Sub for rice in stuffed peppers?

[rejoice]

My family loves my simple stuffed bell peppers. I make them with ground beef, rice, onions and seasonings, stuff in peppers and cook in tomato juice for a couple of hours. May sound strange but they are fabulous! However, I wonder what I should substitute for the rice to kind of give the meat that light texture. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[JoanOH]

I make "faux rice", believe it or not, by grating cauliflower. I've added it to stir fry, I've used it as "plain rice" and it's great. I would think it would be perfect for stuffed peppers -- just grate it with a rather large-sized cheese grater and add it to the pepper mixture -- you wouldn't have to pre-cook it because it will cook in the juices of the meat/tomato mixture. Yum. Sounds good. Now I'm going to have to try it!

Joan J

[northernlady1115]

I like to use TVP -- it is Texturized Vegetable Protein. It has a slight nutty soy flavor, but this is usually over powered by strong veggies (like green peppers, garlic, tomatoes) What I really like about this is it has wonderful mouth feel and gives great texture to the stuffing mix.

It is also inexpensive and most grocery stores now carry it.

[NulloModo]

Grated cauliflower would work great.

[rejoice]

Thank you so much all!! The TVP or the cauliflower sound great! I actually made mine last night with more of a meatloaf type recipe, using an egg and some pork rinds. It was good, but it didn't have the lightness of the regular. So I will try both of these suggestions next time! YAY!! Thanks!!

[JoanOH]

I like to use TVP -- it is Texturized Vegetable Protein.

TVP would be a definite no-no on Induction, and it may not be allowed for awhile on OWL either. According to Fitday, it's got 26 carbs per 1 cup (!) less 13 fiber, but almost NO fat. It's normally used as a low-fat or non-meat replacement for hamburger. I'm not sure why this would be used with the Atkins WOE, unless someone is a vegetarian -- and even then, 13 carbs per cup is quite high... My humble opinion, of course.

Joan J

[rejoice]

Thanks for the info Joan!

[pammie]

when I make stuffed peppers I use chopped up shirataki (yam noodles) carb free, calorie free...they are just about perfect...

[NulloModo]

when I make stuffed peppers I use chopped up shirataki (yam noodles) carb free, calorie free...they are just about perfect...

carb free noodles? Do tell...


Are these availible in the US to your knowledge?

[Naja]

There's an article in Low Carb Cooking Lessons on shirataki. Truly the Goddess's gift to low carbers. Look in Japanese specialty food stores and web sites. It's pretty much impact carb free because it's basically fiber and gelling stuff. Great substitute for noodles in Asian dishes. Not too bad as a pasta substitute either, but the texture is very different from spaghetti.