Turkish White Sauce: Keto-Friendly Delight Or Carb Trap?

Turkish cuisine is known for its keto-friendly options, including full-fat cheese, meat, butter, olives, eggs, fresh vegetables, and salami. While traditional Turkish white sauce may not be keto-friendly due to the use of flour, it is possible to make a keto-friendly version by substituting flour with other thickeners such as cream cheese. This results in a creamy, gluten-free, and low-carb sauce that can be used in various dishes.

Turkish food is keto-friendly

Turkish food is a keto dieter's dream. The cuisine is rich in full-fat cheese, meat, butter, eggs, fresh vegetables, and salami. Even the tea and coffee are keto-friendly, with no added sugar.

A typical Turkish meal might include a variety of keto-approved foods such as sucuk (a type of sausage), butter, olives, eggs, and vegetables. One popular dish is Iskender Doner, which is typically served with extra butter instead of bread or yogurt. Another favorite is menemen, a traditional egg dish that can be made even more keto-friendly by adding feta cheese.

Turkish cuisine also offers a variety of keto-friendly sauces, such as the classic Bechamel or white sauce. This sauce is usually made with butter, milk, and flour, but keto versions replace the flour with cream cheese to thicken the sauce while keeping it low-carb. This versatile sauce can be used in lasagna, moussaka, or as a topping for meat, fish, or vegetables.

For those with a sweet tooth, Turkish coffee and tea are excellent choices, as they are typically served without sugar. However, it's important to avoid traditional Turkish delights, as these are extremely sweet and loaded with sugar.

Overall, Turkish food offers a plethora of delicious and keto-friendly options, making it a great choice for those following a low-carb ketogenic diet.

Keto Bechamel Sauce recipe

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Cream cheese (full-fat)
• Heavy whipping cream (or heavy cream)
• Chicken broth (or water)
• Egg yolk
• Salt
• Ground nutmeg

Optional Ingredients:

• Shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
• Grated parmesan, gruyere, or emmental cheese
• White wine or sherry
• Pureed sauteed onions
• Chives
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Onion
• Bay leaves

Instructions:

• Add butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, and chicken broth (or water) to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the butter melts (about 2 minutes). Do not boil.
• Put the egg yolk in a separate cup and add a small amount of the warmed sauce to it, mixing well with a fork. This step is essential to prevent the sauce from splitting.
• Add the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
• Stir constantly over low heat using a hand balloon whisk for about 4 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
• Do not overheat the sauce, as the egg yolk can curdle.
• Season with salt and nutmeg to taste.
• For a thicker sauce, cook the sauce a little longer or add another egg yolk.
• For a cheese sauce, add shredded mozzarella or cheddar, or grated parmesan, gruyere, or emmental cheese.
• The sauce can be customised further by adding white wine or sherry, pureed sauteed onions, chives, or other spices such as pepper, garlic, onion, or bay leaves.
• The keto bechamel sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
• Reheat slowly to prevent the sauce from splitting.

Tips:

• This keto bechamel sauce is a great gluten-free and low-carb alternative to the classic French bechamel sauce, which is typically made with butter, white flour, and milk.
• The sauce can be used in a variety of dishes such as lasagna, moussaka, casseroles, or poured over vegetables, meat, or fish.
• It is important to temper the egg yolk by mixing it with a small amount of the warm sauce before adding it back to the saucepan. This prevents the sauce from splitting.

Keto-friendly Turkish foods

Turkish cuisine is a great option for those following a keto diet. While you may have to forgo some of the country's most famous dishes, such as simit, pide, and roasted chestnuts, there is still a plethora of keto-friendly options to enjoy.

When it comes to keto-friendly Turkish foods, meat, cheese, and vegetables are your best friends. A typical keto-friendly Turkish meal might include an array of full-fat cheeses, meats such as souyouk (a type of dry, fermented sausage), butter, olives, eggs, fresh vegetables, and salami. Turkish coffee and tea are also excellent choices, as they are typically served without added sugar.

If you're dining out, kebabs and kahvaltı (breakfast dishes) are great options, just be sure to skip the bread. Menemen, a traditional Turkish dish made with eggs, vegetables, and often cheese, is another delicious keto-friendly choice. Simply ask for it to be made without the typical side of bread.

