For the first time since i started dieting, I'm making a stir fry dish for dinner. Usually, I include white rice with the finished product to absorb some of the sauce and provide that fluffy texture.
What is a low carb, or even carb free, alternative I can use that provide a similar texture and absorbent quality?
Quinoa. I only recently discovered it as part of doing P90X, and man, it's so, so delicious. It's kind of a nutty flavour that goes really well with sauces. It's also pretty high in protein, which is good.
Note that this isn't "no-carb", though it is lower in carbs than rice.
It's important that you wash quinoa before you prepare it. Otherwise, it's prepared in a very similar way, 2-1 water-to-quinoa, boiled and simmered.
Cauliflower rice works. There are lots of variations, but basically you grate cauliflower and boil it in lightly salted water for 1-2 minutes. Add some butter. Mine looks something like this: Cauliflower rice with chicken
I actually recommend whole grain rice as a substitute for white rice. First, a stir-fry is just weird without rice.
Second, whole grain rice tastes and acts almost exactly the same. However, the carb/fibre ratio is adjusted quite well in your favour, and you get all that nice vitamin B-1 as well.
I dare say, rice is never the enemy in a diet. How many fat Chinese people have you seen?
Whole oat groats make a good replacement for rice when something with more fiber and a lower glycemic index is wanted. Whole oats aren't the most convenient of foods, two cycles of a rice cooker on the brown rice setting, but they more than make up for the effort with flavor, versatility and healthfulness.
