Low-carb recipes to help you eat well if you have diabetes

A low-carb diet helped Katie Caldesi’s husband beat his type 2 diabetes and inspired her latest cookbook. Here’s three recipes from ‘The Diabetes Weight-Loss Plan’ that prove you don’t need to cut out the good stuff

A low-carb diet can keep your sugar levels stable and give you more energy throughout the day (Maja Smend/PA)

“These are a great supper dish and can be made in batches and kept chilled in the refrigerator for up to four days, or frozen for three months,” says cookbook writer Katie Caldesi.

“We love them with a fried egg on top, or with boiled eggs if we take them for a packed lunch, for extra protein. The halloumi is salty enough that you don’t need to add any further seasoning.”

Spicy root patties

Add a fried egg on top for an easy midweek meal (Maja Smend/PA)

Serves: 4 (makes 12 patties)

Ingredients:

For the patties:

450g trimmed and peeled root vegetables (such as swede, carrot, parsnip, celeriac and turnip)

100g trimmed leek, cleaned and finely chopped

2 eggs

250g halloumi cheese, coarsely grated

60g chickpea flour

15g chives, parsley or coriander, finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp chilli flakes or finely chopped fresh hot chilli

Optional additions:

4 fried eggs

Handful of coriander or parsley

Method:

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Fill a kettle and put it on.

2. Coarsely grate the root vegetables in a food processor or by hand. Put them into a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave to stand for two minutes, stirring a couple of times. Pour the vegetables into a colander and leave to drain for a few minutes. When cool enough to touch, thoroughly squeeze the mixture in a tea towel to get rid of the excess water.

3. Drop the squeezed vegetables into a large mixing bowl.

4. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan (425F), gas mark 7.

5. Now add the leek, eggs, halloumi, flour, herbs and spices and stir through to combine. Divide the mixture into 12 (each roughly 70 gram) balls and gently squeeze them into burger shapes with your hands, squeezing out any further moisture. Lay each one on the prepared baking tray and flatten slightly, then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and just firm to the touch.

5. Serve with a fried egg on top if you like, scattered with coriander or parsley, if using.

Seafood and nduja stew

You can make this impressive dish ahead of time if you’re entertaining (Maja Smend/PA)

“Seafood is excellent on a low-carb diet as it is high in protein for satiety and low in carbs,” says Caldesi.

The dish also features nduja, “a spicy, spreadable salami that has a warm heat and just makes everything it touches a little more interesting,” she adds.

“Used here for an instant hit of garlic, chilli and umami, it is a brilliant background for the fish without overwhelming them. Versions of nduja can alter, so do taste yours to see if it is very spicy or salty, and adjust the amount you use accordingly. You can always add more later or add smoked paprika to taste.

“Serve on its own in bowls or with cauli-rice and low-carb bread on the side for mopping up the sauce. If buying frozen calamari, do read the label carefully; the cooked variety simply needs warming in the sauce rather than a slow-cook.”

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

80-100g nduja

4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

2 onions, finely sliced

500g fresh, or frozen and defrosted, raw calamari (squid), cleaned and cut into 1cm rings

200ml dry white wine

3 × 400g cans Italian plum tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp tomato purée

250g clams or mussels or a mixture

1-2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

500g monkfish, cod or coley or other firm fish, cut into bite-sized pieces

250g raw prawns, heads left intact, shells and black veins removed

Small handful of parsley, leaves and stems roughly chopped

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil and 80 grams of the nduja in a frying pan (with a lid) over a medium heat for a few minutes, bashing the nduja with a wooden spoon to break it up. Add the garlic and onions, then continue to cook for around 10 minutes, stirring to prevent it burning, until the onion is soft.

2. Add the calamari to the pan and let it cook until the water is released from the calamari, about 10 minutes. When the calamari has a ‘bouncy’ appearance, add the wine and allow this to evaporate for five minutes. Add the tomatoes and the purée and bring the stew to a bubbling heat. Then lower the heat and simmer for at least one-and-a-half hours, partially covered, or until the calamari is soft.

3. Keep the clams or mussels in the fridge until you are ready to use them. Generally they are purged and cleaned when you buy them but to be sure, put them into a bowl of cold water and stir them through. Leave them for 20-30 minutes in a cool place (the fridge if your kitchen isn’t cool), stirring a few times to encourage them to release any grit. Pick over them, discarding any that remain open once tapped. Pull any fuzzy beards off the mussels. Discard any shellfish with broken shells. Drain and use straight away.

4. Taste the stew and add more nduja or smoked paprika for spice or salt and pepper. The stew can be cooled and kept for one to two days at this point, if it makes entertaining easier. Reheat until bubbling before continuing.

5. Just before serving, drop the monkfish, prawns and mussels, if using, into the hot stew with the lid on and continue to cook for around 10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through, the prawns are pink and the clams or mussels have opened (discard any that haven’t). Serve straight away with the parsley scattered over.

Chocolate, date and walnut brownies

A tasty treat that’s full of fibre (Maja Smend/PA)

“These brownies have minimal sweetness but are packed with flavour,” says Caldesi.

“They are also full of fibre from the nuts, chocolate and dates. Toasting nuts brings out their natural oils and gives them oodles of flavour.

“Smell them as they go into the oven and as they come out and you will see what I mean. If you are keeping your carbs very low, use erythritol instead of dates.”

Makes: 18 brownies

Ingredients:

125g walnuts, macadamia nuts or pecans, halved

60g pitted dates, roughly chopped or 100g erythritol

3 tbsp hot water (if using dates)

125g dark chocolate (at least 75% cocoa solids)

75g salted or unsalted butter

Pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)

100g ground almonds

2 eggs, beaten

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan (425F), gas mark 7.

2. While the oven is warming, put the nuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper and lightly brown in the oven for six to eight minutes; do watch carefully as they burn easily. Use the paper to shoot the nuts onto a plate to cool. Return the paper to the tin. Turn the oven off and close the door to retain the heat, as you’ll use it again later.

3. Line a 20-centimetre square cake tin or similar-sized ovenproof dish with baking paper. Soak the dates, if using, in the hot water for a couple of minutes. Use a fork to mash them to a purée.

4. Roughly chop the nuts; each nut should be cut into around four pieces. Reheat the oven to 220C/200C fan (425F), gas mark 7.

5. Place the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl and melt together in the microwave for a couple of minutes. If you don’t have a microwave, melt the chocolate and butter in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water.

6. Add the date purée or erythritol and stir through. If your butter does not contain salt, add a pinch now. Add the remaining ingredients, including the chopped roasted nuts, and stir through to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 15 minutes until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so.

7. Use the paper to remove the brownies from the tin, then cut into 18 squares. Serve at room temperature on their own or with Greek yoghurt or whipped cream and a dash of vanilla extract.

‘The Diabetes Weight-Loss Plan’ by Katie Caldesi (Kyle Books, £22).