# Step 2: “Swap, drop, add, reduce”.



## pottersusan (Mar 1, 2016)

*From:
http://www.gisymbol.com/glycemic-index-foundation-news-march-2016/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GI News - March 2016&utm_content=GI News - March 2016+CID_d286f0d9bc984d4ad1952b42c077d883&utm_source=Email marketing software&utm_term=Read More


Step 2: “Swap, drop, add, reduce”. *Tips to reduce the glycemic impact and lower the glycemic load of recipes and meals.

*• Swap to: *Lower GI varieties of potatoes (Carisma, Nicola or Nadine), rice (Doongara or Basmati) and breads (dense grainy breads where you can actually see the grains or sourdough breads) or to starchy foods that are naturally low GI such as carrots, parsnips, butternut pumpkin (winter squash) and sweet corn or beans, chickpeas and lentils, or quinoa.
*• Just drop: *Fluffy white breads, baguettes and rolls and large servings of potatoes, sweet potato, rice, pasta and noodles. Remember, they only get ¼ of your plate – see suggestions below.
*• Add: *Beans, chickpeas and lentils to recipes and meals – bean mix to a salad, lentils to a bolognaise sauce, chickpeas to a casserole etc; vinaigrette to a salad; lemon juice over veggies; yoghurt to a curry or casserole.
*• Reduce: *The ingredient list in many recipes typically includes way too much starchy carbohydrate. Here’s our guide to help you cut back.
• Potatoes – allow 1 medium spud (around 150g/5oz) per person
• Rice – allow ¼ to 1/3 cup rice per person or around 50–70g/2–2½oz)
• Pasta and noodles – 80–90g/2¾–3¼oz per person
• Couscous – ⅓ cup or around 40 grams
• Quinoa – ⅓ cup or around 60 grams

Tip: With rice and potatoes, you can reduce the overall glycemic impact by creating “fifty/fifty” combos. For example, for mashed potato, replace half the potato with canned beans, carrots, parsnip or pumpkin. Or add lentils or quinoa to rice.


----------



## Mark Parrott (Mar 1, 2016)

Great info. I find I'm ok with small amounts of sweet potato. In fact on the rare occasion I've had potatoes, I seem to be ok with a couple of small ones. I haven't even tried pasta or rice since diagnosis, but have replaced rice with bulger wheat which is kind to me.


----------



## Jamie van Dyke (Mar 1, 2016)

It's interesting to see how sensitive each of us are. I can't even have a baby potato as my BS goes up by a point or 2. In fact, potato, rice and pasta are all a big no no for me.

Just in case some don't know 'beans' does not mean baked beans


----------



## Mark Parrott (Mar 1, 2016)

I daren't try baked beans again. I just have tinned toms instead. Suppose I could add some proper beans to that.


----------



## pottersusan (Mar 1, 2016)

I find I react differently to Burgen at different times of day. sometimes if I just look at a tomato it sends my bg up! Diabetes ...Logical? Noooooooooooooooo


----------



## trophywench (Mar 1, 2016)

It won't be the beans in the baked beans sending you on a rocket Mark - it will be the sauce!  I'm not denying the beans themselves have carbs - but they are quite kind carbs, the same as broad, borlotti, red kidney beans, etc, are.

100g of pasta !!!! - not only could I not eat that much anyway - I'd be on the summit of K2 in terms of BG for practically 24 hours !


----------



## pat.y (Mar 2, 2016)

I'm being really weird. Yesterday I had 2 Belvita biscuits for brekky. Tuesdays are a bade food day for me. Woke up with high 9.0 before lunch down to 8.1. Hadto have a supermarket sandwich for lunch because of where I was I had egg mayo on wholemeal and though I was in for real BG trouble. Before dinner it was doen to 5.1 well within my nurses range. It's always the same after a supermarket sarnie. Today I had a sort of cheese and pickle ploughman with one measly slice of spelt bread and I got from 5.2 before to 9.0 2 hours after.Things affect me differently on different days.


----------



## AndBreathe (Mar 3, 2016)

trophywench said:


> It won't be the beans in the baked beans sending you on a rocket Mark - it will be the sauce!  I'm not denying the beans themselves have carbs - but they are quite kind carbs, the same as broad, borlotti, red kidney beans, etc, are.
> 
> 100g of pasta !!!! - not only could I not eat that much anyway - I'd be on the summit of K2 in terms of BG for practically 24 hours !



I don't think 100gr of cooked pasta would be an enormous pile.  I'm assuming those weights are cooked.  

I haven't had pasta for a couple of years probably. Last time, I didn't go too high, I just went higher and stayed there for what seemed like forever,........... and to the point; it just tasted like stodge.


----------



## trophywench (Mar 3, 2016)

Oh, is it?  I know on pasta packets it says to allow 75g uncooked weight, but I can't even manage that.

We only ever have it liberally coated in grated cheddar and tomato puree with a liberal distribution of fried streaky bacon and onions done in the bacon fat - aka Grandad's Spaghetti.  We have 2 daughters,7 grandchildren and 1 great all of whom have enjoyed small portions (with the onions and bacon removed) as part of their weaning menu! - and now cook it for their families.

You obv have to cut the spag up in the dish for babies when you spoon feed them - but if you accidentally leave a slightly longer bit trailing down the chin - the 'suck' reflex still being mega - it soon disappears into the mouth! - such fun to feed them it !


----------



## KookyCat (Mar 3, 2016)

Funny isn't it, how we all react differently to carbs.  I can deal with new potatoes no problem but even the smallest baked spud would do me in, pasta is small quantities is fine, bread absolutely no problem at all.  Most beans are fine but kidney beans (my favourite) seem to cause a giant spike for reasons known only to my daft bag of bones....oh and pastry no problem at all, unless it's a quiche then all hell breaks loose because I react quite a lot to protein, eggs specifically if in high enough quantity, and an omelette is like blood sugar Armageddon.  I'm not entirely sure my body knows what to do with protein, or even recognises it's food, it's a bit like it shuffles it around a bit, has a think, has a panic and then just converts it to glucose.  Wonder if that's anything to do with the EDS, given that I'm disproportionate muscle wise, you'd think my body would love a bit of protein...one of the mysteries I may never solve   Oh and sweet potatoes don't even register, if I bolus for the alleged carb in those I'll go hypo!


----------



## Mark Parrott (Mar 3, 2016)

Protein has no effect on me. Just to be sure, I've tested 2, 3 & 4 hours after eggs or peanuts and no effect on BS at all.


----------

