January 20, 2012

Friday.......YEA! I was in a strategic planning meeting with my staff yesterday. Great stuff, but boy.....food temptations. There were some healthy food choices, some middle of the road and some not healthy as we have a wide variety of people including children. I forget sometimes how hard it is to return to Phase 2 after the bliss of maintenance for 6 months. My flesh was screaming and punching me last night. But today is the last day. I must say that I am grateful to be on this side of loosing weight, as I SOOOOO would have "caved in" and munched out on the Reese's Peanut Butter Brownie Bites I made to serve. As I was making them Tuesday night, I quickly washed my hands as any remnant of the batter and topping found it's way to my fingers. TOUGH! I am glad to report that I was able to fight my way through the food prep and come out victorious. Thank you, God! I will be so glad when watermelon arrives again so I can delight myself with my "sweet fix" on a daily basis. YUM!

Again - an informational piece today. Tomorrow is our last one. Hope you have enjoyed reading some things that may help us stay the course as it appears spring is arriving early. At 71 degrees next week, time to break out the flip flops and shorts. YIKES! Make the best choices, all around, that you can today. I believe in you! PK

PS - It's time for some house cleaning. I know several of you are no longer following the maintenance plan and are choosing your own journeys to health. I am so proud of you! I would like to know - do you wish to be deleted from the distribution list which is my morning blog? I HATE getting things daily that I don't read and it takes my time to delete them. I WILL NOT be offended if you want to be dropped. I never want to impose. I never meant for the group to be this large. (I started sending the blog to only 4) PLEASE be honest - it is easy for me to withdraw your name. I don't want to assume you DO read the blog and I don't want to assume you don't and delete you. Please advise.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of changing our diets is giving up foods we've come to rely on as part of our regular eating routines. Here are some ideas for lower-carb substitutes for high-carb foods.
Bread

It's been called the "staff of life," and many people think they can't live without it. But really -- isn't it what goes ON the bread that is usually tasty? Why not just put the filling on a salad? No? Well, there are some alternatives, but you sometimes have to look pretty hard. They include:
Special low-carb breads (but read the labels carefully, and note carbohydrate counts)
Low-carb tortillas
High-fiber "crisp breads" such as GG Bran Crispbread
Flax meal bread recipe (very "hearty" bread)
I like to make my basic muffins in muffin-top pans or (harder-to-find) similar but deeper pans. I only use a tiny bit of sweetener. I can then split the muffins and toast, or use for sandwiches.
Also, there are breads which are less glycemic -- that is, they aren't converted to sugar as quickly in our bodies. These breads are usually very heavy, with pieces of grains in them, or are made from sprouted grains like in Ezekiel® bread. Basically, the finer the wheat is ground, the easier it will be for your body to convert it to sugar. Whole wheat breads made from finely ground flour raise blood sugar just as much as white bread.
More about Whole Wheat Bread on Low-Carb Diets

Pasta

Many alternatives for pasta are available, which are lower in carbohydrate.
Spaghetti Squash
Shirataki Noodles
Low-carb Pastas such as Dreamfields® work for some
More Low-carb Pasta Ideas
If you get 100% whole grain pasta and cook it al dente (still slightly firm, the way Italians do), the pasta will be less glycemic. A small serving of this will work on a moderate-carb diet. Note that as part of a meal in Italy, pasta portions are small.
Cereal

Cereals are usually processed so much that the carbohydrates are very glycemic. There are low-carb packaged cold cereals, but not many. A few high-fiber cereals are good bets, including:
All-Bran with Extra Fiber (check to make sure you're getting the right All-Bran)
Fiber One (not the flavored varieties such as honey)
Dixie Carb Counters Nutlettes (must mail order)
A few commercial low-carb cereals are on the market such as Flax Z Snax. You can also easily make them from:
Flax seed meal
TVP
Ricotta cheese (no, I'm not kidding!)
Potatoes

Among whole unprocessed foods, potatoes have the distinction of shooting blood sugar up faster and farther than any other. The starch in potatoes is essentially long strings of glucose (as is most starch). Although there isn't a perfect substitute for potatoes, some other vegetables can work well:
Mashed Cauliflower is the most popular
Celeriac (celery root) is also good
Check carb counts for turnip and other root vegetables
Recipe: Cauliflower "Potato" Salad
Also, there is a commercial product called Carb Counter Instant Mashers, which can be used like instant mashed potatoes. I like to mix it in with the cauliflower or celery root, and it has a lot of other uses as well.