Low Glycemic Diet:

Tips and Tricks

There are many potential benefits to a low glycemic diet .  Luckily, you can get them without being overly analytical. This page lists simple things you can do at each of your meals to move you towards a low GI diet without having to look up numbers.  Remember to follow with your health care professional as per the disclaimer. 

If Kids Can Follow A Low Glycemic Index Diet . . .

Research shows that even kids with type 1 diabetes and their families can choose a low glycemic diet and improve blood sugars simply by making some basic substitutions.  Now, I am not giving advice for children but merely trying to make this point:  if kids can do it,  I'm sure you can. 

Are you game?

There are loads of tips to help with a low glycemic index diet. Yes. Easy tips.

Breakfast ideas for low glycemic diet

• Eat more oatmeal, oatbran, sunny-boy and red-river cereals - or -
• Sprinkle Kellogs Bran Buds or All Bran on your current cereal. 
• Toast wholegrain, stone-ground, sour dough or "corky looking" pumpernickel breads. 
• Add peanut butter to toast (careful of the amount if you're watching your weight).
• A small homemade All Bran or Oat bran muffin (careful - a store bought bran muffin might be equal to 4 bread! - Like Tim Horton's Raisin Bran muffin.)
• Multigrain pancakes or waffles (top them with applesauce or fruit yogurt)
• A homemade fruit smoothie of milk and frozen berries OR yogurt, fresh fruit and crushed ice in a blender. 
• Add yogurt or fruit to breakfast..
• Drink a glass of milk! 
• (Add free vegies like cherry tomatoes, cooked mushrooms, tomatoes onto the toast to help fill up! or Make a western sandwich on wholegrain toast with all those veggies added - or a veggie omelet).
• Yogurt mixed with Bran Buds, walnuts and berries.

Lunch ideas for low glycemic diet

• Try small whole grain buns.
• Try corky pumpernickel (it looks like cork) - it's great with ham, mustard and dill pickles! Or peanut butter.
• Try stone-ground or wholegrain breads. Even one piece of this and one piece of white on a sandwich if you can't go all the way.
• Eat 1/2 whole grain bagel (because most bagels equal 4 bread)
• Try small slices sour dough bread instead of regular white bread.
• Try lentil soup! Yes it's slow even if canned. 
• Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables.
• Drink milk instead of pop.
• Eat fruit instead of fruit rollups.
• Eat yogurt instead of baked desserts/cookies.
• Add dill pickles your  sandwich.
• Sprinkle vinegar on cucumbers
• Use barley more often in soup instead of soggy noodles!
• Use 1/3 of the flour in your baking as barley flour.
• Use Basmati, Doongara or Japanese koshihikari rice (not sticky rice)
• Enjoy pasta salad with tuna and vegies
• Try small portions of  noodles, quinoa and barley (cook it in broth and serve mixed with cooked onions!)
• Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing

Supper ideas for low glycemic diet

• Aim for all 4 food groups at the meal - protein, fruit/veg, milk and starch. Protein is not a carb food, while milk, most fruit and colorful vegies are low glycemic index or just plain low in carb. 
• Try rice vinegar or flavored / balsamic vinegars sprinkled on salad or vegies.
• Try a bean salad at supper (kidney beans etc are slow and in vinegar - which slows it further).
• Start supper with lentil soup.
• Or add barley to soup instead of potato.
• Okay - add barley to stews instead of potato.
• Try baked beans or kidney beans (mmm...chili) more often instead of potatoes.
• (use vinegar on those dang french fries if you have to have them).
• Eat less potatoes and more pasta, quinoa, barley and basmati or converted rice.
• Try white boiled potato  more than baked russet potatoes (go figure).
• Try sweet potato or yams instead of baked potato.(except not the kumara sweet potato in New Zealand - it's fast).
• Drink milk instead of pop.
• Have yogurt or fruit instead of dessert. 

Snack ideas for low glycemic diet

• Add vegies of any sort - they are loaded in antioxidants and most are very low in carb. Even if they aren't, you'd have to eat a significant amount for the carb to add up.
• Add oatmeal, oat bran or Kellog's Bran Buds to your cookie recipe (oh and try some barley flour too).
• Have yogurt 
• Try fruit instead of fruit roll-ups.
• An oatmeal cookie and glass of milk.
• Add Nuts (they aren't a carb food but 2 tbsp can help satiate you and slow things down).
• Try Pickled vegies (eg. let your carrot sticks soak in rice vinegar in the fridge!)
• Apple and cheese chunk (or cheese string)

A caveat . . . in English. . . A warning.

Even low glycemic index foods eaten in large amounts can affect both blood sugar and weight! Please keep portions healthy. Particularly the starches. 

Related:

A free list of low glycemic index foods.
10 benefits of a low glycemic diet
What makes food low glycemic index.

References:

Heather R. Gilbertson, GDD¹, Jennie C. Brand-Miller, PHD⁴, Anne W. Thorburn, PHD⁵, Sharon Evans, MND¹, Patty Chondros, MSC² and George A. Werther, MD. The Effect of Flexible Low Glycemic Index Dietary Advice Versus Measured Carbohydrate Exchange Diets on Glycemic Control in Children With Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 24:1137-1143, 2001

www. glycemicindex.com

To go Home: How to control blood sugar