Food swap! 5 midweek faves, now without the guilt

Trying to cut carbs? Or gluten? Or just look after yourself a little bit more?

These stealthy ingredient substitutes mean you won’t even miss whatever is missing.

Wheat flour

SWAP: eggs, psyllium husk and gluten-free flour

Psyllium husk and eggs act as the binding agent in these tasty, gluten-free pumpkin tortillas. Fill with lean ostrich and beef mince patties and your favourite salsa and salads, and that’s a guilt-free supper sorted.

Pumpkin tortillas

Recipe by Abigail Donnelly

Serves 8
Easy
Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes

500 g pumpkin, peeled
2 free-range eggs
5 T psyllium husks
½ t nutmeg
½ t chilli flakes
salt, to taste
coconut or almond flour, for dusting

1 Cook the pumpkin in a saucepan of boiling, salted water until tender, then drain well.
2 Mash the pumpkin using a fork and add the eggs, psyllium husks, nutmeg, chilli flakes and salt.
3 Dust a work surface with coconut or almond flour and spoon equal quantities of mashed pumpkin onto the surface. Flatten the pumpkin until 2 mm thick using the palm of your hand. Ensure that each tortilla is completely covered in flour and dry and pliable.
4 Heat a pan oven a medium heat and dry fry the tortillas for 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Cook’s note: Serve with ostrich burgers made using ostrich mince, coriander, curry paste, red onion and salt, paired with a salsa of Rosa tomatoes, red onion, avocado, coriander, chilli, red wine vinegar and lime juice.

Potatoes

SWAP: sweet potatoes

Almost as good as traditional roast spuds, these fluffy-centred, crispy-edged fellas are low-GI (keeping you fuller for longer) and are MUCH lower in fat thanks to substituting vegetable oil with coconut oil.

Roast sweet potatoes

Recipe by Hannah Lewry
Serves 4
Easy
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 40 minutes

700 g sweet potatoes, washed and halved
2 T coconut oil, melted
thyme, a few sprigs
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2 Place the halved sweet potatoes on a hot baking tray and spoon over the coconut oil. Dot with a few sprigs of thyme and roast for 40 minutes until soft and golden.
Serving suggestion: T-bone steak.

Deep-frying

SWAP: baking

Nachos made with baked Slimmer’s Choice wraps and reduced-fat Cheddar will significantly reduce the kilojoule count of these skinny nachos – plus you still get the avo and spicy salsa.

Skinny nachos

Recipe by Hannah Lewry
Serves 4
Easy
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes

4 Woolworths Slimmer’s Choice wraps
1 T olive oil
½ red onion, finely diced
2 tomatoes, finely diced
1 fresh chilli, seeded and finely diced
100 g Woolworths Slimmer’s Choice Cheddar cheese, grated
1 ripe avocado
½ lemon
30 g fresh coriander

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly brush the wraps with olive oil on both sides and grill on a griddle pan for a minute a side until charred. Remove from the pan, slice into triangles and bake in the oven for 5 minutes until slightly crisp.
2 Combine the red onion, tomatoes and fresh chilli to make a salsa.
3 Sprinkle the grated cheese over the nachos and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until slightly melted.
4 Serve hot with scoops of avo, a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous spoonful of salsa. Garnish with the coriander.

Spaghetti

SWAP: spiralised baby marrow or “zoodles”

The secret weapon in this carb-conscious spin on spaghetti Alfredo is Woolies’ baby marrow spaghetti. A splash of cream and Parmesan balance the scales quite nicely.

Baby marrow spaghetti with ham and mushrooms

Recipe by Phillippa Cheifitz
Serves 2
Easy
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes

250 g Woolworths sliced mushrooms
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
½ cup fresh cream
30 g Parmesan, grated, plus extra for sprinkling
125 g country ham, cut into strips
1 x 350 g Woolworths baby marrow spaghetti packet
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 Stir-fry the mushrooms in the butter and oil over a high heat until just cooked and still fleshy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2 Pour the cream into the pan, add the Parmesan and reduce until slightly thickened. Stir in the ham and mushrooms and heat through.
3 Microwave the baby marrow spaghetti according to package instructions. Gently mix with the sauce. Season to taste and sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.

Risotto rice

SWAP: caulifower rice

Who says you have to give up on your favourite dishes if you’re trying to cut down on carbs? Case in point, this creamy, garlicky risotto made with Woolies cauli rice topped with tender, smoky roast celeriac cubes.

Cauliflower rice risotto with celeriac and crème fraÎche

Recipe by Hannah Lewry
Serves 4
Easy
Preparation: 25 minutesa
Cooking: 25 minutes

1 bulb celeriac, peeled and cubed
3 T olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 onions, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 leaves sage, plus extra for serving
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets
1⁄3 cup crème fraîche, plus extra for serving

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Toss the celeriac in 2 T olive oil, season and roast for 20–25 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown and tender.
2 Meanwhile, soften the onion in the remaining olive oil for 5 minutes over a low heat until sweet but not brown. Increase the heat slightly and add the garlic and sage. Cook for 1 minute, add the stock and reduce for 10 minutes.
3 Blend the cauliflower until it reaches the consistency of rice. Fold into the onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the crème fraîche and season.
4 Fry the extra sage leaves for 10 seconds, or until crisp. Serve the risotto with the celeriac, crème fraîche, fried sage and black pepper.