Cooks! Help, please - need some suggestions ...

[Flaxbee]

I'm cooking for my husband, who has requested (in aid of his waistline) that I forego pasta, rice, grains/starch with lunches/dinners. He's not no-carb Atkins at all, just wants to avoid typical filler foods for a while. So - I have a pound of shrimp and was thinking of making a Thai or Indian curry, but all the recipes I have suggest serving the shrimp over rice (logical but currently off the menu). Anyone have any good alternative suggestions? No potatoes, no rice, no pasta -- so what kind of veggie might go well with it?

I've just really started to cook in the last few months and don't have much of a repertoire yet, nor do I have a very good idea (yet) of tasty substitutes.

I'll also post this in the cooking/baking section.

Thanks for any ideas.

[Nicole]

1. Spaghetti squash

When I'm low carbing, I use spaghetti squash for a pasta substitute.

[Flaxbee]

7. OK - good to know...

I also have some pasta dishes I've been avoiding b/c of the carb issue, but I'll look for spaghetti squash next time. Thank you!

[Truthiness Inspector]

22. That was going to be my suggestion

spaghetti squash rocks!

My fave is to bake tomatoes and serve over it. I slice big tomatoes in half, put a little olive oil on top of the sliced surface, fresh garlic (or garlic salt), and parmesan, and bake in the oven for about 20 or so minutes. I leave the tomatoes just as they come out of the oven, and just pop them over the spaghetti squash, then eat it all together.

The combo of baked tomatoes and spaghetti squash is excellent.

[Nicole]

23. I love it.

I use it for lots of fake pasta dishes.

I'm going to try your baked tomatoes, that sounds really good.

[Truthiness Inspector]

24. You won't be disappointed!

It really is a match made in heaven!

[SoCalDemGrrl]

2. You could just put the shrimp on skewers and baste with BBQ sauce and

broil them. They are vey tasty that way, then you can make a side dish of asparagus, artichokes or
brussel sprouts with mustard sauce, etc. You can also microwave a whole yam and serve with Earth Balance spread and
salt and pepper.

The mustard saucer is very easy, in a saucepan put about 1/2 cup soy milk, 1-2 tsp dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Heat while
stirring and you have a very nice low cal sauce.

[Flaxbee]

8. my husband loooooves mustard, so this will be great for me

to try. Thank you! He also likes brussel sprouts :o

[Ptah]

3. It's not shrimp, but maybe you could adapt this

[Flaxbee]

6. that LOOKS very yummy (esp. with the negra modelo)...

thanks for the visuals, Ptah! :hi:

I'm always looking for light recipes (with fish or chicken/turkey or tofu) and I'll grab some of these ingredients tomorrow.

You baked it? How long, what temp?

[Ptah]

11. I think at 350 F for about 40 minutes.

Don't let your salmon loaf.

:hi:

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Try some of these sites for some recipes

http://www.atkins.com/recipes

http://weightloss.about.com/cs/lowcarbrecipes/

http://www.lowcarbrecipes.org/

[Flaxbee]

10. thank you very much for the links...

I'll check them out before going to the grocery store tomorrow. I love cooking, and figure now, as I'm just learning, would be a good time to get used to low-calorie substitutes/cooking ideas.

[Kali]

5. serve it on some very lightly sauteed zuchini

or even steamed or baby crookneck squash
- or just cook it all together and have it more as a soup/stew in a bowl rather than over the rice (btw brown rice would probably be pretty good for him)

[Flaxbee]

12. I could probably serve a little brown rice mixed in with

squash or zucchini, just not only rice. Like, 1/4 cup mixed in with some greens.

Thanks for the ideas! :hi:

[havocmom]

9. Bean sprouts or very finely cut, long strips of zucchini, lightly steamed.

The latter is also a great spaghetti substitute and works with red sauce!

[Flaxbee]

13. hm. bean sprouts. good idea (I love them!)

I'll check out zucchini with marinara sauce as another recipe. Thank you!

[grace0418]

14. Tofu shirataki noodles. They are noodles made from tofu, so they have very, very

few carbs and calories. They saved us when my husband was first diagnosed with diabetes and we were avoiding most carbs. Since then we've discovered that complex carbs digest differently and don't spike his blood sugar. So we will eat whole wheat pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat tortillas and pita. When your husband is ready, try some of those items instead of your usual carbs.

http://www.house-foods.com/tofushirataki_faq.html

[Flaxbee]

16. thanks for the link!

