Low carb family friendly meals
swalewis
Posts: 26 Member
Hi everyone - I am looking for others who are T2 and cooking for a family that isn't.
I had initial success sticking to many of our usual meals, just adding more vegetables and cutting my portion of the starch. Then I'd snack on higher fat/protein foods like nuts, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc, as well as adjust my breakfasts and lunch to be lower carb.
After 7 months of this, and successfully lowering my a1c with this approach (along with metformin &exercise) I'm getting terribly bored with the monotony of dinners. I'm missing the more flavorful taste combinations that I used to make (but are high carb) and when I experiment with low carb dishes I often end up with a grumpy family (they are not fans of cauliflower/squash starch substitutes). While they are supportive and undoubtedly benefit from a lower carb diet, they are picky (and growing).
Any advice on how to keep things interesting for yourself, please a family and not cook 2 meals? What's worked for you?
Sarah
I had initial success sticking to many of our usual meals, just adding more vegetables and cutting my portion of the starch. Then I'd snack on higher fat/protein foods like nuts, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc, as well as adjust my breakfasts and lunch to be lower carb.
After 7 months of this, and successfully lowering my a1c with this approach (along with metformin &exercise) I'm getting terribly bored with the monotony of dinners. I'm missing the more flavorful taste combinations that I used to make (but are high carb) and when I experiment with low carb dishes I often end up with a grumpy family (they are not fans of cauliflower/squash starch substitutes). While they are supportive and undoubtedly benefit from a lower carb diet, they are picky (and growing).
Any advice on how to keep things interesting for yourself, please a family and not cook 2 meals? What's worked for you?
Sarah
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Replies
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Sarah-
Did you ever find any family friendly recipes? I'm in a similar situation.0 -
For me, I have found that cooking with kelp noodles (1g carb total per pkg), and shirataki noodles (2g carbs total per pkg) definitively breaks up the monotony. Here are a couple of dishes that I made recently for my hubby and me.
I Just added meat and veggies and I stirred in the kelp noodles, you can add soy sauce, or make your own from the meat drippings:
I just added meatballs, garlic, and made a sauce with tomato paste and mix in the shirataki noodles. Tastes like spaghetti and meatballs to me!
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It's great that you've made such great progress Sarah. Perhaps you could eat small amounts of grains with dinner as long as you get some type of activity/exercise after dinner, such as going for a walk? That way each person in your family can choose the amount of each part of the meal that they prefer and you all eat the same food. ~Lynn /Glucerna0
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Where can I find these kinds of noodles? I've never seen them before.0
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Thanks for the suggestions! I have tried the shiritake noodles (available at my local chain/Kroger & Safeway near the tofu) and they are fine, but the texture doesn't go over well with the family. I've also tried the "lower carb" pastas and have had some success with those.
My general strategy is to just eat less of the carb that I prepare for the meal, but I'd like to have a few more options for "go to" dishes where the carb is optional. I don't want my son to only eat carb because he doesn't like the main dish or inadvertently increase the chances that he will face T2 later in his life, and would rather sneak in healthier eating now.
Will share one new recipe that the whole family likes - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tex-mex-turkey-soup/. I get more than enough carb from the beans and corn in this hearty soup, and the family supplements with corn chips. Makes enough for 2 meals.0 -
Where can I find these kinds of noodles? I've never seen them before.
The kelp noodles are available in most health food stores. I live in southern CA, so I'm not sure of the health food chains in other states.0 -
Thanks GrokRockStar. I live in Southern California too. I will check my health food store.0
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Here's one recipe that our whole family eats: Zucchini Pancakes http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Patties-with-Feta-238266. It's the third or fourth summer we've had these and I'm delighted that they are still on the menu after T2 diagnosis. Like potato pancakes, serve with sour cream (me) or applesauce (son). My modifications: 3 cups packed shredded zucchini and 1/3 cup flour. Make sure to squeeze out at much water as you can after salting the zucchini; the batter will need less flour that way. They freeze well and reheat in the toaster. It's a great way to use up zucchini ~ Enjoy!0
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Are kelp noodles better than shirataki? I don't like shirataki.0
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You could try Mediterranean - Greek recipes using mostly vegetables like eggplants , zucchinis, beans , peppers etc.They are either vegeterian foods or vegetables with meat.Not only they are carbs low but they are fat low too. They are a good solution especially for summer , as long as you can find the vegetables in your supermarket.
A good start could be this site
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html but you can look for more too.0 -
You could try Mediterranean - Greek recipes using mostly vegetables like eggplants , zucchinis, beans , peppers etc.They are either vegeterian foods or vegetables with meat.Not only they are carbs low but they are fat low too. They are a good solution especially for summer , as long as you can find the vegetables in your supermarket.
A good start could be this site
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html but you can look for more too.
Thanks for the tip and link! I love Mediterranean food and the recipes look awesome!0
