As you know, I cook for a pre-diabetic. Which means I've had to learn a whole new way of thinking about food, and carbs in particular. If you're confused, here's a quick definition that helps me keep in mind what I should and should not be serving, along with some ideas on how to get the "good" carbs into your diet.
Healthy carbs (sometimes known as good carbs) include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable.
Unhealthy carbs (or bad carbs) are foods such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. Unhealthy carbs digest quickly and cause spikes in blood sugar levels and energy.
Include a variety of whole grains in your healthy diet, including whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and barley. Experiment with different grains to find your favourites. I discovered whole wheat couscous recently, and it's quickly found its way into the rotation around here.
Make sure you're really getting whole grains. Be aware that the words stone-ground, multi-grain, 100% wheat, or bran can be deceptive. Look for the words “whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” at the beginning of the ingredient list. In the U.S., Canada, and some other countries, check for the Whole Grain Stamps that distinguish between partial whole grain and 100% whole grain.
Try mixing grains as a first step to switching to whole grains. If whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat pasta don’t sound good at first, start by mixing what you normally use with the whole grains. You can gradually increase the whole grain to 100%. No matter how hard I try, I just can't deal with whole wheat pasta in some dishes, so instead I'll buy one of the diabetic pastas such as Dreamfield's. They're formulated for slow digestion so they don't cause blood sugar spikes, but they still have the mouth-feel of "real" pasta.
Avoid: Refined foods such as breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals that are not whole grain. And even if your breakfast cereal is whole grain, you should probably choose something like Fiber One or Kashi over something like Froot Loops or Apple Jacks, because whole grains can only go so far in combating sugar.
One of the hardest places to eat healthy is a restaurant, but it can also be one of the easiest if you keep a few things in mind and ask questions of your server. You don't need to avoid restaurants just because you're on a diet or have restrictions! The above meal probably isn't the best choice if you're trying to diet (scrambled eggs, biscuit with sausage gravy, hash browns, and cinnamon-raisin toast), but the one below (cheese and olive stuffed calimari roll with mango salsa, sauteed vegetables, and lettuce salad) could very well work for you!
Ask if you can get margarine instead of butter.
Ask if you can get skim milk instead of cream for your coffee.
Ask for gravies, sauces, and dressings on the side.
Ask for a side salad or steamed vegetables instead of fried foods.
Ask if there is low fat sour cream for your baked potato...or skip the sour cream altogether.
Trim all visible fat from meat before eating.
Choose poached, baked, broiled, or roasted options instead of things that are fried.
When possible, order from the lunch section rather than the dinner section...the portions are smaller, the prices are cheaper, and it is still plenty of food.
Just because they serve it does not mean you are obligated to eat it all in one sitting. Ask for a to-go box and make another meal out of what you have left.
If you want dessert, choose fruit instead of cheesecake (or whatever your weakness is). Even fruit pie is a better choice than something more full of sugar, and you won't feel like you're denying yourself.
Sugar hides. Most of us know this already, but it is amazing how much sugar (and consequently empty carbs) can be found in foods you wouldn't think have it. All of the items below are different names for different types of sugars. Not all of them are bad (we're not going to debate the pros or cons of any kind of sweetener here), but it's good to know what you're eating.
cane sugar or maple syrup
corn sweetener or corn syrup
honey or molasses
brown rice syrup
crystallized or evaporated cane juice
fruit juice concentrates, such as apple or pear
maltodextrin (or dextrin)
Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, or Sucrose
Below are some suggestions for how you can cut a lot of sugar out of your diet in addition to the obvious avoiding desserts. Every little bit helps!
Avoid sugary drinks. One 12-oz soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, more than the daily recommended limit. Try sparkling water with lemon or a splash of fruit juice if you need the carbonation, or just start drinking more water, coffee, or tea.
