For those following a ketogenic diet, navigating the world of food can sometimes feel like a minefield. Many seemingly healthy options are surprisingly high in carbohydrates, making them unsuitable for maintaining ketosis. Rice paper, a popular alternative to flour wraps, often raises questions within the keto community. Let's delve into whether rice paper fits into a keto lifestyle.
Understanding Rice Paper
Rice paper is a thin, translucent sheet made from rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water. It's a staple in many Asian cuisines, particularly Vietnamese, where it's used to make fresh spring rolls. Its appeal lies in its versatility and lower calorie and carbohydrate content compared to traditional flour wraps.
Many people use rice paper to make wraps. If you’ve ever eaten in a Vietnamese restaurant, you’ve probably eaten a rice paper wrapper before. Rice paper wraps are also versatile compared to other health wraps, making it an attractive option for those starting their health journey.
The Keto Diet and Macronutrient Ratios
The ketogenic diet is characterized by a very low carbohydrate intake, moderate protein consumption, and a high-fat intake. The ideal macronutrient ratio for keto is 70% fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% carbs. This forces the body to switch its primary fuel source from glucose (derived from carbohydrates) to ketones (produced from fat), a metabolic state known as ketosis. To stay in ketosis, it is important to limit your net carb consumption to 20g - 30g per day. You can calculate your ideal daily net carb allowance by using this keto macros calculator.
The Carbohydrate Content of Rice Paper
Rice paper contains 8.4 grams of total carbohydrates per serving. A single rice paper roll has 8.4 grams of carbs. The fiber content is low, clocking in at only 0.1 grams, giving you a net carb count of 8.3 grams. Rice paper is virtually fat-free with less than 0.2 grams of total fat. Per 1 medium paper (14 g): Rice paper sheets contain 20-35 calories each, less than 0.2 grams of fat, and less than 1 gram of protein per serving. They offer trace amounts of iron, calcium, and sodium, making them low in nutrient density.
Read also: Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice Recipe
Why Rice Paper Isn't Keto-Friendly
Rice Paper is not keto-friendly because it is high in carbs. It may kick you out of ketosis even with a small serving size. Eating two or three rice paper rolls can quickly exceed the daily net carb limit of 20g to 30g necessary for maintaining ketosis. Rice Paper should be avoided on keto because it is very high in net carbs (69.29g of net carbs per 100g serving). Rice Paper Roll is not keto-friendly because it is high in carbs. It may kick you out of ketosis even with a small serving size. Rice Paper Roll should be avoided on keto because it is very high in net carbs (10.97g of net carbs per 100g serving).
Rice Paper is both high in carbs and low in fats, which are the exact opposite of the macros required on a keto diet. This means the majority of your foods should be both low in carbs and high in fats.
Keto-Friendly Alternatives to Rice Paper
Fortunately, there are several delicious and satisfying alternatives to rice paper that fit perfectly into a ketogenic diet.
Cabbage Leaves
Consider cabbage leaves as a versatile substitute for rice paper. Cabbage is a great sub here, just core the cabbage before blanching it. Boil them until pliable and use them to wrap ingredients like ground chicken, vegetables, and herbs. These wraps offer a low-carb, gluten-free, and dairy-free option. Delight in low-carb spring rolls using cabbage wraps. These rolls contain only 2.4 grams of net carbs per serving, making them an ideal choice for your keto diet.
To prepare cabbage leaves for wrapping: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanch each of the leaves in the boiling water for 15 seconds-- until they become brighter and start to soften. Place blanched greens on a kitchen towel, and make sure they're completely dry before wrapping.
Read also: Chicken and Brown Rice: A Healthy Choice
Low-Carb Spring Rolls
Low-carb spring rolls are a keto-friendly alternative to rice paper as one serving only contains 2.4 grams of net carbs.
Keto Sushi Recipe
If you’re like me, you probably missed sushi when transitioning to keto. Luckily, we’ve developed a tasty keto sushi recipe you can try at home.
Next, heat some coconut oil over a medium to high flame and add your cauliflower rice. Let this cook for five to seven minutes or until the cauliflower is slightly brown. Lay some plastic wrap on a flat, dry surface and place your nori wrapper on top. Now comes the fun part: Lay your avocado, cream cheese and cucumber on the edge closest to you and roll your plastic wrap and nori. Make sure to not roll your plastic wrap inside your sushi, but remove it as you roll.
Spicy Ahi Poke
Spicy ahi poke is a traditional Hawaiian meal that requires zero cooking. I like the flexibility that spicy ahi poke offers. To get started, break your spring leaves into smaller pieces and toss them in a large bowl with cucumber, tuna, avocado, onion and nuts. All you have to do is combine your mayo, sesame oil, sriracha and liquid amino in another bowl and pour it over your salad mixture. You could even add some rice vinegar or lime juice for extra flavor.
