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How to Substitute Vegetables for Grains

How to Substitute Vegetables for Grains.

Giving up grains and eating vegetables as a substitute can be difficult. Grains are tasty and play a huge part in the average Western diet. Whether it's having bread on your sandwich, serving rice with your stir-fry or having pasta for dinner, grains are a big food group that can be hard to replace. However, many people are now moving away from grains at the advice of some diet plans (like the Paleo diet) or just to improve their overall diet. Some people restrict carbs in their diet as research has shown this helps with weight loss. Now there are tons of recipes and ideas on how to cut back on grains and replace them with more nutrient-dense foods like vegetables. Try using some of your favorite veggies to help reduce how many grains you eat on a daily basis.

Part 1 Swapping out Grains for More Vegetables.

1. Use vegetables to replace breads or wraps. If you normally pack a sandwich or pick up a wrap as a meal, it can be hard to think of ways to have a "sandwich" without the bread; however, there are a variety of vegetables that you can use instead.

An easy swap for bread or wraps are lettuce leaves. Many types of lettuces are cup-shaped or have large leaves which makes them great for rolling up sandwich fillings.

Choose lettuces like butter lettuce cups, iceberg lettuce, cabbage leaves, collard green leaves, kale or Swiss chard. These lettuces are big and will hold a decent amount of fillings without ripping or the items falling out.

In addition to a lettuce wrap, you can also make opened faced sandwiches with vegetables like grilled portobello mushrooms or sliced and baked sweet potatoes.

Once cooked, you can top your mushroom or sweet potato slice with your favorite sandwich toppings and serve. Use a fork and knife for this type of sandwich.

2. Swap in vegetables for pizza crust. Another item you can use vegetables in is for pizza crust. You can skip the carb and calorie heavy flour-based crust and use a vegetable instead.

Just like with open faced sandwiches, you can also use grilled or roasted portobello mushrooms as a pizza crust. Fill with a little tomato sauce and top with cheese or other toppings, like broccoli and onion.

If you want a more crust like pizza, try using cauliflower. Once grated and cooked, you can mold the cauliflower into a flat circle and top with sauce and cheese.

3. Make rice out of vegetables. If you normally have a side of rice with your dinner, consider using grated vegetables instead. It's a great way to decrease your carbohydrate intake.

One very popular swap for rice is cauliflower. By swapping in this low-calorie vegetable, you save yourself about 150 calories per serving.

Use a food processor to grate and finely chop the cauliflower. It should be similar in size to rice or couscous. You can use this in any recipe that calls for rice.

Another vegetable that you can use as a substitute for rice are parsnips. These look like white carrots, but when grated and finely chopped also serve as a great rice substitute.

4. Use vegetables as pasta. If you love a big bowl of pasta or a cold pasta salad, you'd be happy to know there are plenty of vegetables that can be substituted in place of noodles and macaroni.

One great tool to help you make a variety of vegetables into a spaghetti or linguine shape is a spiralizer. There are a variety of variations of this tool, but they all help turn veggies (or fruits) into spaghetti.

Great vegetables to try in your spiralizer are butternut squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, beets, or cucumbers.

These noodles can be quickly boiled or steamed or eaten raw depending on what the recipe calls for.

If you like a baked pasta dish like lasagna, try using eggplant, red peppers, zucchini or yellow squash in place of the noodles. Slice length-wise into long, thin planks and layer with sauce and cheese.

Another option is to make your own gnocchi with either sweet potatoes or pumpkin. There's little to no flour in these and they're full of a nutrient-dense squash.

5. Bake with nut or bean flours. Outside of items like rice, pasta and bread, there are foods that use grain-based flours. Whether it's cakes, cookies or muffins, many foods contain flour.

Baked goods and pastries can still be enjoyed if you're following a low- or no-grain diet. Substitute regular wheat flour for nut or bean flours.

Many different nuts and beans can be ground into a fine flour-like consistency. You can use them in a variety of baked goods. You can try: almond flour, cashew meal, garbanzo bean flour and fava bean flour.

The proportions of other ingredients may change when you use these types of flours. Make sure you follow a recipe to help get the end product turn out correctly.

You can also use coconut flour, though this is fairly high in calories.

6. Use vegetables in place of chips or crackers. If you enjoy having crackers or chips as snacks, you can use vegetables as a swap for these flour based treats. Make your own using vegetables at home.

Many types of chips and crackers usually contain some sort of flour which makes them a grain-based food.

If you like crunchy, salty chips, trying make chips from kale. Washed, dried and baked in the oven, kale becomes crispy and light.

You can also use raw vegetables in place of chips and crackers. This is especially good when you have a dip like hummus or ranch dip. Both are great with raw vegetables.

If you want a more chip-like consistency, use starchy root vegetables instead. Thinly sliced, vegetables like beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots turn into crispy chips when baked in the oven.

Part 2 Using Vegetables in Place of Grains.

