The GI Diet Blog and Board

A new study suggests the one out of every eight U.S. federal health care dollars is spent treating people with diabetes. Now I’m not horribly surprised by this. Our North American fast paced lifestyle has perpetuated this problem for years. With the general emphasis on disposable living, fast-food, junk food, why should anyone be surprised by this?

There’s a movie I want to rent, and it’s called Fast Food Nation. It was release after “Super Size Me”, a documentary about a guy who went on a McDonald’s only diet for one month. If you haven’t seen either of these movies, go and you too will be convinced there’s a huge problem brewing and it didn’t just start yesterday.

Now, I’m not convinced people will come running to a simpler, cost-friendly lifestyle right away. Marketing ploys from fast food chains will continue to go after our dollars and make themselves appealing with their new “more nutritious” menus. And sure, I still visit those evil arches for the occasional burger, and sometimes I’ll even have one of their salads. in fact, the summer I lost a whopping 50lbs, I specifically went to McDonalds and treated myself to a chicken caesar salad after a 2 mile swim. Not the most GI friendly meal in the world, but it wasn’t a big mac either.

So I say let them keep announcing these studies… But the question remains: how will we as a society respond? Are we ready for a big change? Time will tell.

USA Network’s Burn Notice is a new series starting next week, and the question has been posed to me: How would you survive? If you had no resources or money, where would you sleep? How would you eat?

This question is a rather timely. I just got off the phone from my wife who was tickled pink when she was given free rice tonight after going into a local chinese restaurant where she had parked her car. For no real reason at all, they didn’t charge her for this. She didn’t want to tell me this at first because rice isn’t exactly on our GI diet plan, but who could blame her for being delighted by this generosity? I’m not sure she’ll be able to have a repeat performance of this of course. She joked that if she did that again, she’ll be known to them as the lady in the denim jacket who came in for some rice again.

Burn Notice is a Spy show about a guy who ends up in his hometown, Miami with no funds, no further contacts from the CIA and must use his wits and survival techniques to figure out his demise. By the looks of the trailer, there’s some quirky ways with which he goes about this.

But folks, let me be perfectly honest here. One’s survival in say… MIAMI or, any large city in California (case in point: free rice) is a far cry from, oh I don’t know, throw a dart anywhere in the middle of a Canadian map and try surviving there in the dead of winter. I mean really, if you’re going to have a choice of place to have no money and no where to sleep, please for the love of heaven, consider a WARM place, ya know what I’m saying?

Sleeping locations is the easy part. Granted, I’ve camped for years outside, with or without a tent. Unless you choose a very rainy location, chances are you’ll be able to find a patch of grass or sand to sleep through the night. A local park, some newspaper, hey you’d be set. Worried about a shower? Soap and gas stations work wonders for keeping clean.

I’m not sure I’d worry about food so much, especially in a big city (again: see free rice reference). Heck, I’d probably do really well on eating less if that was the case, but there’s no doubt in my mind that I’d start to look around my surroundings (isn’t that what spys do?). There’s freebies all over the place if you look hard enough. I’d be looking for Costco’s or any other grocery stores that offer free sampling of their foods. Free food was easy to come by when I lived in Nova Scotia. A friend of mine used to frequently “shop” for the raw produce that was tossed out in the back of local grocery store. It wasn’t hard for her to find perfectly good vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber. There’s your garden salad right there!

I’m certainly not posting this to make a social commentary about poverty, but I believe when your back is up against a wall it’s possible for most people to survive by any means necessary. Perhaps that’s why spy shows like Burn Notice are so popular. We want this guy to struggle but we also want him to tough it out. Sometimes antics you see on TV are really reflections of ourselves, and this one promises to be like that.

It’s odd. Breakfast is something I prepare everyday. Ever since my mother-in-law arrived to stay with me for the summer, my own personal routine has greatly improved. This includes a low glycemic index breakfast which, if you scan quickly enough you might think: it is?

How does a 3 egg omelette, bacon, yogurt, toast and jam sound to you? Would you be surprised if I told you the whole meal was under 20 carbs AND low fat? (That’s uh, *total* carbs, not *net*. But if you want to add net there, we’re be saying roughly 12-14 “net” carbs.

Welcome to the world of substitution. Now, while the GI diet tends to get people more into wholesome cooking (at least it did for me), but when you’re concerned about overal health, and cholesterol in your diet as well as fat, there are solutions out there for you that help with your meal plans.

