Starch Replacement Ideas?

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baiye1
baiye1 Posts: 27 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My son and I eat very few starch-like foods. He likes pb sandwiches and crackers and baked fries and that's about the extent of the list. I myself have never really cared for sandwiches, potatoes, rice, and now that I am trying to lose weight, I eat even less of these. I am not gluten free by any means but I find now that I don't eat much of anything that would have it, it bothers my stomach, but that's the same for potatoes and rice, too. However, sometimes I just really want to have something that is similar to noodles or a good topping for shepherd's pie. So, does anyone have any good substitutions for potatoes, rice and bread?

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  • Chokis
    Chokis Posts: 131
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    Substitute for mashed potatoes and rice: mashed cauliflower, you can either mash it to look like mashed potatoes or more grainy like rice. Great substitute! Mix it with some butter and/or sour cream, it is so delicious!
    A substitute for pasta: shirataki noodles (they're basically tofu noodles) or spaghetti squash.
    Bread: you can make a Muffin in a minute (google it, very simple recipe), it's made out of flaxseed meal, very delicious! I use it for sandwiches.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    Sweet potatoes are good on top of a cottage pie. The noodle replacements aren't really noodly if that makes any sense. I will eat the tofu shirtaki noodles occasionally if the are very, very, very well rinsed. My mom hates them with a passion though.
  • MorningWhispers
    MorningWhispers Posts: 182
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    Brown rice instead of white rice, whole wheat or multigrain bread and sweet potatoes are all healthy alternatives.
  • edwardgaweda
    edwardgaweda Posts: 40
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    I get over 90% of my carbs from fruit and vegetables. As someone else said, sweet potatoes are also good.
  • ecdce
    ecdce Posts: 129 Member
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    Well, for the potato thing any root vegetable would work- yuca, sweet potatoes, carrots & parsnips, turnips (are rutabagas the same thing? They looks so similar...), etc. As mentioned earlier, cauliflower is a good potato substitute, too, and even works well when mashed with another vegetable. If you want it to be more like rice, grate it (in a food processor to save time) and then cook it like rice but prob not as long. Sounds gross, but I like cooked (boiled) cabbage in place of some noodles. I really like the taste of cabbage rolls (or stuffed cabbage) so I like cabbage topped with meat sauce and cheese. Or stir fry, provided there isn't, like, loads of bok choy or onions already in it. Spaghetti squash, thinly sliced zucchini (for "lasagna), and shirataki noodles are all good replacements. Except shiritaki noodles have the same texture as rubber bands, which makes them hard to love. The awful smell goes away with a good rinse, parboil, rinse, but unfortunately cooking doesn't change the texture. You could maybe also try beans or lentils, too.

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