Shirataki Noodles
Start by draining your shirataki noodles and setting them aside. Cut your chicken thigh into long strips and pop it into the pan. Once your chicken is thoroughly cooked, add your vegetables for three to five minutes.
Read also: Everything You Need to Know About the Rice Diet
Rinse and drain shirataki noodles (4 ounces). Bring a pan to medium-high heat and add sesame oil (2 teaspoons). Once shimmering, add the garlic (2 cloves) and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles and toss until coated. Cook for 5 minutes, to remove liquid and infuse the noodles.
Keto Rice-less Paper Recipe
Original Keto Rice-less Paper (Edit recipe) This is one recipe that took me over 2 years to succeed. It’s a recipe that requires a lot of research and experimenting without any online inspiration. I had to begin from scratch because keto friendly rice paper didn’t exist. Being half Vietnamese, I didn’t want to give up on fresh spring rolls. I knew I had to try creating a recipe that can mimic the regular version. I started my first experiment on August of 2018 and shared the recipe on my YouTube channel in November 2020. This was my first YouTube tutorial and it had became an inspiration for other creators.
Homemade keto rice-less paper made from water, grass-fed gelatin, gum arabic powder, egg whites, and sea salt.
Here are the instructions:
Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best resultsIn a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except for the egg whites.Once all the ingredients has dissolved and the gelatin has bloomed, turn on the heat to medium.When the mixture reaches a boiling boil, turn off the heat.Slowly add the hot mixture into the egg whites by tempering, being careful to not cook the egg whites.Pour about 1/3 Cup of the mixture into each plastic or metal pan with it without parchment paper. Let set and air dry for 24 to 48 hours, depending on humidity and room temperature.Once dried, it is ready to use for wrapping fresh summer/spring rolls.NotesIdeal environment for this recipe is less than 50% humidity in a cool environment.
Collard Greens
The wraps - After much testing, I found the best keto wraps here are collard greens-they’re mild tasting, thin, soft, and easy to wrap once you blanch them for a few seconds.
Lay a completely dry collard green on a flat surface. Spoon peanut sauce in the center, and add your filling ingredients. Fold the lower edge of the collard green over the filling, then fold the left and right sides toward the center. Now, roll it like a burrito from top to bottom. Continue until you've used all the filling ingredients. Dip in sauce and enjoy!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanch each of the leaves (8 large) in the boiling water for 15 seconds-- until they become brighter and start to soften. Place blanched greens on a kitchen towel, and make sure they're completely dry before wrapping.
Low Carb Spring Rolls
I laid all the ingredients out (like a taco bar!), so everyone could customize their own spring rolls. I had to whip up a second AND third batch of peanut sauce because, really, it’s that good. The most shocking part? The moral of the story is: try these low carb spring rolls next time you need to please and entertain a hungry crowd, or just yourself!
Each of these keto spring rolls has 5 g of net carbs- that’s if you use 1/8th of the sauce, and filling ingredients in each roll.
Keto Spring Roll Recipe
Here's a recipe to make Keto Spring Rolls with Collard Greens.
Ingredients:
- 8 large collard green leaves stem removed (Note 1)
- 4 ounces shirataki noodles half a package
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 Lb Shrimp deveined and peeled (Note 2)
- 1 cup cabbage red and/or green + very thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled + cut into matchsticks
- 1 cucumber cut into matchsticks
- 1 jalapeño ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
Instructions:
- Make the wraps. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanch each of the leaves (8 large) in the boiling water for 15 seconds-- until they become brighter and start to soften. Place blanched greens on a kitchen towel, and make sure they're completely dry before wrapping.
- Cook the noodles. Rinse and drain shirataki noodles (4 ounces). Bring a pan to medium-high heat and add sesame oil (2 teaspoons). Once shimmering, add the garlic (2 cloves) and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles and toss until coated. Cook for 5 minutes, to remove liquid and infuse the noodles.
- Make the sauce by whisking together all sauce ingredients. If it looks clumpy (mine does since I store my peanut butter in the fridge), simply toss it in the microwave, and heat for 30 seconds. Then whisk again. Taste and adjust the sauce to your liking.
- Assemble. Lay a completely dry collard green on a flat surface. Spoon peanut sauce in the center, and add your filling ingredients. Fold the lower edge of the collard green over the filling, then fold the left and right sides toward the center. Now, roll it like a burrito from top to bottom. Continue until you've used all the filling ingredients. Dip in sauce and enjoy!
Considerations for Peanut Sauce
Traditional peanut sauce typically contains brown sugar, sometimes Sprite, and peanut butter (with sugar), which racks in about 4 g of carbs per tablespoon. Make the sauce as is. Then taste and adjust it to your liking.