1. Try spaghetti squash marinara. A great option to try if you love spaghetti and meatballs is using spaghetti squash instead. This vegetable, when cooked, shreds into spaghetti-like strands and makes the perfect pasta replacement

To cook a spaghetti squash, carefully slice the squash in half lengthwise. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and roast at 400°F (204.4°C) for about 40 minutes or until fork tender.

Allow the squash to cool to room temperature. Once cool, use a fork to shred the flesh of the squash. It should come out easily and naturally fall into little spaghetti strands.

Toss the cooked squash with warmed marinara sauce. Serve with your favorite meatballs and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

2. Make a cold cucumber noodle salad. If you enjoy those cold soba noodle salads with peanut dressing, you'd be surprised at how well cucumbers do in this salad. Spiralized into spaghetti shape, they make this salad delicious.

Start by washing and drying a cucumber. English or hot house cucumbers are the best as their skin is tender and the seeds are small.

Spiralize the entire cucumber and slice "noodles" into manageable pieces — about 6 –10 inches (15 – 25 cm) in length.

Place the "noodles" in a bowl and toss with your favorite peanut sauce or dressing. Stir to combine.

Add in 2 cups of diced chicken, 1 cup of steamed broccoli florets, 1/2 cup of thinly sliced red peppers, 1 cup of steamed snap peas and 1/2 cup of diced green onions.

Toss everything to combine. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill thoroughly. Once chilled, serve and enjoy.

3. Make cauliflower rice. If you love rice, you might want to try making cauliflower rice instead. It's very low-calorie and low-carb and very easy to make.

To start, roughly chop up a whole head of cauliflower. Leave only the florets and discard the woody, tough stems.

Put half of the cauliflower in a food processor. Pulse until the cauliflower breaks down into couscous or rice sized pieces. Set aside and process the remaining cauliflower.

To cook your cauliflower rice, add in a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet. Heat over medium high and add the cauliflower. Cook for five to eight minutes or until tender.

You can also use your cauliflower rice raw if you'd like. This is a great idea if you want to do a cold salad.

4. Bring a Mediterranean kale wrap for lunch. If you enjoy having a sandwich or wrap for lunch, consider swapping out the bread for a big piece of leafy kale. It's high in vitamins and minerals and makes a great sub for a wrap

Start by washing and drying a large kale leaf. If it has a thick, woody stem, take a paring knife and carefully remove it. This won't taste good in your wrap.

Spread on about a 1/4 cup of your favorite hummus topped with 1/4 of a sliced avocado.

Top with 2 tablespoons of feta cheese and a 1/4 cup of thinly sliced roasted red peppers.

Drizzle on your favorite salad dressing if desired (like a balsamic vinaigrette). Wrap up the fillings tightly and slice your wrap in half. Enjoy!

Part 3 Eating Grains in Moderation.

1. Decide what "moderation" is for you. Even if a diet you're following suggests avoiding all grains, having these foods occasionally is still appropriate. You don't have to avoid these foods in order to have a balanced or nutritious diet.

If you eat large quantities of grains, eat them on a regular basis or choose items that are highly refined, this isn't a overly healthy choice.

However, having grains (even refined grains) in moderation is appropriate and healthy, as they provide energy and nutrients. If you want to include some grain-based foods every now and again, decide what your definition of moderation will be.

For example, will you only have grains one or two times a week? Or will you have one serving per day?

Stick to your definition of moderation to keep these foods in check and make sure you don't overdo it.

2. Stick to appropriate portion sizes. One thing that is very important to do (with any food) is to measure the appropriate portion. This will help you stick to eating a moderate amount of grains.

When you plan to have a serving of grains, make sure to measure the portion size. This will help keep the total calories and carbohydrates in check.

Even if you choose a whole grain or a dish that is very nutritious, eating too much of it can cost you too many calories or carbohydrates.

For grains, measure out 1 oz or 1/2 cup. If you're having rice or pasta, measure the food after it's been cooked.[

3. Go for 100% whole grains. In addition to eating grains on occasion and making sure the portion sizes are appropriate, it's also a good idea to choose the most nutritious type of grain.

If you're going to splurge and have some bread, rice, pasta or another baked good, choose a nutritious option. That way, you're at least getting some nutritional benefits when you eat it.

The most nutritious types of grains are 100% whole grains. These are minimally processed and contain all parts of the grain (the bran, germ and endosperm). These are high in fiber and other beneficial nutrients.

Refined grains are much more processed and the nutrient containing parts of the grain — the bran and germ — are removed during processing.

Stick to 100% whole grains only. Try items like: brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, barley, millet or farro.

Tips.

Swapping in more vegetables for grains is a great way to increase the total amount of nutrients you're eating everyday.

Although this can help improve your diet, eating 100% whole grains is a OK and a nutritious addition to your diet.

There are a ton of recipes available to help make this grain-free recipes taste great. Try a few to see what works best for you.

Refined grains are quickly digested into simple sugars and then absorbed into the blood system. This can cause blood sugar levels to go up.

April 08, 2020

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