Whole Grains

Whole grains are a  great source of important nutrients; protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and, especially, carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index (GI). Glycemic Index is an indication of how a carbohydrate will affect your blood sugar. For many people eating a lot of foods that are high in GI will produce blood sugar spikes that can eventually lead to insulin resistance. Signs of insulin resistance are obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases.
Grains naturally have a low glycemic index if they have not been processed. Processed carbohydrates have a high GI. It takes longer to digest whole grains because your body has to break them down, this takes time.
When grains are made into flour it makes it really easy for the body to digest them, it doesn't make a difference whether they are whole grain or not. You have pre-digested them by grinding them and have made them really easy for the body to work on quickly and absorb. While eating whole grains is good for you, you want to avoid eating whole grain flour products because they will affect your blood sugar due to the high GI.

Eat whole, whole grains not ground or powdered whole grains (read flour). Oatmeal is very popular with some people, but there is a vast difference between steel cut oats that take 40 minutes to cook and instant oatmeal (pulverized) that you only have to add hot water to and stir, or even the oatmeal served at McDonald's that has as much sugar as a Snickers Bar, check this story out: http://abcnews.go.com/US/mcdonalds-wholesome-oatmeal-healthy/story?id=12980427 .

The following whole grains (this not a comprehensive list but you should be able to find them) are healthy and lower in GI in their natural state. You also have to keep quantity in mind you don't want to sit around and eat a ton of brown rice or a ton of anything else for that matter, they are still carbohydrates:

• Amaranth
• Barley
• Brown rice
• Bulgur (cracked wheat)
• Flaxseed
• Millet
• Oats
• Quinoa
• Rye
• Spelt
• Wheat berries
• Wild rice

Please check out this article on properly preparing whole grains http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/be-kind-to-your-grains. I have blogged about it before here: http://goodfoodlady.blogspot.com/search/label/soaking%20oatmeal.

Low Carb Pie Shell

My co-worker Lori inspired me to make Quiche for dinner. Even though Quiche is a Recipe I have covered before, I needed to change the shell to fit into a low-carb eating plan. This shell  has about 2 grams of Carbohydrate per serving (1 shell serves eight). 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup shredded Unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 tsp sea salt

Mix ingredients, it should form a soft dough, if it is too loose add a little more flour.





Mix dough by hand for about 1 minute until a ball is formed. You are going to roll the dough out. It is easiest to do this between two sheets of waxed paper. I didn't have waxed paper so I used plastic wrap. Wrap a cutting board  with the plastic wrap, put the ball on top and cover with another piece of plastic wrap.

Roll out the dough between the two sheets of waxed paper (or plastic wrap).  Then you need to flip it onto the pie dish and peel off the plastic wrap. Be careful because the shell might crack and fall apart.








Fit the shell into the pie plate, press out any cracks and replace any pieces that may have fallen off. Smooth out the shell into dish.

Now you can follow the quiche recipe. DO NOT PRE-BAKE THIS SHELL. Coconut flour cooks a whole lot faster than wheat flour. Bake in the center of the oven and cover the filled shell with aluminum foil to protect against burning.

What a Low Carb Breakfast Looks Like

I want to thank Anne Houston for sharing her breakfast with us. If you are wondering what to have for breakfast when following a Low Carbohydrate Diet, take a look at what she whipped up: Veggies (peppers, spinach, onions, jalapenos) Eileen's (Head) eggs and turkey bacon. When Anne emailed her photo she added "yummy" and it certainly looks yummy. Thanks Anne.

Send me pictures of your low carb creations and I will post them.

Really Easy Italian Sausage & Peppers

Really Easy Italian Sausage & Peppers 

3 TBSP Olive Oil.

6 links Italian Sausage (I used Harvest Land Chicken sausage),
sliced into 4 to 6 slices each link. 

2 large Bell Peppers (red & yellow),
cut into strips.

10 large mushrooms, quartered.

1 can of diced tomatoes.

3 oz. goat cheese

garlic, oregano, basil (1 teaspoon each)
salt to taste.

Saute peppers and mushrooms in olive oil until tender. Add sausage and continue to saute until the sausage is hot. Add tomatoes, garlic powder, oregano, basil and salt, stir well.
Top with goat cheese just before serving.

Vicki's Dinner

I'm so proud of my friend Vicki. Take a look at her dinner it looks delicious. She is starting on her journey of eating a healthier diet and this is one of her creations.

Chicken with Mini Peppers

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 pounds mini yellow, red and orange bell peppers, slice in half
1/2 onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tsp powdered Thyme
1 tsp powdered Sage
1 tsp powdered Majoram
salt 

Saute chicken in olive oil until mostly done, season with spices and continue sauteing. Add peppers and continue cooking until peppers are soft and chicken is completely done.

Served with broccoli. 

The Many Names of Sugar

When eating a low carbohydrate diet, it is necessary to read the nutrition label. You will find the amount of carbohydrate measured in grams, and it will be broken down further; the grams of fiber and sugars, what ever is left over will be the amount of starch. Vegetables and fruit both contain natural sugars, what you are seeking to avoid is added sugar.

Sugar has many names, but when your body metabolizes it it only sees it as sugar. Here are ingredients that you want to avoid while trying to lose weight:

• Agave nectar
• Barley Malt Syrup
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
• Dehydrated Cane Juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Raw sugar
• Rice Syrup
• Saccharose
• Sorghum or sorghum syrup
• Sucrose
• Syrup
• Treacle
• Turbinado Sugar
• Xylose

These will all add unnecessary carbohydrates to your diet which in turn can slow down or stop your weight loss.

List source: About.com

Yummy Beef Tips and Broccoli Recipe

I have never been a big red meat eater, I have had to acquire an appreciation for it. Beef is satisfying and a good source of iron which is particularly important to pre-menopausal women. I've been eating it lately because it is good, it fills me up and I don't get hungry for long time after eating. I made this last night, I took a picture of my plate, this was way too much for me to eat (the rest is for my lunch tomorrow) but I wanted to take a nice photo.

On the right is a nice quick beef stir fry and on the left a tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad served on baby greens. Recipes below.

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

1 pound beef tips
1/2 bunch of green onions
4 cloves of garlic, each cut in half
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces
1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces
3 heads of broccoli, cut the florets off and split the large ones, save the stalks for another recipe.
4 - 6 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. powdered ginger
2 Tbs. sesame seeds
coconut oil

Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large skillet or frying pan. On high heat brown beef tips, make sure all sides are seared well. Add the onions, garlic, and both bell peppers, continue to stir-fry until the veggies start to soften and get just a little brown on the edges, then add the broccoli florets and continue to stir-fry. Add the soy sauce and continue to stir-fry, make sure you scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the skillet at mix it with the soy sauce, turn down the heat and add the powdered ginger and sesame seeds, stir well.

Makes 4 servings.

Tomato, Avocado and Mozzarella Salad

1 large beefsteak tomato, cut into 8 pieces
1 ripe Haas Avocado, cut into cubes
1/4 pound of mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
Baby salad greens

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in  a bowl, serve on top of the salad greens.
Makes 4 servings.