Health experts and dieticians recommend to go low carb and give up refined carbs when trying to lose weight. For people who are confused about various low-carb options to include in their diet, we have come up with 10 delicious low carb food items that you can add as replacement to high-carb food stuff in your diet. Having a low-carb diet not only helps you shed some weight, it also has amazing health benefits. Cutting down on carbs helps to curb appetite, cut down a lot of calories too. According to studies, opting for a low carb diet is more beneficial than going low-fat if you want to seriously into losing some weight. If you are confused what kind of food is low carb and how to make that important switch from high carbs to low carb, do check out the Rati Beauty diet. Also, we have listed down some deliciously healthy and low-carb food alternatives to try ASAP!
1. Sweet Potato over Potato: They are nutritious, healthy and delicious root vegetables that can be added to your diet. Sorry potato; your journey with me ends here! Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, it also contains good source of carbs, protein and antioxidants. You can boil, bake or grill sweet potato. It contains around 24gm of carbohydrates whereas potatoes have 37 gm of carbs.
2. Brown Rice over White Rice: Brown rice is considered as a whole food and considered healthy as it is less processed than white rice. During the price of making brown rice, rice bran and germ is not removed, which makes it nutrient rich compared to white rice. They are a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It is also known as a heart-friendly food because it contains certain compounds which help reduce heart-related diseases. You can consume one cup of brown rice per day without thinking twice about gaining weight.
3. Eggs over Packaged Breakfast Cereals: Eggs are termed as “super food” and are considered as one of the healthiest foods on the planet because they are packed with nutrients, egg contains Vitamin A, Folate, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B12,Vitamin B2, Phosphorus, Selenium, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B6, calcium and zinc. Each egg contains around 77 calories, 6gm of protein and 5 gm of healthy fats. Eating two whole boiled eggs daily can be highly beneficial for your health and maintaining weight. Also Read: “11 Packaged Foods That Are Behind your Weight Gain.”
4. Almond Milk over Regular Milk: When we talk about cow/buffalo milk, it contains high calories compared to almond milk. Also, almond milk is not only low in calories and carbs, it has more nutritional value than regular milk. Almond milk is surprisingly low in calories, it also strengthens bones and helps to reduce certain heart diseases. It also has a good amount of vitamin D and is naturally rich in several vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin E. Jacqueline Fernandez recently revealed in her Instagram account that she consumes homemade almond milk for better-looking skin and body!
5. Fruit smoothie over canned juice: One cup of packaged juice has roughly 132-160 calories and 32-40 carbs. Also, they come loaded with sugars and preservatives etc., which should be totally avoided if you are trying to lose weight. We recommend trying out fruit smoothie prepared at home for best results. There are so many healthy fruit smoothies to add to your breakfast, they comparatively contain low carbs, low calories and are sugar free if you use Stevia. Banana oats smoothie, chikoo+apple, mango+kiwi etc are a few good options to try!
6. Strawberry over Banana: Undoubtedly, bananas are super healthy, but they also contain a good amount of calories and carbs. An average banana contains 90 calories and 23 gm of carbohydrates. Whereas 100gm of strawberries contains 33 calories and just 8g of carbs. Also, they contains high amounts of vitamin C which acts as a skin food. If you really want to control your carbs we recommend choosing strawberry over banana.
7. Spiralized vegetables over Instant Noodles: Noodles are usually made from refined flour (maida) which is not only harmful for health, it would increase your body weight quickly. White flour is a complete “no no” when it comes to weight loss. These days, spiralized vegetables are getting quite popular. Not only they taste good but are super nutritious and weight friendly. You can use carrots, zucchini, cabbage and sweet potatoes to make sparilized noodles.
8. Regular Yogurt over Flavoured Yogurt: One cup of flavoured yogurt contains 200 calories and has 40g of carbs. This is just like eating a dessert or ice cream. It will only harm than doing good. In place of flavored yogurt, consider a cup of homemade fresh yogurt with no sugar. It contains 150 calories and 11g of carbs. It promotes bone health, aids digestion. Also, it contains probiotics which keeps intestine healthy. Also, our grannies always believed that one cup yogurt daily can improve skin and hair quality!
9. Cauliflower Rice Over White Rice: White rice is a staple food for most Indians and consumed on a daily basis in a majority of households all over the world, so it’s hard to imagine life without white rice. White rice is a refined food, ripped off most of its fiber content during the refining and polishing process and what you get is a large chunk of carbs that can get your weight up. Have you ever thought about replacing rice with “riced” cauliflower? You would stock up on cauliflower if we told you that it has just 25 calories per 100 gm. So, just grate the cauliflower florets into rice-like consistency and make whatever you want out of it – from pulao to biryani, the options are endless.
10. Vegetable Chips over Potato Chips: Available in a myriad of flavours, potato chips appeal to every palate and tastebud out there because it’s a “perfect” snacking option while viewing cricket matches, for weekend house and pyjama parties with friends, and even during a movie date night. But as we all know, chips are not healthy at all, neither for weight loss nor for general health. No, not even baked chips because they usually have higher levels of a compound called “acrylamide” that can potentially cause nerve damage, increase the risk of cancer, among other health risks and create inflammation which is a major reason for weight gain. No matter the shape, no matter whether it’s baked or not, potato chips are not good for weight loss at all. They are high in calories, usually have transfat, and it’s hard to stop at just one packet, lights up the reward center of the brain, increasing further cravings. So, what’s the alternative? You can make beetroot, banana, apple, carrot, sweet potato, zucchini, and even mushroom chips by baking them in a microwave until crisp or in an air fryer without using any cooking oil. Also read: “12 Healthier Alternatives to Potato Chips.”
Let us know your favourite low carb replacement in the comment below! Eat healthy; stay healthy!
12 Healthier Alternatives to Potato Chips
11 Packaged Foods That Are Behind your Weight Gain