| The key to a successful eating lifestyle is to be | | | | sauce to create an option with fewer |
| able to maintain healthy choices, eat foods you | | | | carbohydrates. |
| enjoy, and not feel deprived. Many fail to adhere | | | | Does the recipe have low flour content? |
| to a specific long-term diet plan because of the | | | | Flour-based products, such as cakes and biscuits |
| feeling of 'missing out' on something they enjoy. | | | | require a more complex adaptation, but it is |
| There are many ways to eat enjoyable foods | | | | certainly possible to enjoy such treats within a low |
| without loading up on carbohydrates or sugars. A | | | | carb diet. Recipes with a small quantity of flour |
| satisfying method to take ownership over what | | | | content may have the flour substituted with a |
| you eat is to create or adapt interesting dishes to | | | | soy protein powder, almond flour (finely ground |
| fit your low carb eating plan. | | | | almonds), soy flour, or a combination of these |
| With a range of artificial sweeteners and | | | | substitutes. Each option has a definite flavour of |
| commercially available low carbohydrate products | | | | its own so experimentation is necessary to find |
| - everything from chocolate to crackers - it is | | | | the combinations which suit an individual or family. |
| possible to indulge in wonderfully tasty treats, | | | | The variations still provide carbohydrates, but less |
| whether your preference is for sweet or savory. | | | | than their traditional white flour counterparts. |
| A little imagination and a lot of experimenting can | | | | Restraint in the amount one consumes must still |
| lead to a varied and far-from-deprived way of | | | | be exercised, but one can enjoy the treats whilst |
| eating. | | | | knowing the choice is the best one for your body |
| So how does one go about adapting a recipe to | | | | and chosen lifestyle. |
| suit a low carbohydrate diet? Most people adapt | | | | What is the milk content of the recipe? Milk is |
| recipes without thinking about it. They choose to | | | | higher in carbohydrates than cream and an easy |
| add sage because they've no fresh thyme, or | | | | way to reduce a recipe's carbohydrate content is |
| substitute peanuts for walnuts because of the | | | | to replace milk with a combination of cream and |
| walnut tree in the back yard. Naturally we make | | | | water. |
| changes to suit what we have available or to suit | | | | These are the just the simplistic basics of recipe |
| our taste preferences. Adapting a recipe to a low | | | | conversion; a mere stepping stone to the creative |
| carbohydrate version is simply an extension of | | | | cookery which can result. Always look for |
| this process. Here are a few principles to consider | | | | substitutions: swap dried fruits for nuts, chocolate |
| for adapting recipes. | | | | chips for chunks of sugar-free chocolate, ground |
| Does the recipe have a good protein base? A | | | | nuts in place of a biscuit base (e.g. a cheesecake |
| protein-based recipe is a great starting point and | | | | base). The options are expansive and the cook's |
| adaptation should be quite simple. For example: | | | | willingness to experiment provides some |
| substitute sugar for artificial sweetened in a satay | | | | pleasurable results. |