K’s Kwik Tuesday Tip: Use Your Veggie Alternatives

Posted on by Krystal

 

We all love pastas, rices, grains, french fries, and all things carbs! If we continue to eat these all of the time the calories and sugars start to add up and so can our waist line. I have a couple of different options to help you enjoy the same kind of food but more nutrient dense.

Pasta Perfect:

We can use pasta alternatives like these recipes below using nutrient dense veggies. You can buy them already made into noodles or you can use a kitchen gadget like the ones in blue below:

( CLICK THE BLUE LINKS TO TAKE YOU RIGHT TO THE GADGETS)

Zoodles: 

 

Basil Chicken Zoodles 

with an almond lemon basil alfredo sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Pasta/Chicken

  • 2-3 medium zucchinis
  • 1lb chicken
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1/4c green onion chopped
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Sauce

  • 3 tbsp kite hill almond cream cheese
  • 1/2c low sodium or sodium free chicken broth ( can add more if to thick)
  • 1/4c green onion chopped
  • 1/4c chopped basil
  • juice from half of a lemon
  • tsp sea salt
  • tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp crushed garlic

Instructions:

  1. Warm a medium saute pan at medium heat.
  2. Meanwhile use your zucchinis to make your “zoodles” ( I used my kitchenaid mixer with the spiralizer attachment.) 
  3. Add your chicken to your heated saute pan with all pasta/chicken ingredients except for your zoodles. Cook and flip for about 15-20mins until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
  4. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan combine all sauce ingredients and let simmer on low-medium heat until all ingredients are melted and combined well. If it still seems too thick you can still add more of the chicken broth to help thin it out. 
  5. After the chicken is cooked set aside on a plate and now use the same saute pan to cook your zoodles. Add them to the pan and cook covered for about 8-10 mins. on low-medium heat.
  6. Once all are cooked put your zoodles in a bowl and mix in chicken then top with your sauce and add extra fresh basil for some added flavor. Enjoy!

Butternut Noodles:

Butternut Spinach Garlic Noodles

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, spiralized or you can buy them already made into noodles
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Creamy Garlic Sauce

  • 1/2 cup  soaked cashews
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • tsp garlic powder 
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400F
  • Peel and spiralize the butternut squash
  • Divide the butternut squash between 2 baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes
  • While the butternut squash noodles are baking, make the sauce
  • Place all the ingredients for the Creamy Garlic Sauce in a high speed blender and blend for 1 minute.
  • Heat up a cast iron skillet or large pan. Add 1 tbsp. avocado oil and the organic arugula. Season with salt and saute 1 minute.
  • Cover arugula with a lid and cook 1 minute, until wilted.
  • Add the butternut squash noodles to the arugula and pour the sauce onto the noodles. Stir well
  • Serve hot

Beet Noodles:

Beet Noodle Caprese Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large beet
  • olive oil, to drizzle
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 5 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 garlic clove, sliced thinly.
  • 3–4 mini balls of mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven  and roast for 15 minutes. After 10 minutes, add in the garlic.
  3. Take the beet and chop both ends off. Peel the entire beet. Place the beet into the spiralizer and spiralize it. Place the beet noodles onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
  4. Five minutes into roasting the tomatoes, add the beet noodles into the oven. Let cook for 2 minutes, remove and place the mozzarella balls randomly on top of the noodles. Let cook for another 5-7 minutes or until mozzarella has melted and noodles are darker in color and have softened.
  5. Remove the noodles from the oven and transfer to a bowl. Top the noodles and mozzarella with the roasted tomatoes. Garnish with chopped basil and enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash:

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Ingredients

  • 1 spaghetti squash
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 cloves garlic – minced or crushed
  • 2 cups sugar snap peas – or snow peas, sliced in half
  • 1 bell pepper – diced
  • 2 carrots – chopped
  • 5 green onions – thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup peanuts – chopped, more for serving
  • Lime – for serving

For the sauce:

  • 2 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter or almond butter
  • 1/2 lime – juiced
  • 1 tbsp lakanto maple syrup
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger – finely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare the spaghetti squash by slicing it in half, scooping out the seeds, and seasoning each cut side with salt and pepper. Place each half cut side down on the lined baking sheet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven, flip each half over, and let cool for a few minutes.
  • While the squash is cooking, heat avocado oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, peppers, and snow peas and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Chop the carrots, green onions, and peanuts.
  • You can also prepare the dressing while the veggies are cooking. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. Set aside for later.
  • Once the spaghetti squash is finished, use a fork to scoop the cooked squash into a large bowl. Add the peppers, snows peas, carrots, green onions, and peanuts. Mix until well combined. Pour the dressing over the mixture and stir until coated.
  • You can serve the pad thai in the spaghetti squash skins for fun, or just on a plate! Garnish with more peanuts and green onions, and serve with lime wedges. Enjoy!

