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Five healthy, delicious potato substitutes that contain no starch and have a very similar texture for all your low-carb, gut-healing, or keto-inspired meals.
While picking up veggies at our local farm last weekend, I noticed a veg I hadn’t cooked in a very long time…turnip greens.
Since my husband has been on the full GAPS diet for more than five years (and is starting to successfully reintroduce foods!), I immediately checked my GAPS food list for that gorgeous purple cruciferous vegetable to make sure it wasn’t starchy, um meet their nutritional needs.
Yay! I thought it was fine, so I scooped something up for my home broth-making endeavors over the coming week.
Why use a potato substitute?
There are a few reasons why you might want to consider making potato substitutes a regular staple on the home menu.
First, avoiding starchy potatoes is a must if you’re on a low-carb diet or following a keto protocol for a while to shed a few pounds fast.
Second, if you have any type of gut problem, it’s important to omit white and sweet potatoes (also very starchy) from your diet.
Starch is very difficult to digest for people with digestive problems. It tends to digest incompletely when the gut is imbalanced, leaving ample food for pathogens to strengthen and crowd out the good gut flora.
In short, avoiding starch is important, at least in the short term, to heal/seal the gut wall and restore the integrity of the enterocytes and the probiotic flora that feed them…the gatekeepers of our immune system.
For those who have trouble digesting starches or are otherwise following a low-carb diet to shed a few pounds, I’ve found a good potato substitute that imparts a similar texture is a must to avoid cravings that could interfere with the healing process .
Low starch potato alternatives
Before I name the 5 best alternatives to potatoes, I want to make it clear that potatoes are a healthy, traditional food.
Just because you have to avoid potatoes for a while due to digestive or other health issues doesn’t mean they’re bad!
It just means you need to take a different approach to your diet in order to get to a healthier version of yourself.
My husband doesn’t eat white potatoes or sweet potatoes at our house because of the GAPS diet.
However, my children and I eat them frequently.
So when I make a meal that includes potatoes, I make sure to add a side of one of these potato substitutes below so my husband can enjoy the texture of starches without the actual starches.
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is a cruciferous vegetable that makes a wonderful alternative to potatoes at any meal.
Just make sure you always cook it!
Cruciferous vegetables should never be eaten raw, as they have a strong goiter effect, negatively affect the thyroid gland and block the absorption of iodine.
The heat of cooking deactivates about two-thirds of these substances in kohlrabi, making it both more digestible and thyroid-safe.
My favorite way to prepare it is toss one or two into a pot of homemade beef stock for a one pot meal.
When your broth and slow-cooked meat are done, so are your veggies!
turnip
Turnips look a bit like purple kohlrabi, but are characterized by a mixed purple and white appearance.
Also, turnips have the green at a spot from the top. This is similar to kohlrabi, where a single stalk grows from the root in multiple locations.
The beet has a unique flavor that my taste buds take a little getting used to.
My husband and one of my boys love the taste of beets, but I’m not a fan. I find the flavor incredibly strong and a little off-putting even after cooking.
While my husband likes to simmer them in a pot with homemade bone broth, I prefer to cut and roast them separately in butter. For me, the strong beet flavor easily becomes a negative effect with broth or soups.
In short, turnips are definitely a personal preference! But don’t be put off just because I don’t like her. You might love them!
If you’re cooking for the whole family, one of the other options on this list is probably a good idea to please everyone.
turnip
Much sweeter and milder than turnips and kohlrabi, rutabagas is my favorite potato substitute.
Approved for all phases of the GAPS diet, this non-starchy root vegetable even looks like a peeled and ready-to-cook potato.
You can peel, chop, and cook them until tender, then mash them with butter and milk to make low-starch mashed potatoes.
Another tasty option is to peel and chop rutabagas and toast them in the oven with butter, sea salt, and pepper until soft for a baked potato-style side dish.
cauliflower
Cauliflower is perhaps the most popular low-starch potato substitute that is most commonly available in supermarkets.
However, if you are eating low carb to cure leaky gut, note that only cauliflower florets are allowed for all 6 phases of the GAPS Intro diet.
GAPS Intro Diet Levels 3-6 also include cauliflower stalks. (1)
Keep that in mind if you plan to use this tasty cruciferous vegetable as your potato substitute of choice.
Mashed cauliflower (simply chop, steam until soft, and mash with butter, sea salt, and pepper) is probably the most well-known dish for low-carbers who avoid white and sweet potatoes.
Cauliflower rice is another favorite as a side dish.
Note that cauliflower, like kohlrabi, is a cruciferous vegetable. Therefore, it should only be consumed thoroughly cooked to reduce goitrous substances that negatively affect thyroid function.
celery
Perhaps the least known of all potato alternatives, celery is a wonderful option to consider.
Like cauliflower stalks, celeriac is reserved for the later stages of GAPS when some gut healing has occurred. (1)
However, enjoy it as a potato sub anytime you are low carb just for weight management purposes.
As you might have guessed from the name, celery is actually the root tuber of the celery plant.
Hence the more common name is… celery root.
So if you have your own garden, growing celery is smart. You can use the entire plant from root to stem to leaves.
Despite celery’s popularity, celeriac is actually quite unknown to most people!
The great thing about it is that it can also be eaten raw, unlike other potato substitutes like kohlrabi and cauliflower, which need to be fully cooked.
Another tip. Celery tastes a lot like parsnips, which due to their higher starch content, are not allowed in any of the 6 levels of Intro GAPS or even the regular GAPS diet. (2, 3)
So if you’re into this gut healing diet and are missing both parsnips and potatoes, celeriac is definitely a great choice to substitute for both!
references
(1) GAPS intro meat and potatoes
(2) Regular GAPS Diet Food List
(3) Gut and Psychology Syndrome