Low-Cal & Low-Carb Sides To Serve With Lo-Dough

At Lo-Dough we believe in trying to make the world a happier and healthier place. Our flagship product allows you to enjoy pizzas, burgers, kebabs, pastries, cakes and much more in all their delicious, indulgent glory, but with an astonishing drop in calories and carbs... not to mention an incredible boost in gut-healthy fibre. Similarly, our new Brownie Mix does the same for those of you with a sweet tooth - putting indulgent brownies and other desserts firmly back on the menu, albeit in a low-calorie, low-carb, high-fibre form.

But as well as all these delicious, indulgent treats, we still want to encourage eating a nutritiously balanced diet and this brings us to the question of what to serve on the side of your Lo-Dough favourites... Salads, dressings, fries, sauces and more. Read on...

Salads & Dressings

Salads are an obvious side dish candidate but can be seen as a little boring in many peoples eyes. Well, there are no salad-dodgers here at Lo-Dough and we think the idea that salads are boring is utter nonsense! Exciting salads are very much down to what you put in them and indeed, how you dress them. Shop bought (and many homemade) dressings are often full of fat and/or sugar, so we have created salads and dressings that are unique, packed with nutritious fruit and veg and dressed in tasty, but low-fat/low-sugar dressings.

Fennel & Orange Salad

This Salad is something a little different but still absolutely guaranteed to brighten your day. It would work fantastically alongside any fish or white meat dishes made with Lo-Dough. You won't believe how delicious the fat-free dressing is!

Curried Low-Carb, Low-Cal Slaw

This lightly curried slaw is a flavour hit at Lo-Dough HQ. It will sit with meats, fish, kebabs, burgers - you name it. Perfect for a wrap (perhaps with sliced chicken or halloumi) or on the side of a savoury fish cake/fritter - you should definitely look at making your own slaw instead of buying the usual cheap mayo-drenched shop-bought stuff. Our twist on regular slaw here is a light curry seasoning in the dressing - which can be made with traditional mayo or fat-free yoghurt. 

Low-Cal Side Salad and French Dressing

We're sure you all know how to rustle up a simple salad. Fresh lettuce (or for convenience, a bag of leaves), finely sliced red onion, possibly red pepper, juicy tomatoes... the list goes on. Well here's a tip - try putting in chunks of watermelon... Trust us! They add a juicy sweetness to any salad (think cucumber turned up to 11!) and make every mouthful joyously refreshing. It's pretty much the perfect summer salad. To dress, we show you the recipe for an old-fashioned French dressing.  

Condiments/Dips

Sauces, dips and condiments are another side-dish that need looking at. Again, sugar is a common problem here, especially if buying shop bought versions. We have come up with recipes that get around this problem and deliver on taste without the need for copious amounts of sugar being added. They are still just as tasty, but the condiments nutritional value can once again shine.

Pico De Gallo (Tomato & Onion Salsa)

Pico de Gallo is a classic Mexican side and will work perfectly with any number of Mexican-inspired Lo-Dough dishes. The sour tang, raw onions/garlic onion punch and juicy tomatoes work so well with the richer foods they are often served alongside. It just so happens to be completely fat-free, 24 calories and only 6 carbs per serving, so its the perfect sauce for dieters of all stripes!  If you are having nachos, fajitas, burritos or enchiladas, this salsa is the perfect partner to accompany them - why not try making your own fresh salsa today? 

Guacamole

A properly made Guacamole is hard to beat. Nothing you can buy in the shops even comes close. Some people swear by a chunkier texture, others prefer it a little smoother, but we think the best way to serve this is a with a little bit of both. If making with a whole avocado, mash up half with a fork, and chunk up the other half with a knife. Perfect with enchiladas, fajitas, burritos, quesadillas and more. It also takes just a few minutes to prepare.

Low-Sugar Tomato & Chilli Chutney

This low-carb tomato and chilli chutney is the perfect condiment for all kinds of Lo-Dough dishes. It's sweet/sour/spicy flavour would pair up brilliantly with any number of our savoury dishes - veggie fritters, breaded brie, halloumi wraps, etc and offers a great replacement to ketchup and other 'fruitier' condiments (often full of sugar). This chutney comes in at just 2.5g of carbs per portion (and we are talking a generous portion!) 

Chips/Fries

Making chips healthier or suitable for low-carb diets is actually quite simple and the result is just as delicious and moreish as any deep-fried chunk of potato. By changing the root vegetable itself, or the cooking method, the result can be just as delicious, much more nutritious and dramatically lower in calories and/or carbs.

Sweet Potato Fries

A common swap for potato chips is a portion of sweet potato fries. Though pound for pound not dissimilar in calories than normal potatoes, they contain several more vitamins and minerals and so you are getting much more out of them nutritionally speaking - the 4g of fibre in a medium sized sweet potato is definitely not to be sniffed at. The sweet potatoes crisp up beautifully in a tray in the oven and take on the flavour of any garlic, herbs and spices you put with them - no deep frying required, but maximum flavour gained. There is no shortage of dishes that these would be great alongside... Southern Fried Chicken, Pizza, Burgers... this list could go on. 

Celeriac Chips

For low-carb dieters, their root vegetable friend is the celeriac. The celeriac chip is one of many dishes this amazing root-veg can take. Steamed (or boiled), then oven baked in olive oil, with garlic and herbs, these are a much less calorific (and dramatically less carb-heavy) accompaniment than regular chips and delicious in their own right. They will never crisp up quite like a regular chip, but don't let that put you off - they are utterly moreish and perfect alongside a low-carb fish supper (for example). 

Slimming-Friendly Potato Chips

Instead of deep-frying your potato chips, spray them with 1 cal oil-spray, season and bake them. We find these bake and crisp up best on a rack, rather than on a baking tray. Another healthy eating tip is to leave the skins on - this will increase the nutritious value of your chip - especially in the fibre department. Our poutine pizza - with chips cheese and gravy (pictured) use these slimming-friendly chips to great effect.