low carb

The nutrition plan, low carb, is very similar to our basic nutrition but is more geared to women who want to lose weight.It brings us back to the foundation and allows the body to kick products that it doesn’t need. It is a stepping stone to eating healthy.

The drawbacks of carbohydrates

Research has shown that large portions of carbohydrates can be addictive and that the body needs less than we think. You need some for energy but too much results in the desire to eat more and higher fat deposits. Less carbohydrates results in the opposite: less craving for sugar rich products and faster weight loss. Eliminating carbohydrates is effective but we are often unable to keep this up for the long term. Thus, the yo-yo effect occurs and the metabolism also slows down by insufficient consumption of carbohydrates. That’s why you eat carbohydrates in moderation in this program, which allows you to once again take control of your eating pattern, which in return allows you to develop your trust again.

What can you and what can’t you eat?

Breakfast is the same every day. At lunch or dinner you can choose if you include carbohydrates or not. If you don’t include carbohydrates at lunch, then you can include them at dinner and vice versa. This way you learn to make choices and not to have carbohydrates with every meal.  If you choose carbohydrates then choose preferably grains and legumes. You can eat as much vegetables as you want so you don’t get hungry. Try to avoid as many ‘addictive’ products as possible, especially sugar and alcohol. Avoid products with smell, colour and taste additives and choose, preferably, organic products.

Example of a daily menu low carb

Breakfast 8 am

• Vegetable based yoghurt with 3 tablespoons oatflakes, 1 tablespoon linseed (oil) and 1 portion of fruit

Lunch 1 pm

• Two nutritious sandwiches (rye, spelt, wholemeal, sour dough), possibly spread with butter and a spread (see the Preference and Inspiration list) + 1 large portion of raw vegetables (at least 200gr). The vegetables can go on the sandwich (for example: tomato, cucumber, alfalfa, sprouts, carrot sticks, radishes) or in a bowl aside.
• Salad: use leafy vegetables such as spinach or lamb’s lettuce, unlimited fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower or cucumber and plant based protein such as tempeh, beans, legumes or tofu. Make a dressing from oil, vinegar and fresh herbs. If you choose carbohydrates during the lunch then choose : 1-2 small potatoes or 2 dessert-spoons brown rice/wholemeal pasta/quinoa/wholemeal couscous/spelt or buckwheat. If you choose for carbohydrates in the evening then choose for lunch just vegetables and a protein product.

Dinner 7pm

• Tempeh, seitan, tofu, lentils & beans with lots of (raw) vegetables. Let yourself be inspired by the low carb recipes.
• If you didn’t have any carbohydrates at lunch then you can add 1-2 small potatoes or 2 dessert-spoons of brown rice/wholemeal pasta/quinoa/wholemeal couscous Let yourself be inspired by a low carb recipe!

Snack if desired

Unlimited raw vegetables

Drink 1,5 to 2 litres a day. Preferably water or herbal tea.

Inspiration – soups low carb

You can easily eat low carb with a delicious homemade soup. With seasonal vegetables it is a pleasure to make soup for yourself and for others. Did you know that making your own soup doesn’t take much time at all? For example, if you have leftover vegetables, put them in a pan with some vegetable stock or herbs. Just cook with the lid on the pan and you have a nutritious soup on the table! Learn here how you can easily make the tastiest soups with vegetables.

1. The base

• Finely chop 2 garlic cloves and 1 onion. Fry them gently in a stockpot with a teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil.
• For a slightly spicier soup, you can experiment with fresh tumeric, ginger or a red pepper. This is not necessary but it is nice for the taste of the soup.

2. Choose your vegetables

• Add your favourite vegetables in a pan with 500 to 1000ml of water with one or two vegetable stock cubes. Bring this to a gentle boil with the lid on the pan until the vegetables are soft. You can feel them by pricking the vegetables with your fork.
• Choose from the following vegetables: cauliflower, kale, broccoli, zucchini, celeriac, kohlrabi, corn, capsicum, parsnip, pumpkin, leek, beetroot, tomato, spinach, Brussels sprouts, fennel, carrots.
• Combine. You can choose to use one type of vegetable but can also combine.

3. Turn your soup into a meal soup (not low carb but healthy carb)

• Do you want to turn your soup into a full meal soup? Then add legumes or grains.
• If you opt for dried lentils, sweet potatoe or split peas, you can cook these with the vegetables. If you choose canned legumes, add them after you have blended the soup. You also add grains after you have blended the soup. Prepare cereals according to the instructions on the package.
• Choose from the following legumes: aduki beans, borlotti beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, red lentils, split peas, tofu, black beans.
• Choose from the following grains: red rice, black rice, whole grain rice, quinoa, couscous, bulghur.

4. Blending

• Puree your soup with an immersion blender or blender. You can add some extra water to make the soup less thick or make your soup creamy by adding a dash of coconut milk.

5. Toppings

Choose your favourite toppings such as herbs and spices for over your soup.

• Roasted vegetables from the oven such as cubes of eggplant, capsicum, kale or broccoli.
• Fresh herbs such as coriander, basil or parsley.
• Sprouting vegetables such as alfalfa, broccoli sprouts, cress, basil or radish.
• You can also opt for seaweed flakes, torn nori sheets, some seeds and finely chopped nuts.

Our favourite mixes

• Broccoli, spinach & ginger.
• Carrot, tomato, paprika, red lentils and garam masala.
• Pumpkin, (sweet potato), cayenne pepper and sage.

