Whether you’re keeping an eye on your carbohydrate levels for health reasons, or would just like to lose a lb or two, cutting down on the sugars that come with our favourite foods doesn’t need to be a chore. And while we all love potatoes, pasta and puddings (who doesn’t), try these stodge-free alternatives and you’ll be surprised how easy and delicious lower-carb meals can be.

You’re already making calorie and fat savings by going for oven baked fries rather than deep fried. Lighten the calorie and fat load some more, and shed carbs as well, by rustling up zucchini baked fries instead of potato ones. They’re pretty simple – just coat sliced zucchini sticks in flour, egg and then Panko breadcrumbs. Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) until golden.

Craving potato chips? A few massively flavourful Parmesan chips – packed with calcium but virtually zero carbs – will hit the spot instead. Grab them from the grocery store, or make your own by pouring heaped tablespoons of Parmesan onto a baking sheet. Add salt, pepper and herbs of your choice and lightly pat down, before baking for 3 to 5 minutes at 200°C (400°F) until golden and crisp.

An oldie but goodie: Instead of taking a traditional carb-heavy sandwich or wrap to work with you, fill lettuce leaves with your favourite protein filling (chicken or tuna mayo, or prawns with a dash of sweet chilli sauce work well). Romaine and butterhead lettuce are stalwarts – make wraps that are a one or two lettuce leaves thick, roll up and secure with a cocktail stick.

Ditch standard blinis and use a thick slice of crisp cucumber instead. Top with cream cheese and smoked salmon to make a spin on the traditional blini that’s crunchy, fresh and very delicious (plus you’ll slice off a few calories too).

Marvellous mushrooms are so versatile – and fantastic in place of bread to pile a serving of eggs Benedict on top of. One low carb portobello mushroom has less than 20 calories, versus the 150 or so in an English muffin or a thick slice of toast.

Serve your burger – meat or veggie – between two grilled portobello mushrooms to bag yourself a much lower carb version of a traditional hamburger in a bun. This version will be equally filling, and higher in fibre.

Enoki mushrooms – a mainstay of East Asian cuisine – are long, thin strand-like fungi, which work brilliantly as a low carb noodle or spaghetti replacement. Try tossing them into a stir-fry towards the end, and adding your favourite sauce. Or add a few to bulk opt an Asian-inspired soup. These mushrooms are believed to have cholesterol-lowering properties too.

Red peppers are low carb and have more than twice the vitamin C content of oranges. Use them as a bun alternative for your burger and you’ll also be effortlessly adding a veg portion towards the recommended five-a-day minimum. Prefer a less crunchy ‘bun’? Chargrill or griddle two pepper halves until slightly softened before clamping them either side of your burger.

Cut a celeriac into wedges, drizzle with olive oil and pop in a medium oven until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle (add a shake of dried thyme and black pepper to season). Celeriac has 90% less carb content than potato, and only a quarter of the calories.

Whether you swap your potato mash for 100% cauliflower mash, or go half spuds and half cauli, you’re cutting carbs and upping your vitamin C intake as boiled cauliflower has more than three times the amount of potato mash. To make your cauliflower mash zing, add a little cream cheese and a handful of chives.

Try boiling carrots until tender and then mashing into a sweet and velvety puree. Nutmeg, pepper and a touch of orange zest make this lower carb alternative to potato mash a winner. Or mix half and half with spuds for a yummy vitamin A-rich topping to cottage pie.

Parsnip (12.5% carbohydrate) makes a lower carb mash than potatoes (20% carbs) and its sweet taste is a hit atop a family favourite savoury cottage pie. Or try this dinner party-worthy recipe that teams lower carb potato and parsnip mash with delicious beef skirt. 

Cut carbs and calories (and add an extra portion of vegetables to your diet) by swapping actual rice for cauliflower rice. Remove the leaves from a cauliflower, roughly chop, then blitz in a food processor. The resulting “rice" can be microwaved for about 3 minutes or stir-fried with oil and spices for 5 minutes. Or to bring out a nutty flavour pat it down into a baking tray, drizzle with oil, and roast for 12 minutes at 200°C (400°F).

