First Forays into Glycemic Index

After much reading and research, I decided to give the Glycemic Index "diet" a try.  As per my usual ways, I immediately ran out and bought four (yep, FOUR) new books.  I grabbed a glass of wine (which is totally okay), parked myself on the couch and started reading.

I can't lie.  The first week was tough.  Pasta for dinner 2-3 times a week?  A thing of the past.  Snacky time pretzels and crackers?  Goodbye, my loves!  Dinner rolls and *ahem* heaping *cough* servings of mashed potatoes?  Fare thee well.  But I was able to make choices about the carbs I consumed.  Unlike some of the more hardcore anti-carb diets out there, I can still eat carbs without feeling like I'm going to derail all the good I've done.

Let me just say (without getting into embarrassing numbers), I've been very pleased with the scale over the past three weeks!

So what do I eat?  Here's a lowdown of a typical day:

Breakfast:

• 1/4 cup homemade granola (See? Carbs first thing in the morning!)
• 3 celery stalks w/ 2 Tbsp peanut butter (yes, I do measure, thankyouvurahmuch)

Lunch:

• Salad made with romaine or spinach, carrots, shredded cheese, turkey breast, diced hard boiled eggs, bacon and dressing of my choice (even full fat stuff)

Dinner:

• Meat.  Lots of lean meat.
• Non-starchy vegetables
• Small salad
• 2-3 times a week, I will have 1 dinner roll, or one small serving of potatoes (I'm currently trying to avoid mashed taters - I love them so hard, it's near impossible to control myself!)

Snacks:

• Cheese (mmmm!).  I like cheddar/colby, aged white cheddar, gouda. Let's be real.  I'll eat pretty much any cheese you put in front of my face.
• Turkey pepperoni
• Hard salami with cream cheese
• 1/4 cup nuts (almonds and cashews are my current faves)
• Pork rinds (I know, kinda white trash.  But they get me over the "I want potato chips" hump.)
• Lots of water throughout the day, with the occasional Coke Zero.

Interested in reading a bit more?  Dig this article from WebMD.

I'm off to check my pot roast!!!

One Hot (cool) Dish!

I'm about two weeks in with the low glycemic plan (which is FANTASTIC, but more on that in another post).  Feeling pretty saucy with my results and getting used to making different food choices when DUH DUH DUUUUUH..... I get an invite to a cookout.  

Knowing the menu will consist of white burger buns, chips, pasta salads and all sorts of stuff I'm trying to lay off of, I went in search of a low GI side dish recipe, and found this gem. 

Black Bean and Avocado Salad

2 avocados (not quite fully ripe - easier to work with)

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 can corn (drained)

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 red bell pepper (chopped)

4-6 scallions (chopped)

2 Tbsp parsley

3 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Pit, peel and dice up the avocados, and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle with lime juice, stir gently to coat, and set aside.

In large bowl, combine corn, beans, bell pepper, scallions, parsley and garlic.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Pour dressing over veggie mixture.  Gently fold in avocados, cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours (just until chilled).  

Serving size:  1/2 cup

Glycemic Index: Low

Glycemic Load: 6

Digging Into the Low-GI Way of Life

I do realize it's been forever and a day since I've blogged.  There's a pretty good reason for that though.  I haven't had much to say.  A crazy busy social calendar combined with my efforts being relatively status quo just don't make for entertaining reading.

But!  I did get some really good news today.  After 6 months of consistently exercising, my blood pressure was beautiful!  I've always been a 120(ish)/80(ish) kind of gal.  Today, I was sitting pretty at 106/68.  Knowing that hypertension runs in my family, my doc literally high-fived me.  w00t!

Also, I'm sniffing out a new "diet" plan.  I hate the word diet.  Just saying it makes me feel deprived and hungry.  So, I'm more hoping this will be a way of life instead of a "diet."  (Did you guys here that?  I think my stomach just growled as I said it.)

I'm reading about the Glycemic Index; aka: GI.  I've done the low carb thing before, living on meat and cheese with no fruit and very few veggies.  To quote Antoine and Blaine....

HATED IT!!!

Again with the feeling deprived thing, ya know?  Since when are fruits "unhealthy"?  Needless to say, that didn't last long.

The GI plan doesn't forbid anything.  What at it does do is teach you how to choose healthy carbs. White bread?  Not so much.  Stone ground wheat bread?  Help yourself!  With normal servings, of course.  I can eat fruit.  I can eat peanut butter.  The more lean meat and non-starchy veggies on my plate, the better, but nothing is off limits.  There are no phases to worry about.  I bought three books and am totally engrossed in them, and did my first shopping excursion today.  I am really excited about this one.  It will definitely be a learning curve, but it sounds like the health benefits (including better moods - the boy will like that!) will make it totally worthwhile.

I have to go stir my homemade low-GI granola now.  Ta-ta!