In this case:

- I use 100% egg whites or egg beaters for my omelette, instead of real eggs. Both options are great, but since my mother-in-law and I eat eggs every day, I use real or whole eggs about 2-3 times a week. The GI Diet book I use recommend 4 eggs per week. So keep that in mind.

- bacon? Well, unless you’re using real back bacon, the other option to keep this low fat is turkey bacon. fry up in a no-stick pan, keeps your meat on the lean side with this dish.

- yogurt - I personally don’t eat this very often but my mom does. You can usually find low fat no-sugar added yogurt at your grocers that’s usually under 10 carbs per serving. She has one that was 8 carbs.

- toast and jam - no-sugar added jam., if you’re going to have jam at all, is a GREAT option for diabetics. It’s about 5 carbs per serving, but in our case, I used diet bread that’s 9 carbs per slice and 1 slice each of us, I was able to stretch out the serving over 2 slices of toast. 12 carbs total for 1 slice of toast with jam.

I usually round out the meal with spinach (hence the omelette) or 1/2 a red tomato, sometimes I add cheese. In our case today, I used soy cheese which helps cut the fat content.

I find that since I’ve been eating breakfast regularly, I’ve been snacking a lot less during the day, and I ‘cheat’ less. This is *not* a meal that compromises on taste either. If you can avoid the high fat, why not do it? the funny amusing thing for me is, this would be an appropriate meal on a moderate “atkins” diet, and there was literally not trick to this, no “faux” make-believe-you’re-eating-carbs-but-you’re-not kind of dishes that I see plastered on the net.

Get back to the basics… GI is like that.

http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1241141.html

The above article is another fairly informative article but I have a few comments about it.

When in doubt, take the water test. Just drop a little bit of a food in a glass of water. If it dissolves quickly, it has a high glycemic index. If it dissolves slowly, it’s probably low on the glycemic index.

First of all, I never thought of trying that, but that’s kind of neat. I mean, put a leaf of lettuce in a glass with water and it will take a LONG time to dissolve. So that’s a neat tip.

But here’s where I’m disappointed with the article:

But just because a food has a low glycemic index doesn’t mean that it’s healthful. “Steak and crème brûlée both have a low glycemic index,” Heber notes. “But they are loaded with fat and calories. You can gain weight on anything if you eat enough of it. It doesn’t matter what it is.”

What I have to say about this is simply: the writer is misinformed. steak isn’t low gi, it is NO GI (raw steak with no bbq sauce or sugery marinade). It’s kinda like confusing “low carb” with “low gi” These concepts are *not* the same, people!

Low GI is an all encompassing food plan. In fact, the proper low GI diet book will list what meats are low and high GI. For example: high gi meats listed in the book *I* use include:

Low GI meats include:

In other words, there’s special emphasis on lean fat meats. The same applies for cheeses.

Be informed. Low GI is *not* the same as saying something is Low *carb*

It’s a known fact that when my wife starts to talk about shoes and handbags, I usually start to nod off on the phone and if I’m lucky, I start to fall asleep. I am learning a bit more every day about fashion depending on my attention span as I do want to be involved a *tiny* bit more in my wife’s interests. But when it comes to new fashions and trends, I’m completely lost.

Take for example the other day when I asked her to check out ElectricLadyland.com. I did go to the site myself but got lost in a sea of pink, and… well, jewelry, handbags, and jeans. She gleefully surfed over there and said “oh, yeah True Religion jeans, cool.” … uh what? It was a first for me. I’m SURE I didn’t nod off while she was talking about jeans. I mean, I ask my wife everyday “So, what are you wearing?” After looking at this site, I’ve decided to start asking her about name brands.

I posted this site even though I’m a guy because I know there are women out there who want to start shopping for clothes immediately after dropping a few sizes. This is one concept I can share, even if I don’t know what Rock and Republic and True Religion is all about. But you might, and after a successful weight loss, everyone deserves to splurge on fashion.

Review: Ok, so without a doubt, unless you’re using a lot of potatoes and root vegetables, *most* pot roasts are easily low carb, delicious, very ‘homey’ meal. As someone on the GI diet, I really really should consider eating this way more, but it is hard to do when cooking for one or two people. That’s not to say these aren’t excellent options for all of us… leftovers always rock.