Turnips might not be your first thought of veg to spiralise, but they are actually very easy to do and make a really good alternative to wheat noodles in a stir-fry. As well as being super low carb (just 2%), turnip noodles also provide decent amounts of calcium (around a 10th of the recommended daily amount in a 200g (8oz) serving). 

 

Move the aubergine from the middle of your panini to the outside. Meaty strips of the grilled veg go fantastically with a cheese and ham filling, which can be served cold, or warm and melting – your choice. Either way you get a much lower carb meal.

To make perfectly firm and not-too-watery aubergine (eggplant) lasagna sheets, first salt the aubergine slices for 10 minutes to draw out excess moisture, then pat dry (removing salt), before griddling the aubergine slices for a couple of minutes on either side. Use exactly as you would pasta in your favourite lasagna recipe.

A flour tortilla doubles as an instant lower carb pizza base, and makes a perfect portion for one. Continue the healthy theme with this light and nutritious spinach and egg topping.

There are few things more comforting than a big bowl of leek and potato soup on a chilly day, but this butternut and coconut soup is equally rich, hearty and filling. On average you’ll get a third fewer carbs in a butternut soup too.

Okay, the carb savings aren’t huge, but with roast potatoes having around 17g of carb per 100g (4oz) serving, and roast parsnips only 11g, that’s still worth having. Sprinkle over some Parmesan to make a gorgeous calcium-rich crust and you won’t even miss the spuds.

Bye-bye breadsticks, hello lovely fresh apple slices. Dipping apple into peanut butter or soft cheese lands you a lower carb and calorie snack. One small apple cut into batons equals around 47 calories and 12g of carbs; four average length breadsticks equals 104 calories and 18g of carbs.

Smoothies and fruit juices may seem like the healthier option compared with drinks that have added sugar. But the natural sugars in fruit juice are just as concentrated and damaging to your teeth – and potentially your waistline – as the added type. For an everyday drink go for water instead, but jazz it up a bit, choosing sparkling water and infusing with a few berries or a slice of citrus. Discover our 31 genius hacks to make water taste better.

Cookies can give you an immediate sugar high that quickly fades. However, snacking on delicious crunchy almonds will keep your appetite curbed longer. A one ounce (30g) handful of virtually carb-free almonds has 6g of appetite-curbing protein and lots of fatigue-fighting magnesium too.

For those looking for a low-carb lunch, skewers made with left over chicken and vegetables are a tasty and inviting option served with a good handful of salad. Pack some dressing separately, ready to drizzle over later if you’re carrying to work in a lunch box.

 

Shave down the carbs by having a baked apple for pud instead of apple pie or crumble. Remove the core from a large apple (leaving half an inch at the bottom) and stuff with a little butter, some stevia and a few walnuts and hazelnuts. Serve with a dollop of full fat yogurt for a delicious, healthier pud.

 

Those ultra-thin rice paper wrappers only contain a trace of carb but can neatly hold together any selection of meat or veg you fancy. The made-up wraps are easily frozen for later use – have some soy sauce on stand by for when you want to dig in.

Now read: 30 tasty ways to love your lunchbox

Sweet potatoes have 60% fewer carbs than bread, and make yummy ‘toast’. You can pop raw ¼-inch-thick sweet potato slices (sliced using a heavy-duty knife) straight in the toaster, but this may require several toasting cycles. For better results pre-bake for 15-25 minutes in a medium oven on a wire rack. Store the completely cooled slices in the fridge until you’re ready – just one go in the toaster should then produce the perfect result.

Discover 23 healthy dinners from around the world

 

 

Butternut spaghetti is just delicious with bolognese sauce and slashes the calories in a typical serving of spag bol from around 700 to nearer 350. A spiralizer is a great investment if you’re looking to lower your carb intake but for the occasional lower carb meal, squash spaghetti is now routinely available in supermarkets too.  

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