While not everyone is the same, and every Diabetic will respond differently to different amounts of carbohydrate consumption, I think we have all developed a few tricks up our sleeves to enjoy the things we like, to a degree. Maybe we can state some of the things that have worked for us, and that way, we can all pick and choose something we can try. The more we can enjoy the foods we love, on a daily basis, the more we are less likely to binge or feel deprived.
My tricks:
-- I cool any starchy foods (rice, potatoes, pasta, etc) in the fridge for at least 12 hours, before consuming them. A lot of the carbs in these foods develop resistant starch, which cannot be processed by the body, and thus, lower the impact of the glycemic load they might give. Reheating does not change it back. If I don't do this, I cannot eat pasta much, at all. But with this, I can have 2/3 cup without much problems, at all... and 1 cup of Ravioli... bringing me to about 130 mg/dL. Without it, I can easily reach 160 or more.
-- I put nuts in a lot of foods these days, particularly, salads... Any nuts. Or I have them as a snack right before dinner... as they help (for me, anyway), bring down the blood glucose curve.
-- This one gets a lot of ridicule from people... but I had steak, and made some frozen french fries, in the oven, and I put some red wine vinegar on them... and my postprandial was 116 mg/dL. I have never had such low spikes from potatoes, on their own... even with the cooling period. So, I use the red wine vinegar a lot, now.
-- When I want to eat stuff that seems naughty, and fattening, I mix cocoa powder, stevia, and Smart Balance peanut butter (cus it has a LOT of Omega 3's, and no hydrogenated oils)... micro for about 15 seconds, and I'm set. If I put it on a piece of low carb bread, it often feels like I'm eating a rich brownie.
-- Tonight, I discovered these Chinese instant seasoning packets, at the store... for making things like Broccoli Chicken, etc... and though they tasted pretty sweet, they had 5 g of carb per serving, and only 4.5 servings per the package... I know I'd only get about 10 g of carb from that, at most, as I have to share with the hubby, too... So I made Beef Broccoli, tonight, and my 1 hour postprandial was 121 mg/dL. The brand is "Sun Bird." Good stuff.
While these tricks work for me, they won't work for everyone... right? We are all different. What are YOUR tricks?
I used to have club soda a LOT with some form of flavoring, or another… Maybe should retake that, then. I want to walk more, outside, but it’s soooooo cold and snowy outside. lol Iowa’s about to reach a record total snowfall, this year. A total close or higher than 72 inches of snow for a whole season. So it kinda limits what I can do outside. This is why I have my little exercise videos 