low carb foods?

[Maya_Papaya]

Hello!

See I told ya' I'd have more questions! hehe

I see people mentioning low card breads or other things and....I'm wondering like how important it *might* possibly be to buy things like that. I guess my main concern is that stuff like that is more expensive and I'm on such a fixed income that by the time i pay my bills each months I just barely get enough food in my house....and unfortunaty what's cheap....isn't always healthy either. It's cheap to buy a 79 cent loaf of white bread, or 50 cent boxes of spagetti noodles at wal-mart.....

I'm just wondering if eating those low carb kind of foods is going to really be better for me, or can I make do with the regular stuff if I'm careful or.....lalalaaa....maybe the money i dont spend on soda can go to new healthy foods or somethin....anyhoo just curious what people think because y'all have already been so helpful!

And if you don't go all our for the low card foods, what other healthy alternatives have you found for things?

P.S. I live with roommates who say if I want to eat healthy it's my business but dont expect them to hide their double cheese burgers from me.....sheesh!

[4519]

Yes, healthy eating cost more. And yes, it is that important to eat them. Low carb bread, in my opinion, is not worth the expense. I just cut out bread altogether.

As far as friends go, it should not matter what they eat in front of you. I wouldn't even bring up the differences in good and bad foods, it is a personal thing for you. It is tough when you live with someone else that is not eating the same things you eat. I do it, and it does sometimes hurt my 'program' some. Just another adjustment we all have to make.

[Cyborg]

I find that some of the whole grain breads don't spike my bg.

[Lex4153]

Low carb bread--yuck!

Whole wheat on the other hand is tasty. But it is a bit more expensive. It may seem like there aren't many options for diabetics but you'll find more and more that you can eat. I eat salads, tuna salad, eggs, chicken breast, fish. Snack on sliced cucumbers, pistachio nuts, cheese wedges, cottage cheese, beef jerky. Look for whole wheat pasta. The kind I buy is maybe a dollar for a family size box.

But everyone is affected by things differently. Some people can't have carbs, period, without it spiking their blood sugars. It'll take some experimenting to see how different foods affect you.

I keep a food diary and write my blood sugars down with them so I can see how I'm affected. That's been a great help!

[Maya_Papaya]

~takes notes of things~

Oh! That's a good idea...a food diary...cause like today noodles, an hour later was 195 an so....like maybe even if i ate somethin with less carbs i'd have been even closer to my target....this is all starting to make sense.....

course watch i'll wake up tomorrow, take my fasting BS an find out im all wrong! lol

[Lex4153]

I write down EVERYTHING! Fasting blood sugar, two hour after meals, what I ate, my activity level, how I feel, bowel movements even, lol. (watch out for this with Metformin haha.) Those little books they give you are too small. I use a regular notebook and make my own charts. My doc loves it. I always write little notes on it too. Draw funny little faces. Happy faces with good bgs, frowns with bad ones. :frown:

[HelenM]

I know I'm not in the US so shopping is different but you really don't have to buy special things. They don't sell low carb bread here! (nor many of the other 'special' foods.

Wholemeal bread is more expensive but not if you make it and it can be made quickly with a bread machine. You should freeze part of it if you don't use much as it doesn't contain preservatives. I find that small new potatoes boiled do not spike my sugars (lower gi) and search the market for them but apparently canned ones (which are relatively cheap) work the same way.. Long grain rice such as Basmati is again far lower GI than some of the more starchy rices, do weigh your portions to begin with so that you know how much you can eat.

When I was first diagnosed I bought some splender from the UK as its not available here. I've used it about twice as I wasn't really enamoured with the results but I have discovered that some fruits.. strawberries and kiwi fruits are great desserts with minimal carbs. Buy your fruit and vegetables seasonally. At the moment the market is full of peaches and nectarines which I can't have quite as much of but are still good.

I often make 'chinese' stir fries with everything together in a wok... lots of different veg including bean sprouts which I sprout myself, (easy to do), some noodles (somehow you don't need so many when its mixed in!) and a small quantity of chicken. Add onions, spices, herbs, soy sauce to your own taste ... relatively cheap, very healthy
As Lex says experiment, test and see what works for you.