A comment about pasta (as suggested below). Consider whole wheat pasta if you’re going to have pasta at all with this dish. I use whole wheat penne pasta as there seems to be more fibre AND more protein (12 g per serving - wow). Otherwise, I’d go with a nice big salad on the side. One other option might be one medium red potato per person. If you’d like to try using less canned vegetables, just add fresh roma tomatoes. However, I’d probably stay with the tomato paste.

SLOW-COOKED SICILIAN POT ROAST

Yield: 8 servings
Source: “The Complete Diabetes Prevention Plan”
Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/60.shtml

INGREDIENTS

- 2-1/2 pound well-trimmed top round roast
or flat half brisket
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped red or green bell peppers
or 1 cup roasted bell peppers, drained and chopped
- 14-1/2 ounce can diced Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
- 6-ounce can tomato paste with roasted
garlic or Italian seasonings

DIRECTIONS

Rinse the meat with cool water and pat it dry with paper
towels. Sprinkle both sides with some of the pepper. Coat
a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray and
preheat over medium-high heat. Place the meat in the skillet
and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

Place the mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers in a 3-quart
slow cooker and top with the roast. Pour the tomatoes over
the meat. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or on low for
10 hours, until the meat is very tender.

Remove the roast to a serving platter and cover loosely
with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add the tomato paste to
the remaining slow cooker mixture and stir to mix well.

Slice the roast across the grain and serve hot
accompanied by the sauce. Serve with pasta if desired.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/8 of recipe):
Calories: 221, Carbohydrate: 12 g, Cholesterol: 80 mg,
Fat: 5.7 g, Saturated Fat: 1.7 g, Fiber: 2 g,
Protein: 29 g, Sodium: 440 mg, Calcium: 36 mg
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 Lean Meat, 2 Vegetable

By now, readers who visit my blog know that I like to promote exercise in conjunction with a low glycemic index lifestyle. Since starting the gi diet I’ve managed to introduce a lot more physical activity than I was able to do in the past. I don’t worry about situations like a drain in energy from not eating a balanced diet (or what I perceive along with many leading experts who support the gi diet as a full balanced diet), and endeavor to make time for physical activity at least three times a week for 30 minutes. This should be a minimal for *anyone*.

I’ve long been one those people however, who need fun while working out. Although I have more motivation to go to the gym, my preferred way of exercising is definitely being outside. So put a little fun into this. If you’re interested in cycling, consider taking a look at cruiser bicycles. From what I gathered on their website, these bikes are not meant for racing. They are designed for leisure cycling. And prices are too attractive to miss out on. All cruiser bicycles available in their online catalogue range in price from $95 - $115. As a comparison, I bought a used refurbished bike for $120. I’m almost kicking myself for doing that. Shipping rates in North America are reasonable. For a example one of their bikes can be shipped to Canada for between $50-70.

Check out this beauty of a classic black beach cruiser bike. I’m having visions of taking this out on a boardwalk along the beaches in Victoria, BC or other beach locations on Vancouver Island that might have a boardwalk. The company mission is to keep advertising costs low to pass on the savings to the consumer, and you can really see that reflected in the price.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be a challenge or an workout you grow to hate. Make it fun, and you’ll find yourself out there a lot more often.

So last week I commented on finding recipes that are atkins-inspired for low carb diets but was frustrated with the high-fat content that is NOT necessary for some recipes to taste good and still be low carb. mashed cauliflower is the perfect example of that. I made mashed cauliflower and the consistency was so creamy, I couldn’t tell the difference between that and regular mashed potatoes. The magic: blend well, and no need for high fat diary products. Here’s what I did.

- 1 large head of cauliflower, broken up into florets
- about 2-3 cups of broth… any flavour is fine
- 1-2 tablespoons of margarine - go with yogurt based for even lower fat
- to add flavour and some extra creamy texture (though you don’t need it), I added about 1 cup of *soy* cheddar cheese
- 2-3 strips of crumbled low fat turkey bacon
- 1-2 chopped green onions.

Method:
boil the cauliflower in the soup broth for a full 12 minutes. Drain. Reduce heat to low-med, and add the cooked cauliflower back in for another 2 minutes. this helps dry the cauliflower out which is necessary for this recipe.

