Low-carb chicken alfredo with zucchini noodles
EATING healthy food doesn't have to come at the cost of taste, and Cassandra Watts has become a master of getting the balance right.
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The trick is to find ways to replace some of the ingredients – particularly the carbohydrate-heavy ones – with some better options.
Making the sauce out of cauliflower is just one of the ways Cassandra has made the recipe her own.
“I do the low-carb option for this one, instead of pasta you use zucchini noodles and use cauliflower for the cream sauce,” she said.
“You blend cooked cauliflower with some chives, almond milk and water.
“I actually think it's got a bit more taste to it than a regular alfredo sauce, on the creamy side you have to watch the almond milk, but it definitely helps.
“It's all about getting the balance right, I don’t use a lot of measurements, I go by taste and texture.”
Cauliflower has long been a much-maligned vegetable, but Cassandra said it could be used in a variety of different was.
All you need is a bit of creativity.
“You can even eat cauliflower raw,” she said.
“One of the things my mum used to do was use it instead of the regular old carrot or celery sticks.
“If you make a french onion dip you can have cauliflower raw.”
Putting a healthy spin on classic meals has become a hobby, with Cassandra's Instagram page featuring modified recipes and cooking tips for calorie-conscious cooks.
Her most recent example, a butter chicken recipe featuring the aforementioned zucchini noodles and some peanut butter, is all about reducing the amount of carbs taken in late in the day.
“That recipe is probably a bit more of a satay by the end,” she said.
“I use some pre-marinated chicken from the Jones Street butchers, zoodles, crunchy peanut butter and mushrooms.
“It's a high-protein meal, especially with my own meal plans I try and keep the dinners low carbs.
“Generally I try and keep the higher carbohydrate meals for earlier in the day, breakfast and lunch.
“That way you have more time to burn it off – I train in the mornings and I'm on the go during the day usually, whereas if you have carbs late in the day and you don;t move around it gets stored as fat.
“Using herbs and spices, things like garlic, pepper, chives and parsley is a great way to add flavour.
“Obviously fresh herbs are ideal, but dried herbs are totally fine as well.”
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