Renew Your Rice:

A good way to have an option that tastes like you are eating rice but lower carbs and more nutrients.

You can cook them stove top or to make them more in bulk you can use a steamer to get a good quality rice with the kitchen gadgets below:

( CLICK THE BLUE LINKS TO TAKE YOU RIGHT TO THE GADGETS)

Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1/2 cup white onion chopped
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 3 cups riced cauliflower frozen or fresh
  • 2 tsp broth ( i like to use bone broth)
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped and divided
  • juice of 1 lime

Instructions

  • Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat or until they become soft and translucent.
  • Add the garlic and cook for a minute until the garlic becomes fragrant. Stir the whole time.
  • Add the cauliflower to the skillet. Stir to mix everything together well.
  • Stir in the vegetable stock, about half the cilantro and the salt and cumin. Turn the heat up to high and cook for another minute. Lower the heat again and add the lime juice. Mix in to the rice well.
  • Taste and season with more salt as needed. Stir in the remaining cilantro. Continue to stir until warmed.

Broccoli Rice:

Fried Broccoli Rice

Ingredients

  • 4 cups riced broccoli, ,about 2 heads of broccoli
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
  • 1 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 1.5 tsp sesame oil
  • ¼ to ½ tsp coarse salt or to taste
  • ¼ – ½ tsp ginger
  • Quarter of one whole lime  for juice 
  • 2 bulbs scallions, ,chopped
  • 4 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • Sprinkle with sliced almonds,
Instructions:
  1. In a well heated skillet, add 1 tbsp ghee. Sauté the riced broccoli with finely chopped garlic for 1 min. Season the riced broccoli with coconut aminos, sesame oil, and coarse salt. Sauté for an additional 2 mins. The broccoli should be cooked until bright green color with some bite and not mushy
  2. Turn off the heat and while the broccoli rice is still warm add ½ tsp ginger over the rice. Season with lime juice.
  3. Garnish with scallions, cilantro, and sliced almonds.

Carrot Rice:

Spiced Carrot Rice

Ingredients

for 2 servings

  • 1 bunch carrot, peeled and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • ½ white onion, diced
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon

    pepper

  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, pulse the carrots until they reach your desired “rice” consistency.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil, then add onions and let cook until translucent.
  3. Add carrot rice, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika, and cook until the tender, stirring occasionally.
  4. Enjoy!

Forget Regular Fries:

If you love the taste and the crunchi

Avocado Fries

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados sliced in half and then lengthwise
  • ½ cup almond flour
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • ¾ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Grease a large baking sheet generously with olive oil.
  • Add almond flour and sliced avocados to a Ziploc bag and shake gently to coat.
  • Remove floured avocadoes from the Ziploc bag and discard the leftover flour.
  • Place beaten eggs in a small bowl (larger than the avocado slices).
  • In another small bowl, combine bread crumbs, salt and garlic powder.
  • Dip flour-coated avocados in the beaten eggs, then put them into the bread crumb mixture and turn to coat.
  • Placed coated avocado pieces in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and spray them with cooking spray.
  • After they have been sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkle with a little extra sea salt, if desired.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, flip over and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.

Zucchini Fries

Ingredients

  • 2-3 zucchini, washed & dried
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 1.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 1.5 tsp onion powder
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Slice zucchini into even sized pieces about 1/4” thick.
  3. Grab 2 wide shallow bowls, add whisked eggs to one & then the almond flour & spices to another.
  4. Dip each squash fry into the egg wash & then dredge in the almond flour mix (use one hand for the egg & the other for the flour mix). Make sure to coat well & shake off any excess.
  5. Place fries onto parchment covered baking sheets with a nice amount of room between each one.
  6. Bake in the oven for 30 mins or until browned & crispy, making sure to flip half way between.

Turnip Fries

Ingredients:

  • 2 turnips, peeled and cut into fries
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray.

Toss the turnips with olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

Place in one layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, flipping after 10 minutes until nice and crispy. If needed you can broil them at the end to help crisp them up.

Check Up on Your Chips:

Beet Chips:

Kale Chips:

Carrot Chips:

Next time to you go to make a meal try to substitute one of these for your regular side items you won’t be disappointed!

Healthfully Yours,

Krystal Goodman