Easy Cauliflower Chickpea Coconut Curry Recipe - The Gestational Diabetic (2024)

Published: Jun 28, 2019 by Traci Houston · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

An easy low-carb curry recipe made with cauliflower and chickpeas that's dairy free and ready in just 20 minutes with only 8 ingredients.

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If you haven't suffered any food aversions yet, consider yourself lucky! ?

Many pregnant women go through various food aversions and a common one is meat. It seems to be most common during the first trimester (?? that's what happened to me), but it lasts the whole pregnancy for some moms. Then there are the moms that just choose to be vegetarian.

Imagine eating on the gestational diabetes diet while avoiding meat. Talk about a struggle! ? Planning carbs to match satiety becomes crucial because you can't rely on the regular vegetarian fillers like pasta, bread, rice, etc.

Enter the Easy Cauliflower Chickpea Coconut Curry Recipe!

Balance the Macros

I do suggest adding a source of protein: grilled chicken, if you can handle it, pea protein powder, chia or hemp seeds, top with greek yogurt, etc. Or you can just add a side like peanut butter toast or greek yogurt for dessert. You just want to add protein so your macro nutrients are better balanced and you stay full longer. Add at least another 10g of protein for an appropriate balance.

The main ingredients are naturally low carb. The only ingredient that has significant carbs is the chickpea, but it's also the recipe's main source of protein.

Protein needs in pregnancy are increased! The latest evidence says pregnant women need 140g of protein daily.

Real Food for Pregnancy

There's a bunch of fiber in the dish as well, bringing the net carb count down to 30g, so it's a good count for most diabetic moms. You can bring the carbs down more by reducing the amount of chickpeas. If you do, be sure to add extra protein somehow because this recipe is already fairly low in protein.

I wouldn't suggest reducing any other ingredient to bring down the carb count because you'll end up taking away a lot.

Recipe Modifications

If you like your curry over rice, add ½ cup cooked brown rice but reduce the chickpeas by half. Since this takes away protein as well, definitely add another source of protein and more cauliflower.

Add ½ tablespoon of curry powder at a time for a stronger flavor until you reach the desired taste.

Using full fat canned coconut milk will produce a stronger and delicious coconut flavor, but it will make it high in (good) fat. If flavor is your priority, use the full fat coconut milk and dilute it with unsweetened almond milk. Replace ¼ of the coconut milk with almond milk without sacrificing the flavor.

Fat requirements for pregnancy are about 140g per day. On the gestational diabetes diet, that's about 23g per meal/snack.

Real Food for Pregnancy

You may want to add more salt if you use the low sodium chickpeas. Only add a small pinch at a time to prevent over salting.

Nutrition Highlights

The Nutrition Facts percentages are based on the most recent evidence based information about nutrition needs in pregnancy (Real Food for Pregnancy). This information is different from current outdated guidelines.

The calories are a little low, so again, add another source of protein to make this a complete meal.

There's a fantastic amount of iron here which is helps healthy fetal brain development and protects against maternal anemia. Because it comes from food, it doesn't constipate like iron supplements do.

The high potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure and prevent swelling. (These compression socks also help reduce swelling. They were a huge help to me.)

Recipe