Salad, Salad, Salad!

I think that dinners can be one of the hardest meals to prepare when you are conscious about your carbs.  One way my husband and I have overcome that is to have salad 2-3 times a week.  The fresh vegetables are so refreshing!  There are so many good salads and salad dressings out there:  Chef Salad, Oriental Salad, Pizzeria Style Salad, Taco Salads etc.  Please post one of your favorite salad recipes for us to try.  I have already posted my Pizzeria Salad in an earlier post so here is another one of mine:

Salad Ingredients
Lettuce (I like to blend green leaf lettuce with iceberg lettuce)
Breaded Chicken*
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Chopped Celery
Frozen Peas
Cut up Baby Carrots
Ranch Dressing (... the BYU Creamery has a great ranch dressing!)
Salt & Pepper (If you have never tried this on salad you are missing out.  It's great!)

*I make the chicken from the frozen breaded chicken you can buy at the store.  I prepare it in a skillet using water instead of oil or vegetable spray.  I have found that with the water, it will un-thaw the chicken and then recook it like it was fresh.  When it is finished it is crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and perfect for cutting into strips to serve with the salad.  Try it out!

The January Challenge

Your CHALLENGE is to follow this diet perfectly for the remainder of January.  That is a little over two and a half weeks.  I will be posting recipes, meal ideas, snack ideas, and ways to help you around your work schedules.  I will be doing it with you but I need you to share your comments about how you feel, what you like, what you don't like, and any results you're experiencing.  Good Luck!

Simple Summary

• Eat 6 small meals each day.
• Limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat to the amount allotted for that meal.  30, 30, 45, 30, 45, 30 (You may eat less but should not eat more)  The purpose behind this is to replenish your body with nutrients and energy you will use before you eat again. 
• Wait at least 2 hours in between meals.
• Calculate how many carbs are in a food by reading the nutrition labels or looking for the serving size that will equal 15gms in the choose your foods booklet.
• Carbohydrates are found in milks, fruits, beans, starches, starchy vegetables, and sweets.
• The goal is not to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet.  The purpose is to learn how to enrich your diet with the healthiest foods and know when you have consumed enough.

I'd love to hear your comments.  Do you have any questions?

How do I calculate my carbs?

There are 2 easy ways to find out how many carbohydrates you have in your meals. 

1.  The first is by reading the nutrition label.  It will tell you how many grams of carbohydrates there are in the food you are eating.  It will also tell you what the serving size is for that amount of carbohydrates. You simply have to add up all of the carbohydrates of each food to make sure you are staying within the limit for that meal.

2.  The second way is by using the Choose Your Foods booklet.  This is an exchange list for diabetics to use.  It has food categorized into Starches, Fruits, Milk, Sweets Desserts & Other Carbohydrates, Fats, Meat & Meat Substitutes, Nonstarchy Vegetables, Free Foods, Combination Foods, and Fast Foods.

Within the categories, foods are set up in serving sizes that will most likely equal 15gm of carbohydrates.  Here are some examples.

1. One 1 3/4 inch cube of Cornbread equals 15gms of carbohydrates
2. 2 small tangerines equal 15gms of carbohydrates
3. 1/3 cup of baked beans equals 15gms of carbohydrates.

So if I wanted to have lunch (Recommended 45gms) I could eat 3 different foods from the exchange list because I know that they will add up to 45gms.  NOTE:  It is generally more accurate to read a label for a specific food because all of the ingredients have been accounted for.

Here's Another Example

Breakfast:  1/2 a shake again (32.5gms)  

AM Snack:  Other half of the shake (32.5gms)

Lunch:  Turkey sandwich and an apple (25gms + 15gms = 40gms)

Mid Day snack:  I was busy so I just had a tangerine (15gms)

Dinner:  Made a pizza style salad.  Lettuce, ham, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, cucumbers, ranch, salt and pepper... YUM! (about 15-20 gms)

PM snack:  I made breadsticks for dinner but they didn't get finished until after my volleyball games so I ate one for my PM snack.  (30gms)


THESE ARE THE CARB LIMITS YOU SHOULD USE FOR EACH MEAL:
Breakfast:                 Carb gms:  30
Mid-AM Snack:       Carb gms:  30
Lunch:                      Carb gms:  45
Mid-PM snack:        Carb gms:  30
Dinner:                     Carb gms:  45
PM snack:                Carb gms:  30


You can eat whatever food you want so long as you have planned your meals around these limits and wait at least 2 hours in between each meal.  I will continue to post a few more examples of meals I eat to help me stay within the limits.

