Need Advise - Carb Alternatives!

KittyKarma31
KittyKarma31 Posts: 15 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My biggest weekness is pasta and especially bread. I want to eat some sort of bread item at every meal - but I know those carry the most calories. Does anyone have any advise on how to substitute this in my diet? Or even advise on how they stay away from there weeknesses?

Replies

  • Simona40
    Simona40 Posts: 50 Member
    There are a lot of low carb breads/wraps/tortillas out there. I have yet to find one that's very good though.

    Bread is my weakness too. I'm Italian, grew up eating good bread with damn near everything! Now..I have bread only at breakfast. I dont miss it with other meals - not as much as I thought I would. On occassion I'll have some as a snack with Brie but that's rare.
  • DeiExMachina
    DeiExMachina Posts: 1
    Try Ezekial bread
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/267599-nutrition-information-of-ezekiel-bread/
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    Why are you removing bread from your diet?
  • lasmit4477
    lasmit4477 Posts: 308 Member
    ^This
  • johloz
    johloz Posts: 176 Member
    Try Ezekial bread
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/267599-nutrition-information-of-ezekiel-bread/

    I was just about to say this. Love this stuff! It would be great if I could give up bread, but then I would be miserable. This is a natural, better option than your average refined breads. Highly recommend.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    My biggest weekness is pasta and especially bread. I want to eat some sort of bread item at every meal - but I know those carry the most calories. Does anyone have any advise on how to substitute this in my diet? Or even advise on how they stay away from there weeknesses?

    Bread is not necessarily that high in calories. I get the Sara Lee soft and smooth, so two slices are only 120 calories. There are a few breads that are even less than that. As for pasta, eat it with meat and veggies and stick to one serving. If you don't learn to eat correct portions now, then you won't be able to keep off the weight that you lose.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Carbohydrates do not carry the most calories they are ~4 per gram, fat is ~9 per gram, alcohol ~7 per gram. Eat way more non starchy vegetables and low sugar fruit, if you are not fully low carb then eat more beans and lentils too: there is no room on your plate or stomach for bread if you have four to five servings of vegetables. I don't keep stuff in the apartment that is going to be too much temptation, carry food to work not money, grocery shopping on a full stomach with a list, don't even go into stores that are tempting.

    Try wholemeal spaghetti al dente or brown pitta bread, these are lower on the glycaemic index (slower to digest, satisfy you with a smaller portion, keep you feeling fuller for long and blood sugar stable) than white pasta and fluffy bread made with super finely ground wheat flour. Or make your own higher protein/ higher fibre bread. And exercise portion control, weigh your food.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    THIS! http://www.josephsbakery.com/p-10222-Flax-Oat-Bran-and-Omega-3-Square-Lavash The whole giant piece of bread is 100 calories and 10g protein! Low carb, low fat, high protein, high fiber. It doesn't get better than that. Sometimes I just eat them plain, but if I want to make a meal out of it, I put vegan cheese, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber slices, and lettuce in it. I can't eat the whole wrap in one sitting, it's too filling.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Oh, and for pasta, try tofu shirataki noodles. 40 calories for 1 1/3 cup of noodles. The tofu ones have a better texture than the regular shirataki noodles.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    Learn portion control and still eat what you love. If you love a sandwich for lunch, have 1/2 a sandwich w/ the same amount of protein or double the protein and a salad or fruit or veggies on the side. If you love spaghetti for dinner, have 1 serving of pasta (200 calories) with a serving of tomato sauce and lean protein with it.

    I personally don't love breads, but if you love bread products, I don't necessarily recommend the products that PP listed. I find that they are just not that good tasting, and no matter what anyone says, my tastebuds never adapted to the Josephs lavash breads or the whole wheat pastas or stuff like that. I will eat whole wheat pita bread and sandwich bread toasted, so I use that when I have breads. If I have pasta, it's white pasta. Same calories per serving and I get plenty of fiber otherwise, so I eat what I love. I'll use corn tortillas for a lot of things, but sometimes I just want a white one, so that's what I have.

    In order to make this plan liveable, I think you have to find a way to eat the stuff you love, or else you'll feel too deprived.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Given the choice of eliminating it completely or just choosing smaller portions....I'd choose portion control any day! I have one or two slices of bread everyday as well as a small serving of pasta or rice. It fits into my calories and has never hindered my progress.
  • KittyKarma31
    KittyKarma31 Posts: 15 Member
    Not really removing bread - but that is my biggest weakness so I need to try to limit it and/or find an alternative.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
    I just bought some Lite Whole Wheat bread from Trader Joe's that is pretty good. It's only 40 calories a slice. I also like the "Latortilla Factory - Smart & Delicious Tortilla, Low Carb, High Fiber" wraps. They are 80 calories per wrap, 18 carbs, 8 protein and 12 fiber. Not too bad IMO. Throw in some turkey and avocado and it's a great lunch!
  • KittyKarma31
    KittyKarma31 Posts: 15 Member
    Thank you ALL for the awesome ideas :)
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    I've replaced my grains entirely with vegetables and fat now but I used to just use small portions of pasta and rice (like a 1/4 cup) and then use vegetables as filler. Cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, spaghetti squash, string beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onion and garlic are my staples and replace all of the grains and starchy vegetables I used to eat. Just grab some veggies and see what you can come up with.

    Another place for ideas and recipes is http://www.skinnytaste.com/ -- before I went low carb I made a lot of her recipes and everything was always delicious and fairly low calorie. Good luck. :)
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    So I decided too many times I ate bread/carbs out of habit rather than "needing it"... here are some of the things I have done:

    Chopped steamed cauliflower instead of rice or potatoes
    raw cabbage or lettuce (shreds) instead of noodles

    pancakes made with egg whites, oat bran and greek yogurt are quite yummy as well
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    I love the mission carb balance tortillas. They taste great and have only 6 grams of net carbs (still 200 calories though, so be aware of that).

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