Friday, 8 July 2011

Low Glycemic Diet

                                                   Tips and Tricks
There are many potential benefits to a low glycemic diet.Luckily, you can get them without being overly analytical. This page lists simple things you can do at each of your meals to move you towards a low GI diet without having to look up numbers.  Remember to follow with your health care professional as per the disclaimer.



Breakfast ideas for low glycemic diet
  • Eat more oatmeal, oatbran, sunny-boy and red-river cereals - or -
  • Sprinkle Kellogs Bran Buds or All Bran on your current cereal. 
  • Toast wholegrain, stone-ground, sour dough or "corky looking" pumpernickel breads. 
  • Add peanut butter to toast (careful of the amount if you're watching your weight).
  • A small homemade All Bran or Oat bran muffin (careful - a store bought bran muffin might be equal to 4 bread! - Like Tim Horton's Raisin Bran muffin.)
  • Multigrain pancakes or waffles (top them with applesauce or fruit yogurt)
  • A homemade fruit smoothie of milk and frozen berries OR yogurt, fresh fruit and crushed ice in a blender. 
  • Add yogurt or fruit to breakfast..
  • Drink a glass of milk! 
  • (Add free vegies like cherry tomatoes, cooked mushrooms, tomatoes onto the toast to help fill up! or Make a western sandwich on wholegrain toast with all those veggies added - or a veggie omelet).
  • Yogurt mixed with Bran Buds, walnuts and berries.
Lunch ideas for low glycemic diet
  • Try small whole grain buns.
  • Try corky pumpernickel (it looks like cork) - it's great with ham, mustard and dill pickles! Or peanut butter.
  • Try stone-ground or wholegrain breads. Even one piece of this and one piece of white on a sandwich if you can't go all the way.
  • Eat 1/2 whole grain bagel (because most bagels equal 4 bread)
  • Try small slices sour dough bread instead of regular white bread.
  • Try lentil soup! Yes it's slow even if canned. 
  • Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables.
  • Drink milk instead of pop.
  • Eat fruit instead of fruit rollups.
  • Eat yogurt instead of baked desserts/cookies.
  • Add dill pickles your  sandwich.
  • Sprinkle vinegar on cucumbers
  • Use barley more often in soup instead of soggy noodles!
  • Use 1/3 of the flour in your baking as barley flour.
  • Use Basmati, Doongara or Japanese koshihikari rice (not sticky rice)
  • Enjoy pasta salad with tuna and vegies
  • Try small portions of  noodles, quinoa and barley (cook it in broth and serve mixed with cooked onions!)
  • Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing
Supper ideas for low glycemic diet
  • Aim for all 4 food groups at the meal - protein, fruit/veg, milk and starch. Protein is not a carb food, while milk, most fruit and colorful vegies are low glycemic index or just plain low in carb. 
  • Try rice vinegar or flavored / balsamic vinegars sprinkled on salad or vegies.
  • Try a bean salad at supper (kidney beans etc are slow and in vinegar - which slows it further).
  • Start supper with lentil soup.
  • Or add barley to soup instead of potato.
  • Okay - add barley to stews instead of potato.
  • Try baked beans or kidney beans (mmm...chili) more often instead of potatoes.
  • (use vinegar on those dang french fries if you have to have them).
  • Eat less potatoes and more pasta, quinoa, barley and basmati or converted rice.
  • Try white boiled potato  more than baked russet potatoes (go figure).
  • Try sweet potato or yams instead of baked potato.(except not the kumara sweet potato in New Zealand - it's fast).
  • Drink milk instead of pop.
  • Have yogurt or fruit instead of dessert. 

Snack ideas for low glycemic diet
  • Add vegies of any sort - they are loaded in antioxidants and most are very low in carb. Even if they aren't, you'd have to eat a significant amount for the carb to add up.
  • Add oatmeal, oat bran or Kellog's Bran Buds to your cookie recipe (oh and try some barley flour too).
  • Have yogurt 
  • Try fruit instead of fruit roll-ups.
  • An oatmeal cookie and glass of milk.
  • Add Nuts (they aren't a carb food but 2 tbsp can help satiate you and slow things down).
  • Try Pickled vegies (eg. let your carrot sticks soak in rice vinegar in the fridge!)
  • Apple and cheese chunk (or cheese string)

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