Low carb recipes

Stuffed pumpkin with Indian curry

This is required for 4 people

• 4 small orange or green pumpkins
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3- 4 tablespoons of mild Indian curry paste
• 1 can of coconut milk (400ml)
• 300 grams of cauliflower florets
• 150 grams of beans, cleaned
• 2 large handfuls of spinach leaves
• 50 grams of cashew nuts (roughly chopped)

How to make it

Scrub the pumpkins well and cut the caps off with a sharp knife like a lid. Scoop out the seeds and threads from the pumpkins. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the pumpkins with the caps on in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the flesh is soft. Meanwhile make the curry. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and curry paste and fry for one minute. Pour the coconut milk into the pan and add the cauliflower florets. Cook the curry for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and cook for 4 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cashew nuts and heat the curry until the spinach leaves have just shrunk. Spoon the curry into the warm pumpkins.

Roasted cauliflower salad

This is required for 2 people

• 1/2 a cauliflower
• 1 eggplant
• 2 tsp tamari
• 1 tsp olive oil
• pepper
• small handful of olives
• radish sprouts

For the dressing

• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tbsp tahini

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the cauliflower and eggplant into pieces and mix together with the tamari, olive oil and pepper in a bowl. Spread the vegetables on a baking tray and place in the oven for about 20 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the dressing. If the dressing is too thick for you, add a little lukewarm water. Remove the vegetables from the oven and let them cool for a while. Then mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour the dressing over it.

Broccoli tempeh salad

This is required for 2 people

• 1 block of organic tempeh
• 1 broccoli
• 4 handfuls of shiitakes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 cup of broccoli sprouts
• 1 vegetable cube without yeast
• 4 tsp dried or fresh oregano
• 4 tsp dried or fresh thyme
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 handfuls of pomegranate seeds

How to make it

Mix the stock cube in almost boiling water and pour into a small bowl. Crush the garlic clove and cut in quarters. Put the oregano, thyme and garlic in the bowl with stock. Cut the tempeh into pieces and dip them in the bowl of stock. Leave the tempeh in the bowl for about 30 minutes. Cut the broccoli and shiitakes into pieces and steam them in the steamer. Heat a grill pan and add a little stock from the tempeh. Grill the tempeh pieces on both sides at the same time until golden brown. Keep the grill pan moist by adding some stock. Grab your salad bowl and decorate it with the broccoli florest, shiitakes, cucumber, tempeh, broccoli sprouts and pomegranate seeds!

Baked sweet potato

This is required for 4 people

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 cups of mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 cans of broad beans
• 8 garlic cloves crushed
• 3 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• pepper
• olive oil
• 50 grams of walnuts

For the dressing

• 6 tsp tahini
• juice of 2 limes
• 5 tsp of olive oil

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork (this way the steam can escape and it won’t explode in the oven) and wrap in aluminium foil. Place the potatoes on a baking tray and bake for about an hour, until they are soft. Meanwhile, stir-fry the mushrooms in a frying pan with beans, garlic, chili, coriander, pepper and olive oil. bake this for about 5 to 8 minutes so that the mushrooms are nice and soft. For the dressing, mix the tahini, lime juice and olive oil with 5 tsp of water. Cut the sweet potatoes in half and fill with the stir-fried vegetables and finish with the tahini dressing.

Fried Bulgur with pak choi

This is required for 4 people

• 400 grams bulgur
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 bunches of spring onions
• 2 pak choi
• 400 grams of garden peas
• 4 tsp of cider vinegar
• 1/2 red pepper ground
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp tamari

How to make it

Cook the bulgar according to the package. Meanwhile, cut the garlic, spring onion and pak choi into pieces. Heat a pan with a little coconut oil and fry the spring onion for about one minute, then add the pieces of garlic for one minute. Stir-fry the pak choi with the bulgar and mix in the garden peas. Spoon your meal into your favourite bowl and enjoy this meal.

Warm Mexican quinoa platter

This is required for 4 people

• 150 grams quinoa
• 1 avocado, remove stone, dice the meat
• 3 large vine tomatoes
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of corn
• coriander leaves to taste

For the dressing

• 1/2 a teaspoon paprika powder
• 1/2 a teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 1 small teaspoon of herb salt
• chili powder to taste

How to make it

Boil the quinoa until al dente. Remove the stem from the tomatoes & remove the seeds with a spoon to prevent the salad from getting too wet. Dice the tomatoes and place them in a large salad bowl. Wash the black beans in a colander under the tap and then heat them with a good splash of water in a large saucepan over low heat. When they are almost warm, let the tomatoes cook with them for another 30 seconds. Stir the quinoa and dressing into the bean mixture with the corn and remove from heat. Divide the dish between four plates, divide the avocado among the plates and garnish with the coriander leaves.

Rainbow salad

This is required for 4 people

• 1 zucchini
• 2 carrots
• 1 capsicum
• 100 grams of black beans
• 4 tbsp hemp seed
• 2 handfuls of mulberries
• 2 handfuls of cranberries

How to make it

Cut the zucchini and carrots into thin strips with a spirelli. A spirelli is a handy tool to make strings of vegetables. If you don’t have a spirelli, use a vegetable peeler. Cut the capsicums into pieces and wash the black beans. Mix the zucchini and carrot strips in a bowl, along with the capsicum and black beans. Finish your rainbow salad with hemp seeds, mulberries and raisins.