Next, I used a blender adding the florets a bit at a time, but as it blends down it will get easier. add the margarine, or butter.

blend until the consistency of mashed potatoes. I used a spoon inbetween to keep pushing down the cauliflower.

once you reach creamy texture, add the cheese, then add the bacon bits, and green onion near the end. oh, and if you like it with even more flavour, add 1-2 large garlic cloves for that complete gourmet touch.

*THAT* dear readers, is it. No sour cream, no milk, no mayonnaise, nothing. If you’re not too kean on margarine, some olive oil will do but this recipe does not need the high fat content at all.

I served this with BBQ’d chicken and a nice large salad for the perfect BBQ meal.

Enjoy.

There’s a new classic police cd that’s been released that’s getting my attention. The last time I went for a big walk I was listening to jazz on public radio for 3 hours to help keep my mind off the pain in my feet, and focussed on my workouts. Maybe when my wife reads this entry, she’ll take a major hint and grab this new Police CD next time she’s shopping for music for me.

I still remember the first night I purposefully listened to a Police album, and consequently was the start of my listening to other pop bands back in 1983. A young couple next door in the same condo complex we lived in wanted to go out, and asked if I wouldn’t mind babysitting a baby already sleeping. I said, sure no problem, not to mention it was kinda fun having the entire run to their apartment. “Help yourself to whatever you want, and there’s the record player if you want to listen to some music”. They were a young couple and I noticed right away their tastes in music were vastly different to my already aging parents. Within 30 minutes, I picked up Synchronicity with curiousity. Oh sure, I had heard “Every Breath you Take” (if you were alive in 1983, it’s hard not to remember that song. But to hear the whole album without interruption, and without the folks yelling at me to “turn that music down” was pure bliss.

It seems a bit typical to say “Every Breath You Take” is perhaps my all time favorite song from the Police, and no surprise to any fan, is one of the many songs featured on the police cd. I had been learning piano for a number of years at the time, and was just learning to play the cello. No surprise that the bass line to that song caught my ears as I played it over and over that night.

It’s easy to look back and say, without a doubt that Sychronicity was THE album that sparked my musical interest into pop music. Although I was exposed to other progressive rock bands at the time thanks to having an older brother, The Police was a group I chose alone to appreciate without the influence of someone else. Mesmerized by Sting’s voice since, I look for his distinct voice in other songs performed with other artists (Dire Strait’s ‘Money for Nothing’ song), and when I hear other famous songs like ‘Invisible Sun’, I focus on the bass line that usually sends me to another realm.

The Police, heavily influenced by reggae and jazz genres brought many of these influences into the Top ‘40 back in the 80’s. While other performers in other genres were doing similar things (ie: the punk movement) it was The Police super stardom that afforded their ability to influence many bands we hear today. Gwen Steffani and No Doubt come to mind.

So if you are looking for music for your workouts like I am, and you happen to be a Police fan, this is one to get. They’ve include 30 classics in a 2 CD set. Perfect for a long walk!

When I lived in Nova Scotia, my partner and I started our quest to eat healthier together when we started participating in community-supported agriculture. At the beginning of the season, we committed to buying a 1/2 or full bushel of produce from one local farmer for a set price. Every Thursday one or both of us would drive over to the farm pick whatever produce was available that week and then come home and divide it up. Now consider this. A bushel of vegetables would generate at least 10 clear thin plastic bags (for leafy greens, herbs, small veggies) and probably something like 5-6 regular plastic bags they provide at the grocery store. That adds up! When you’re shopping by the bushel, the amount of plastic used is much less.

Consider as well, how often making meals at home from scratch can save loads of trash. Sure we recycle now. Most of us probably live in an area where recycling is mandatory or voluntary participation is very high. But how many of us realize that recycling is actually the LEAST important factor to the triple-R concept? What happened to reduse and reuse in this equation?

My ex reminded me of this today with the launching of her new website that discusses alternatives to plastic. I’m personally really good at the reuse and recycling part, especially as roughly 95% of my meals are made at home, from scratch. There is rarely a frozen meal with a plastic container to throw out. My new wife and I are also going to start shopping in bulk more, and reusing plastic shopping bags and over time, buy cloth or string bags.

It was a very good reminder today. I’ll be thinking more about alternatives as I continue to perfect this lifestyle. While I’m not about radical politics or movements or anything to the extreme in that way, I do try to pay attention to environmentally conscious concepts that make sense for my family. Dealing with less trash and less plastic is just one way. So, I tip my hat to my friend for the reminder.

More info: http://www.plasticless.com