advice on low GI meals

[tucano]

I need to look at my diet for health reasons (borderline blood sugar levels, waiting to have the full test).

I don't have a sweet tooth so rarely eat sugary foods (once or twice a month only). But I probably eat too many carbs.

I found this site which is helpful, but if any one has any tips/experience would love to hear it.

Low GI


To give an idea of a normal day at the moment( i.e. I haven't changed anything yet):

Breakfast: oat cereal bar (this one) or scottish oatcakes with a slice of cheese or mushroom (veggie) pate

Mid-morning: piece of fruit: banana or satsuma usually

Lunch: fresh veggie soup or a sandwich (tuna or cheese with salad, wholegrain bread)

Dinner: fish with veggies/couscous with veggies/roast veggies/veggie stew/fajitas/pasta with veggies and tomato sauce (these are my main standbys for weekday cooking).

Snacks: handful of cashew nuts/small bag of mini cheddars


I don't mind switching white rice for brown, but don't like wholemeal pasta. Will cut pasta back to once a week though.

[Tulipana]

At health stores/ bio shops you can buy low carb pasta (Atkins also sells it, but there are cheaper B-brands now too). At bio shops you can also buy glutenfree pasta (half the carbs), spelt pasta (lower carbs as well).

Don't underestimate the amount of sugar (and salt!!) in bread, any type of bread. Personally I find it hard to cut out bread completely. But having low fat yoghurt with muesli is a very solid breakfast option IMHO.

There's also heaps if sugars in fruit, but I'm not sure if you should cut that.

[tucano]

I’d rather give up pasta than bread!

Just thought of something I could give up; sometimes I have an Innocent Smoothie instead of the piece of fruit. Probably pure sugar so I better stop drinking them.

[Tulipana]

Could be! The fact that there's no artificial sugar doesn't mean there isn't sugar in there.

BTW nuts as a snack keep your blood sugar levels nice and relaxed, esp walnuts ans almonds. They're also great anti-peckish snacks.

[princessofpenguins]

Those Nature Valley bars... look at the ingredients. You may as well eat a chocolate bar...

Eat whole fruit (no smoothies or juice), but avoid too many bananas

[tucano]

There was I thinking they were ok because oats are low GI!

[crazycat]

I have just moved on to a low GI diet due to insulin resistance and PCOS. I bought a book which was specifically about Low GI diets for PCOS.

They basically say that it's not about a low carb diet as you need some carbs but the types of carbs you are eating. In Australia some foods have a low GI sign on them which is what the dietician recommends. The Burgen wholemeal and seeds bread is good and Vetta pasta is low GI.

This is the book that i have - www.bookworld.com.au/book/low-gi-diet-for-polycystic-ovarian-syndrome/12373003/

I haven't tried the recipes at the back but there are charts that show which brands and types of food are better than others.

[crazycat]

Also, the only fruits I was warned against was watermelon and ripe bananas.

My husband is Coeliac and I was told that the gluten free foods don't really mix well with low GI. In the book it shows that the gluten free bread and pasta has a much higher GI than others that contain gluten.

[tucano]

Thanks cat, that's really useful.