[lesley]

i find that being diabetic has improved my health generally, I eat much better and actually this saves me money! I actually eat more protein and vegetables/salad and go lightly on the rice, pasta etc. You can have a small piece of fish, chicken, etc. that actually doesn't cost too much and heaps of salad and have a nice meal. I do spend more than I used to on fruit, but because I hardly buy any processed foods any more I can afford the crunchy apples, yum!! If you can afford a bread maker, as suggested, you can make some good breads using soy flour, linseed etc. Very filling. We have recently purchased a fairly cheap mincer (bought it to make beefheart mix for my discus fish, but then we thought what a great way to make our own sausages without all the preservatives and general junk that you would expect to find in a bought sausage. You can mince up a small amount of good quality meat with veggies, whatever tastes good and either use it for patties (hamburger sort of things) or buy sausage casings and use it that way.

Soups are another great food that are cheap and nutritious for you. Doesn't take long for a piece of chicken with any veggies you can find, a dash of soy, fish sauce, miso paste to cook - only takes about 20 minutes and is great.

Soups cooked a bit longer but with lentils, split peas, ham bone etc are great in winter.

There are some really good recipes on the net, especially for the low carb type meals that you can then add a little carbohydrate to if you feel the need for more carbs. It is amazing how good a small piece of protein with chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. lightly sauted in olive oil and with dashes of hot chilli sauce tastes.

I also find that if I exercise daily, I don't seem to be as hungry! So the exercise is very good for me, and I eat less food as well.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

[kgm0612]

I also write down everything in my log book, this way I know what does or doesn't affect my blood sugar.

I do not buy low carb breads...............I buy my store brand "light" wheat bread. Also, if you have a discount bread outlet in your area, like Pepperidge Farm, you could get 2 loaves for the price of one.

I also buy Hood Carb Countdown Milk and Special K's Protein Plus cereal. Both are low in carbs and I enjoy a bowl of cereal as a snack before bed.

Karen

[Maya_Papaya]

Thank you!! You've all given me very great ideas so now I'm not quite so paranoid about this, I think probably the money i used to spend on so much candy and sweets and soda, can just be exchanged for healthier things and i'll be much happier. I really like the idea of making the bread too, that might be fun....i love to cook and try out new recipes so i'll just have to make this more fun to motivate myself with.

I hardly ever ate meat before, or cheese or well much protein at all, so I'll have to start doing that and getting more fruits and vegetables around here.

The good news is, i know i dont have to worry about my roommates eating any of it! lol Where as before they would have stolen my candy and soda lol

And my fasting BS this morning was 135! ~thinking what an improvement this is an so being excited about it despite the fact its not perfect hehe~

[4519]

If you cannot take sweetners then you should consider Stevia. It is natural and works great. It will not raise your blood glucose levels and is very sweet. Some don't like the after-taste. I don't even notice it. I guess it might be an aquired taste, I don't know about that. It is a little pricey. I use only the packets - the same size as the sweetners. I use it in everything where sugar or sweetner is called for.

[poodlebone]

~takes notes of things~

Oh! That's a good idea...a food diary...cause like today noodles, an hour later was 195 an so....like maybe even if i ate somethin with less carbs i'd have been even closer to my target....this is all starting to make sense.....

course watch i'll wake up tomorrow, take my fasting BS an find out im all wrong! lol

If you want pasta, have maybe half of what you used to eat and add lots of veggies and/or protein, like chicken breast. Use a sauce that's not loaded with sugar, or just some olive oil + garlic.

Most of the low carb breads are low carb because they replace some of the regular flour with gluten (protein) or soy flour (protein) and fiber. I've only bought low carb tortillas/wraps, not regular bread. I like the wraps, so I keep buying them. They're somewhat floppier/chewier than a regular wrap because of all the gluten but to me, having to take less insulin is worth it. Plus they have lots of fiber. I use them for sandwiches and quesadillas.

[Cyborg]

I also like the low carb tortillas. Sam's sells them in a pack of 20 at a good price. They are the Carb Choppers Wheat Tortillas by the Santa Fe Tortilla Company. They stay fresh a long time and are only 6 net carbs. Great for quesadillas, etc...

[Maya_Papaya]

Oh that's awesome! ~writes down more things for my shopping list hehe~ We like to put things like chicken and stuff in tortillas on nights when its just way too hot to cook here, and when i saw that the tortillas we buy are like 55 carbs each i was like holy cow! So this will be awesome.

~is far too easily amused today lol~

[Lex4153]

You have a great attitude. You're going to do great!

[MJM]

A good diet will benefit anyone, diabetic or not. Unfortunately if money is short you will have to adjust to that, but choose whats good for you when you can and don't buy stuff that's not going to do you any good. I know it's easier said than done but you owe it to yourself to try. All the best.