Sweeten foods yourself. Buy unsweetened iced tea, plain yogurt, or unflavored oatmeal, for example, and add sweetener (or fruit) yourself. You’re likely to add far less sweetener than the manufacturer would have, and you also know exactly what was added to your food.
Eat naturally sweet food such as fruit, peppers, or natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth. Keep these foods handy instead of candy or cookies. I try to keep a bowl of seedless watermelon chunks in my refrigerator for a sweet treat that's easy to grab. Also, one of my favourite nighttime snacks is sliced bell peppers spread with low-fat cream cheese, to which I sometimes add some dried cranberries (sort of like ants on a log, but different). Speaking of ants on a log...celery with peanut butter and raisins is an excellent choice!
If you're trying to lose weight, remember that how you eat is as important as what you eat. Here are some ideas on how to eat that can help you:
Take time to chew your food! Chew your food slowly, enjoying every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating. This not only helps you enjoy your food more, but if someone else cooked for you it's a bit of an ego boost for them to see you savoring everything.
Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty instead of hungry. It's always a good idea to drink a full glass of water before a meal anyway, as it will make you feel full faster (plus, water is good for you). During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly. Before getting a second helping, wait a few minutes to allow your food to settle. Most of the time you'll find you didn't actually need more, you just wanted it.
Eat breakfast, and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going. I am perfectly horrible about this, and most days my first meal is lunch, followed by dinner, and then I end up eating something later at night when I really shouldn't. It's hard to train yourself, but all the experts agree it's better to get up and eat something in the morning instead of waiting.
Speaking of which...Avoid eating at night. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway. I try to make up for my horrible habits by eating things that are healthier for me at night, but it's still not ideal. I do try very hard to never eat anything less than two hours before I'm planning to head to bed.
If you're trying to eat healthier, don't think you're going to perform a miracle overnight. It's OK if you slip up, it's OK if you can't do it all at once, and it's OK if you take it slow. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of colour, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious, and you won't even notice you've stopped buying dinner in a box.
Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet. When I first learned we were to become an ultra-low-carb household, I thought my world was ending. I'm not going to lie, it took me a long time to adjust, but I started small, serving two vegetables with the entree instead of a vegetable and a starch, and doing more with fresh vegetables instead of pasta. Eventually, it became second nature and now it feels weird to think about doing it any other way.
Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.
Doing the math to figure out net carbs is hard. I don't do it. My rule is if the fiber is 6 grams or more it can be subtracted from the total carbs. My other rule is if the protein is at least double the carbs, it's something I can make. I do have a goal of 25g of carbs or less per dinner plate, but that doesn't always happen. I figure since the RDA is 300g of carbohydrates (with 25g of it being fiber) for the average adult, as long as I keep dinner under 50g I'm still ahead of the game. And that's proving to be true: My mother's last tests showed her numbers in the normal range, albeit on the high side.
Here's a simple thing you can do that took me entirely too long to figure out: Leave crumb toppings off casseroles. Either leave them without toppings entirely, or sprinkle with some cheese the last five minutes of baking. Or, if you want to keep a crumb topping, change it up. Crushed french-fried onions, crushed whole wheat crackers, or fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs make excellent substitutions while reducing the empty carbs. You can also use about half of the topping most recipes call for, leaving a thin dusting rather than a thicker layer. I've often used half bread crumbs and half Parmesan cheese (the kind in a can) on top of casseroles, or just used the Parmesan.
If you're making something that needs a filler/binder such as fish cakes or meatloaf, try using whole wheat cracker crumbs, oatmeal, or rice. If you absolutely have to have breadcrumbs, make sure they're whole grain.
It's possible to do this. Just set your mind to it, take baby steps, and don't beat yourself up if you slip up. And don't deny yourself a treat now and then! It's far healthier to "cheat" and have a cookie every now and then than to refuse to eat them until one day you just give up and eat a whole package. Nobody's perfect, nobody does it right all the time, and nobody expects you to radically change everything you've ever done overnight.
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