ONE MORE THING... if you don't eat at every meal you are going to get hungry and overeat at the next meal.  So... try and eat when you are supposed to.

Meal Plan Example

This morning for breakfast I made a carnation breakfast shake.  I used 2 cups of milk (24gms), 1 extra small banana (15gms), and one chocolate breakfast packet (26gms) to make my drink.  Together that gave me a total of 65gms of carbohydrates.  I divided the drink in two and drank half of it for breakfast and half of it for my mid-am snack.  It was delicious!

TOTAL BREAKFAST = 32.5gms
TOTAL AM SNACK = 32.5gms

I was in the mood for chips and salsa for lunch so I made a salsa dip with avocado in it.  The dip had a total of 2gms of carbohydrates since the avocado doesn't have any carbs at all.  My carbs added up with the chips.  14 Chips gave me approximately 30gms of carbs.  I also ate a couple of apple slices (3-4gms) and was good. 

TOTAL LUNCH = 36gms

I plan to eat one slice of toast (17gms) with chunky peanut butter (5gms) on it for my MID-PM.  It's a great source of protein and will help me feel full until dinner.  Depending on how hungry I am at this point, I may snack on some non-starchy veggies like carrots or broccoli (1 cup of raw veggies and 1/2 cup of cooked veggies = 5gms carb).   NOTE:  The best bread I have found is the Sara Lee's 100% whole wheat bread.  It has about 11gms of carbs per slice.  I am out right now so I have to use what I've got instead.

TOTAL MID PM = 23-28gms

For dinner we are having Tilapia (0gms) 1/2 a lg. baked potato (30gms) and some steamed veggies (5gms) with a glass of milk (1 cup =12gms). 

TOTAL DINNER = 47gms

After dinner I was planning on watching a movie with my family.  I will probably have around 4 cups of kettle corn (15gms).  NOTE:  When you look at a package of food to find out how many carbs it has you have to also look at the amount of fiber it has and subtract it from your carb total.  For example the popcorn I eat has 23gms of carbs but 7gms of fiber.  That means that I only have to count 15gms per serving towards my meal.  J

TOTAL PM SNACK = 15gms


I drink lots of water throughout the day and take a daily vitamin to make sure I am getting all the nutrition I can!   I'd love to hear your comments.

The Meal Plan

The goal of meal plan is to distribute your recommended grams of carbohydrates throughout the day in small meals your body manage before you eat again.  The meals and carbohydrate limits are as follows:

Breakfast:                 Carb gms:  30
Mid-AM Snack:       Carb gms:  30
Lunch:                      Carb gms:  45
Mid-PM snack:        Carb gms:  30
Dinner:                     Carb gms:  45
PM snack:                Carb gms:  30

So at each meal you are allowed to eat the amount of carbohydrates shown and no more.  Then you need to wait for at least 2 hours before you eat again.  The reasoning behind this comes down to your body’s ability to convert the carbs into energy you can use and ultimately lower your blood sugar levels before your next meal.

If you can... try and buy this book.  Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes.  It is available on amazon.com for $3.25 and will help you easily find carb amounts in foods.  It breaks down food amounts into 15gm options.  I use it multiple times a day.  Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Choose-Your-Foods-Exchange-Diabetes/dp/0880913770

Note... I am not a professional.  The actual amounts of carbohydrates you need may be different, but these amounts work perfect for me.  This is based on a 2100 calorie diet.  The complete meal plan from the dietitian is listed below.

Breakfast:              Carb gms:  30
                             Carb Choices:  2 (Suggested: 1 starch, 1 milk)
                             Protein: 1 oz
                             Fat: 2 Servings                       

Mid-AM Snack:    Carb gms:  30
                             Carb Choices:  2 (Suggested: 1 starch, 1 milk)
                             Protien: 1 oz
                                  
Lunch:                   Carb gms:  45
                             Carb Choices:  3 (Suggested: 2 starch, 1 Fruit)
                             Protein: 2-3 oz
                             Fat: 2 Servings
           
Mid-PM snack:     Carb gms:  30
                             Carb Choices:  2 (Suggested: 1 starch, 1 Fruit or milk)
                             Protien: 1 oz
                                  
Dinner:                  Carb gms:  45
                             Carb Choices:  3 (Suggested: 1 starch, 1 Fruit, 1 milk)
                             Protein: 3 oz
                             Fat: 2-3 Servings
           
PM snack:            Carb gms:  30
                            Carb Choices:  2 (Suggested: 1 starch, 1 fruit or milk)
                             Protein: 1 oz


More to come….