For those who enjoy cooking at home, there are plenty of keto-friendly ingredients readily available in Turkish grocery stores. Here are some keto-friendly foods you can find in Turkey:

• Konjak noodles: These tasteless, fiber-rich noodles are perfect for when you're craving pasta. They absorb the flavor of whatever you add to them.
• Coconut cream: Great for adding to coffee, tea, or matcha lattes.
• Sugar-free soy sauce: Look for brands that have a minimal amount of carbs per serving.
• Stevia sweetener: Be sure to choose pure stevia or stevia cubes without added maltitol.
• Vegan ketogenic granola: A tasty breakfast option made with sunflower seeds, coconut, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds.
• Hazelnut flour: Great for making microwave cakes and pancakes.
• 80% chocolate stevia: A tasty treat with minimal carbs.
• Crispy cheese snacks: A delicious keto-friendly snack option.
• Coconut and almond flour: Perfect for baking keto-friendly cakes, pancakes, and other treats.
• Soy, hazelnut, and almond milk with no added sugar: Great dairy alternatives for your coffee or tea.

So, whether you're dining out or cooking at home, there are plenty of keto-friendly Turkish foods to enjoy. Simply focus on whole foods like meat, cheese, eggs, and vegetables, and be mindful of hidden carbs and sugars in pre-packaged foods.

Keto cheese sauce recipe

A keto diet doesn't have to mean missing out, as this keto cheese sauce recipe proves. It's thick, creamy, and savory—and it takes almost no time to make. This sauce is a delicious addition to just about anything and everything. It's also gluten-free and has less than 1 net carb per serving.

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Heavy cream
• Unsweetened almond milk (or any milk of choice)
• Cheddar cheese

Optional extras:

• Salt
• Ground nutmeg
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Bay leaves
• Paprika
• Red pepper flakes
• Mustard powder
• Crushed red pepper
• Nutmeg
• Chives
• Cream cheese

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a small pot on the stove and set to low heat. Continually stir the sauce until the ingredients are well incorporated, which should take about 5 minutes.

Once the cheese sauce thickens and combines, remove it from the heat and serve immediately. You can adjust the thickness of your sauce by adding more cream or milk if it's too thick, or extra cheese if it's too thin.

This sauce is delicious served with fresh or steamed vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, celery, bell pepper, and asparagus. It's also great as a dip for keto-friendly tortilla chips or pretzels, or drizzled over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.

Tips:

• Make sure you shred the cheddar cheese yourself, as store-bought shredded cheese usually has a coating of starch to prevent it from sticking together, which adds unwanted carbs.
• Be careful not to overheat the sauce, as this can cause the cheese to burn or separate.
• You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Gently reheat it when you're ready to eat it, being careful not to boil it, as this can cause the sauce to "break" and become chunky.
• Don't be tempted to freeze this sauce, as dairy doesn't freeze well and can change the texture.

Enjoy experimenting with this versatile and delicious keto cheese sauce!

Keto white sauce ingredients

Turkish white sauce, or Bechamel, is a classic French sauce that typically contains butter, white flour, and milk. To make it keto-friendly, flour and milk are replaced with keto-approved alternatives. Here are the ingredients you'll need to make a keto-friendly white sauce:

• Butter: Butter is a key ingredient in traditional Bechamel sauce, and it adds a rich, creamy flavour to the keto version as well.
• Cream Cheese: Cream cheese is the hero of this keto sauce, acting as a thickener and providing a creamy texture. You can adjust the amount of cream cheese to your preference, adding more for an extra thick sauce.
• Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is used as the liquid base for the keto white sauce, contributing to its creamy consistency.
• Egg Yolk: Adding an egg yolk helps to thicken the sauce and gives it a rich, glossy appearance.
• Chicken Broth: Chicken broth adds a savoury flavour boost to the sauce.
• Salt and Nutmeg: These classic seasoning ingredients enhance the flavour of the keto white sauce.

You can also add spices like pepper, garlic, onion, or bay leaves to customise the flavour profile of your keto white sauce. Additionally, if you're making a cheese sauce, you can include shredded mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, or Emmental cheese.

Frequently asked questions