Eating well doesn’t have to mean sacrificing great flavor, delicious dishes or your satisfaction. Annie Bell is out with a new cookbook, Low Carb Express: Cut the carbs with 130 deliciously healthy recipes, to help us eat well while we boost our fruit, vegetables and proteins.
Whether you are looking to cut back your carbs or just increase your protein and vegetable intake, Annie Bell’s newest cookbook has pages filled with inspiration to inspire your cooking. There are over 130 recipes, from breakfast to dinner, to reset your thoughts on how many carbs you must have to feel full and satisfied. 
Here are a few tips from the book and some pictures of the recipes you will find in it:
Not feeling full? Increase your protein.
If you decide to cut back on carbs, you may not feel satiated for the first few days. To combat this, Annie suggests adding in more protein-rich foods to achieve that feeling of being full.
Deviled Egg Radishes
You should not avoid carbs all together.
Carbohydrates are energy. We need energy to survive! In the book, Annie explains that we should not be avoiding all carbs. (Is that even possible?!) Instead, we should focus on increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables we eat and substituting starchy carbs for “good” carbs. Rather than refined carbs, search out whole grains or beans that bring the energy our bodies need, but with other nutrients too.
Snacking isn’t evil!
We have found that snacking comes with a sort of stigma. Let’s banish that! If you’re hungry, eat, but listen to you body and don’t give it more than it needs. If you do find yourself craving something between meals, be sure to check in that you aren’t thirst and then give your body something with benefits, instead of straight sugar or refined carbs. Check out this avocado coconut dip! What a fine snack that would make with some fresh vegetables for dipping. Check out the recipe below.
Get creative.
Changing how you eat will take time, practice and will force you to get creative in the kitchen. Not feeling the spark? No worries, that’s where Annie Bell’s book can help. For example, her ham, goat cheese and vegetable wraps swap out the usual flour wrap with an egg wrap for extra protein. And below are aubergine bruschettas, such a flavorful and colorful way to add in more veggies instead of bread.
Aubergine Bruschettas
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- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
If you can have too much of a good thing, then guacamole is guilty of luring us in its direction every time an avocado in the fruit bowl feels softly yielding and ripe. This is a variation on that theme, but with Asian tones it slots neatly into any line-up of curries and spicy ensembles, as well as being lovely to eat with crudités. Some finely sliced baby courgettes scattered over will add some extra crunch.
Ingredients
- juice of ½–1 lime
- ?flesh of 2 avocados (approx. 200g)
- 1 heaped tablespoon coconut yogurt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 spring onion (trimmed and sliced)
- small handful of coriander (plus a little extra, chopped, to serve)
- sea salt
- cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Adding the juice of just ½ lime, whizz all the ingredients to a smooth purée in a food processor. Taste for seasoning and add a little more lime, if necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl, dust with a little more cayenne pepper and scatter over a little extra chopped coriander. Cover and chill until required. It should keep well for up to a day.
