Four Great Recipes for a Keto Diet
With a variety of benefits, mainly to lose weight, it’s no surprise the keto diet is taking off. Helping to manage heart disease, brain diseases like epilepsy and even acne, it’s easy to see why some people are cutting out carbs.
Keto means veto. Vetoing one particular corner of the food pyramid: carbohydrates. Pasta, potatoes, bread. It all has to go. But it needn’t be boring, and it needn’t starve you. Have a look at our picks on classic recipes and how their carbs can be easily substituted.
Mac and cheese
It seems impossible, doesn’t it? Mac and cheese without the mac? At least there’s no harm in loading your “mac” with as much cheese as you fancy.
Toss two cut medium heads of cauliflower in oil and season with salt. Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a cup of heavy cream in a large pot. Simmer, then decrease and stir in the cheeses of your choice until melted. We’ve went with 6 oz of cream cheese, 4 cups of shredded cheddar and 2 cups of shredded mozzarella. Add some optional hot sauce and take off the heat, then fold in your cauliflower.
Transfer everything to a buttered baking dish, add some parmesan to the top and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
You’ll be left with a gooey, cheesy pasta-bake, with cauliflower as a prime replacement for the pasta.
Beef stew
Beef stew is an obvious keto staple, with the only carbonated ingredient easily omitted: potatoes. It doesn’t feel like anything is lost in this classic that’s filled with meat and root veggies to keep your plant protein at its height. And if you need a boost, you can try the Ingredient Optimized plant protein.
To enjoy this fulfilling meal, sear some well-seasoned beef chuck roast slices in a pot over a medium heat until golden. Remove from the pot and add mushrooms until crispy. Add a chopped onion, a cut carrot, and 2 sliced celery stalks and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables.
Add 6 cups of beef broth, 1 tsp of thyme, 1 tsp of rosemary, the beef and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer until the beef is tender. Recommended 50 minutes to an hour.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti just like Mum used to make. Only, not. Warning: tread carefully with this recipe. We take no responsibility for how a mother will react to replacing spaghetti noodles with cabbage or butternut squash. Be sure to keep to her sauce recipe to make up for it.
If your Mum isn’t handy to determine how much is a “bunch of garlic”, follow our recipe. Start by browning a chopped onion, celery stick and carrot, as well as 2 chopped garlic cloves and some minced beef in a frying pan. Add two tins of tomatoes, 2 tbsp of tomato puree, a beef stock cube and Italian seasoning. Bring to the boil, cover, and let simmer until you have a thick sauce.
As for the “spaghetti”, add shredded cabbage with some oil to a pan and cook until softened. That’s it. Season with salt and serve with your Bolognese.
If you prefer butternut squash, peel, half and remove the seeds. Using a spiralizer, mandolin, or vegetable peeler, turn the squash into noodles. Spread over a pan and top with garlic and butter scattered over the tray and bake for 10-12 minutes at 420 degrees until the butter is melted. It’s a little more work, but it’s definitely worth it.
Pizza
It’s Friday night. Friday is not a night for another salad, but don’t reach for the phone just yet. Instead of ordering a pizza, make your own keto-friendly version with – you guessed it – cauliflower.
For the base, put 700g of chopped cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until very fine. Wrap in a towel and squeeze any excess liquid out. This is essentially our flower. Line baking trays with baking paper, spread out your cauliflower and leave to dry out for 15 minutes.
Back into the processor with the cauliflower, but also ¾ cup of almond meal, a tablespoonful of olive oil, 30g of grated parmesan and finally salt and pepper. Blitz until a smooth dough. Spread your new dough on a baking tray and press until about a centimeter thick. Roast for 25 minutes at 350 degrees then remove from the oven.
Now for the fun bit. Tomato sauce and cheese is the bare minimum. Look through the fridge and see what you fancy. Pepperoni? Peppers? Pepper? Go for it. And when your pizza is ready send it back to the oven at 480 degrees for another 5-10 minutes.
A few substitutions can make the keto diet feel like just another meal, so dig around for some fun ways to update your favorite meals.