Recipe Collection

Sesame Tofu Broccoli just earned a permanent spot in my rotation. Crispy baked tofu, a sweet-savory chili-sesame sauce, broccoli that still has some bite to it — the sauce alone is worth making this for. Full recipe here.

The honest number: this one comes in at a glycemic load of 21, which is high. Most of that is cornstarch — it's doing the work on the crispy coating and thickening the sauce, and it alone accounts for about 13 of the 21 points.

I still make it. Here's how I'd bring the number down without losing what makes the dish work:

Swap the rice it's served over

• Cauliflower rice — cuts glycemic load by roughly 95%. The low-carb version, and the one I go with most often.
• Brown rice — cuts it by roughly 30%, and adds more fiber if that's the tradeoff I want that night.

Swap the cornstarch in the sauce

• Arrowroot powder — lands at about the same glycemic load as cornstarch, but it's gentler to digest. Paleo-friendly too.
• Xanthan gum — can cut the load by roughly 95%, but I use much less of it than I would cornstarch. A little goes a long way.

None of these touch the sauce itself. That's the part that made this dish worth keeping around in the first place.

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This post is informational only, not medical or dietary advice. Glycemic load estimates are calculated from ingredient data and are meant as a general guide, not a substitute for professional nutrition or medical guidance. If blood sugar management is a concern, talk to a doctor or dietitian before making significant changes to how you eat.