Banting Vegetables – Ideas to Take Your Veggies From Dull to Delicious

Banting is notoriously misunderstood. I regularly get links to YouTube videos of speakers talking about the dangers of high protein diets (mostly from my mother). But, Banting isn’t about high proteins (Mom? Did you hear that?) It is high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate. This means that vegetables play a major part on any plate. When we reduce carbs like rice and chips, we may be tempted to replace them with vegetables that are stodgy (like butternut and carrots) or loads of extra protein. But, making delicious, rich, healthful Banting vegetables can be indulgent, delicious and so healthy.

Banting Vegetables – A Few Ideas

Here are some of the veggie dishes that my family enjoys:

• Roasted aubergine slices – cut the aubergines into thin slices and bake them in the oven until they are soft. Allow to cool, then wrap them around a piece of cheese (we like white cheddar), secure with a toothpick, and pop back in the oven to let the cheese soften a little.
• A stirfry with cabbage, onions, peppers, mushrooms, celery, leeks, spinach, kale, baby marrows, and so on. Garlic, ginger and soya sauce are the bomb in a stirfry.
• Mushrooms fried in butter with loads of garlic, lemon juice, and fresh parsley. I like to fry the mushrooms until they are almost a little crunchy. I’m getting hungry just thinking of them.
• Roast pumpkin slices – slice pumpkin into pieces that are about 1cm thick, leaving the skin on. Put them on a greased tray, sprinkle them with olive oil or butter and roast them in the oven (about 180 degrees Celsius) until they are soft and starting to brown around the edges. I like to add some fresh garlic cloves on the tray and allow those to roast too. To serve, crumble feta cheese over the pumpkin.
• Brussels sprouts (or cabbage), pan-fried in butter and garlic (add bacon for extra yumminess), and topped with parmesan shavings.
• Burnt cauliflower – this is one of my favourites. I cut cauliflower into small pieces and cook it in coconut oil until it is mainly brown (but not really burnt). Then, I add salt, white pepper and a dollop of butter before dishing up. It is so good, I sometimes get emotional.
• Stuffed red or yellow peppers – stuff them with other veggies and a whisked eggs to bind them, then bake them until cooked through.
• Caramelised onions and kale cooked until soft, and finished off with olive oil or a dash of fresh cream.
• Spinach with a creamy cheese sauce (only use a splash of cream so that you don’t have a milky sauce that needs thickening).
• Steamed broccoli or asparagus with crumbled blue cheese over it.
• Sliced baby marrows, aubergines and onions cooked directly on the grid of the braai.
• Big mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese, basil or coriander pesto, and mozzarella; and popped under the grill to brown.
• Salads – we love including baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, celery, cucumber, feta, raw baby marrow, finely chopped raw broccoli, and roasted sunflower seeds. For the dressing, I just combine lemon juice, fresh chopped garlic, and olive oil.
• Roast Banting vegetables – roasting veggies is sometimes challenging, as we’re used to opting for potatoes, carrots and beetroot (which are all a bit high in sugar). But, I enjoy roasting pumpkin, onion, fresh garlic cloves, baby tomatoes, baby marrow, brinjals, and celery.

To get some inspiration for this post, I had a look at some of the recipes on Pinterest. Check here for more ideas. Y.U.M.

Banting or LCHF (low carb, high fat) can’t be a diet. It has to be a way of life for it to be successful in the long run. Success can mean different things for different people. You might want to lose weight, reduce blood sugar, get more energy, improve digestion, etc…  Making sure that your meals are tasty and satisfying is the secret to making sure that you stay on the Bantwagon.