Blog Week Thursday 5/13 - To carb or not to carb. Today let’s blog about what we eat. And perhaps what we don’t eat. Some believe a low carb diet is important in diabetes management, while others believe carbs are fine as long as they are counted and bolused for. Which side of the fence do you fall on? What kind of things do you eat for meals and snacks? What foods do you deem bolus-worthy? What other foodie wisdom would you like to share?
Okay this is an easy one. Since Joshua was only 11 months old (now 14 months) our doctor was very specific about this. She told us that in Joshua's case he need all the regular and normal food that every other child has. She has told me not to limit him at all since he is developing. She said later in life when things are different we can talk about carb control. I do of course take into thought that if he was high at check then to make sure to go lighter on the carbs at meal time. This being said we were strict with Jackson at this age on what he ate too. So we don’t have things like gummy worms every day or chips with every meal. Sweets go bad in our house before they get eaten. If I make a cake or cupcakes they go to work with my hubby after we have each had one or so. I don’t stock junk food. Jackson's snacks involve craisns, trail mix, goldfish and fruit. Both boys love steamed carrots and broccoli but I can not get Joshua to eat much more then that. Breakfast is usually, Eggs, Pancakes, cheerios, oatmeal. Lunch is PBJ (not Joshua for a few more months) turkey and cheese or quesadillas. Dinner is usually a meat, veggie and sometimes a starch. This can be a casserole or individual parts. I have only made one recipe from scratch since Dx as I am scared to mess it up and do the math wrong. It was a Mexican casserole that went over great!
I need help on figuring out great dinner meals that are not ready made (easy carb counting). I love to make casseroles but am struggling to find ways to count them and make it work for the entire family. I am not a separate meal chick. Any ideas??
Casseroles can be so easy to get the carb amount for if you use carb factors. The short version is: add up all the carbs that are in the dish (this of course means you have to weigh and calculate every ingredient that has carbs that is in the dish), then weigh the entire dish in grams and divide the total carbs by the total weight (of course subtracting the weight of the actual casserole dish you're cooking in). You will get a number that looks something like this: 0.1465(etc). That is the dish's carb factor.
ReplyDeleteThen weigh Joshua's portion (again in grams) and multiply it by the carb factor. The best thing? Once you figure out a dish's carb factor (and as long as you always use the same measurements), you don't really have to do it again.
I have a whole post dedicated to carb factors on my blog if I didn't do a good job explaining it here. I'm hoping to post some of the recipes I use one of these days soon when I can get my act together!
I hope this helped!
And kids always ask "when am I going to need this math in real life"? This is when!
ReplyDeleteWhat Joanne said!! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI also add up the entire meal, and then divide it by the portion sizes. You can do it! Casseroles are a staple around here. :) YUM!
I'm a casserole-holic.
ReplyDeleteCarb factors are the way to go...but...I haven't figured them out yet :( It's only been FIVE years, ya know!
I scoop out 1/2 a cup and call it 20. Most of the time that nails it :)
Hi Shannon! You were nice enough to post on my blog recently, but I somehow missed my way to yours. I can't wait to poke around and get to know you and your family. I have so much to learn!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to getting to know you!
Joanne's got great advice. We do the same although I approach the math a little differently, but Joanne's math is probably the most straight forward approach. Works like a charm!
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