I live waayyyy out in the boonies and our local stores don't carry such fancy things! Glad I have some 'net purchasing options.

:hi:

[noonwitch]

31. The bean thread noodles are the same kind of thing

You soak them in water and throw them in with the stir-fry.

[grasswire]

15. you could saute the shrimp or steam them.....

...and then serve them on a good bed of sauteed spinach that is cooked nearly dry and then seasoned with just a dab of butter, and curry powder, nutmeg and a bit of orange zest. Delicious.

[Flaxbee]

17. wow - that spinach sounds fantastic!

dayum! I've got to make sure I have nutmeg, and I'm going to try that this weekend - thank you!

[hickman]

18. Oh for the freaking love of Mike.

Never eliminate the potatoes, rice or pasta. Just reduce it to small part of the diet. Like when you fry garlic and onions in olive oil with a tea spoon of butter. The starch is essential for health. Taking it out is like taking the Id out of idiot. A diet without starch is like a rubber band that has been stretched too far. It always snappes back.

[Flaxbee]

28. look, hickman, I know that and so does my husband.

Notice I didn't say we were eliminating all starch, just that I was looking for alternatives. So lay off, OK?

[Shakespeare]

32. No, the key is to go with whole grains as much as possible...

...and choose only those starches that are low on the glycemic index. It has nothing to do with a rubber band--what I've just described is FAR healthier than eating "white" starches like potatoes, (white) rice and pasta.

And not that hard to do, either.

[grace0418]

33. That really is the answer. And complex carbs are much easier to find these days.

So many pastas are available in whole wheat or brown rice versions. My favorite middle eastern restaurant offers whole wheat pita (yum!). Even some sushi restaurants are starting to use brown rice instead of white. That was a miracle for my husband because he's Asian and giving up sticky rice was a really hard thing for him when he was diagnosed with diabetes. Now we rarely have difficult finding food choices that fit the bill and still satisfy our palates.

[wildhorses]

19. shrimp over spinach

it will work if done right,,,

very quickly and with lemon juice

[NMDemDist2]

20. that was gonna be my suggestion too n/t

[wildhorses]

21. gmta

and jazz hands

is good, right?

[noshenanigans]

25. You know whats great? Grilled vegetables

Grill a zucchini, a small eggplant, some box choy, and some red or yellow peppers and mix it with some basil thats been mashed with olive oil, salt, and pepper. So delicious.

Also, there are a lot of whole wheat pastas now avaliable.. perhaps that may be a good thing to have occasionally as it's packed with fiber but a lot of value for the amount of kcals.

[marzipanni]

26. The spinach ideas sound good, but don't forget

a bunch of spinach cooks down to barely enough for two people.

[leftofthedial]

27. bed of stir-fry veggies

[davsand]

29. If he's avoiding the carbs in pasta try Dreamfield brand.

A diabetic I know turned me on to it. A standard serving of it is something like 5 grams of carb. If you are trying to watch carbs you can get to a point where a plate of ANY kind of pasta sounds wonderful. This stuff can satisfy you and not blow your carb count out of the water.

Now, if your husband is simply trying to cut calories and sees not eating pasta and other grains as a way to do it, I'd suggest maybe a whole grain or non-processed veggie would be a good bet. The fibers that come with whole grains and veggies are kind of important (not to mention the phytochemicals.)

I'm not a big fan of the "low fat" diets personally, because I just feel hungry all the time once the inevitable carb rush wears off. I lost my weight with lean meats and a lot of veggies--and I never got hungry doing it because I ate carefully selected snacks between meals. In the long run, you will be less hungry at meal time--and THEN you eat less.

IF he's missing mashed spuds, I want to suggest something to you that may sound just disgusting--until you try it. Cauliflower cooked in chicken broth then mashed with no fat Half & Half. I find it to be pretty tasty--and it seems a lot like mashed potatoes.

As far as cooking your shrimp, I'd suggest skewers of shrimp marinated with sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and some OJ. Save a bit of it to brush on as it cooks (broiled or grilled.) For a side with that I'd probably stir fry some snow peas, zucchini, sliced green onions, and sweet red & yellow peppers. (You can use sprouts or any other veggie you like--this is your meal!)

Happy eating!


Laura

[Beer Snob-50]

30. how about cauliflower

I have a mediterranian cook book and it suggests cauliflower instead of starches. It can be mashed or whatever. Throw some butter on it, very tastee.