Jen Arr via Flickr CC BY 2.0

Simple pouches of romaine or iceberg lettuce can make a great bread, tortilla, or even bowl substitute. Just fill the leaves with whatever you would normally put inside your tasty bread, roll it up inside the lettuce and eat! The great thing about lettuce wraps is they are super light, which means you can fill up on more of the good stuff. For a larger, more sturdy wrap, try collard greens instead.

RELATED RECIPES