Low carb starches 🙃

joanneelizabethmarshall
joanneelizabethmarshall Posts: 12 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello
I’m trying to cut out carbs. I thought Quinoa was but no ! So
Which complex carbohydrate is lowest in carbs ?? Lol

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,997 Member
    What AnnPT77 said: starches are carbs, and carbs are carbs. Most dry products like quinoa, couscous, pasta, rice come in at around 360 calories per 100gr uncooked. It doesn't make a difference, really.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited April 2021
    I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately, but I'm confused. Maybe could you clarify what you're asking for? A carb that is low carb isn't a thing...

    Are you asking for grains/noodles/pasta suggestions (which aren't strictly "carbs", btw..they do contain other macros, too) ? Vegetables?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    joanneelizabethmarshall wrote: »
    Hello
    I’m trying to cut out carbs. I thought Quinoa was but no ! So
    Which complex carbohydrate is lowest in carbs ?? Lol

    Carbohydrates can be broken down into three subsets.. starch, fiber, or sugar or some combination of the three. By nature, any starch is going to be high carbohydrate...because starch is nothing but a carbohydrate.

    I get the impression that you think carbohydrates in and of themselves are unhealthy...quinoa is actually a pretty good nutritional choice as starchy carbohydrates go...good source of both fiber and plant protein giving it a relatively low glycemic index...but there's no such thing as a starch that is low carbohydrate because starch is a carbohydrate.

    Depending on how low carbohydrate you're trying to go, you're going to have to substantially restrict or eliminate grains, starches...things like rice (white or brown), quinoa, beans, lentils, pasta, potatoes and other root vegetables, etc. Note that in general, this is unnecessary and that there is inherently nothing wrong with these foods, and many carbohydrates provide for substantial nutrition. It is difficult for example to hit recommended fiber amounts without things like oats or beans, etc as non-starchy vegetables have some, but usually pretty small amounts relative to grains and legumes.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    joanneelizabethmarshall wrote: »
    Which complex carbohydrate is lowest in carbs ??

    The one that is the smallest portion size perhaps?

    I'm sure that if you rewind a bit from the "how" to implement your diet and explain the "why" behind your choices things will become a lot clearer.


  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    No one said this yet: The carbs with the lowest carbs are the ones with the highest fiber. You can subtract the weight of the fiber from the grams of carbs to get the net carbs. It usually isn't all that significant, from a calorie POV.

    The substitute for eating carbs is fats, in my opinion (not protein).
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    You can also look at increasing the proportion of starchy vegetables in your diet, which still have carbs but are often lower calorie for the amount of bulk they have in comparison to rice/pasta/etc.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,769 Member
    Or otoh cut your serving size. I find I’m perfectly happy with half a serving of rice, couscous, or Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain mix these days. I eat extra vegetables to make up any extra calories I need.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Or otoh cut your serving size. I find I’m perfectly happy with half a serving of rice, couscous, or Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain mix these days. I eat extra vegetables to make up any extra calories I need.

    This is what I do -- a small serving of grain goes a long way when you add a bunch of vegetables and some protein.

    When I was bigger, I'd have a tendency to treat the grain like the base of meals like stir-fry or curry. Now I use it as an accent, but it works just as well.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Or otoh cut your serving size. I find I’m perfectly happy with half a serving of rice, couscous, or Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain mix these days. I eat extra vegetables to make up any extra calories I need.

    This is what I do -- a small serving of grain goes a long way when you add a bunch of vegetables and some protein.

    When I was bigger, I'd have a tendency to treat the grain like the base of meals like stir-fry or curry. Now I use it as an accent, but it works just as well.

    This is what I do too. Cauliflower rice bulks out rice, courgetti bulks out pasta when having bolognese / mushrooms bulk out other pasta dishes and I don;t really notice the difference if I have one fewer potato than I'd have had a few years ago, because I've usually got so much veg on my plate anyway. Sauted white cabbage is a useful bed for many things, instead of having rice or potatoes.
  • g2renew
    g2renew Posts: 155 Member
    joanneelizabethmarshall wrote: »
    Hello
    I’m trying to cut out carbs. I thought Quinoa was but no ! So
    Which complex carbohydrate is lowest in carbs ?? Lol

    My thoughts on this:You don't really want to cut out carbs:-). Carbs, Fat, and Protein all have their importance in maintaining a healthy body and mind. All of the above info is good advice. For me-starting point was to realize there are no 'bad' whole foods, unless I have an allergy. Some work better for me, helping me do what my body needs (protein, fiber, green leafy veg) and others will cause problems for me IF I overdo them. Even foods I have sensitivities to (dairy, gluten, sugars) do not cause serious issues for me in small amounts every once in a while (as far as I can tell), so I have yogurt, butter, oatmeal, and fruit, sometimes maple sugar and/or honey on occasion. Allergies are another matter. Some people's sensitivities are great enough that they are difficult to distinguish from an allergy, so if you have any concerns, ask your doctor or stay away from any foods you are sensitive to. You can also do an elimination diet to see if there are foods you function better leaving out of your meal plan entirely.

    As far as I can tell (with my limited world knowledge), the obsession with 'carbs' seems to be mostly because of 1 or 2 things- calories or blood sugar. I am concerned with both, so I check the Glycemic Index to see which foods affect my blood sugar the most and a calorie chart to see which ones affect my weight the least. MFP (I use the free version!) is a big help with tracking all of the things I am paying attention to. It tells me how many carb grams I have had for the day and how much of this is 'sugar'. I aim for a minimum of 26g of fiber daily, but I do not use my fiber to count against my calories or my carbs/sugars. Other members will be able to give you more scientific explanations, but I think of fiber as a 'net': helping trap my sugars and calories. This net releases my sugars into my blood stream more evenly and holds onto some of my calories, allowing them to be eliminated..

    On the other hand, if your issues are with staying satiated without adding white potatoes and breads into your meals, I feel ya!. I do a 'self check'-am I really hungry, or do I just 'feel like' I need a little something ( "real" hunger vs 'Mouth hungry')? It helps me to think about the amount of nutrition vs amount of food that I have consumed. Lots of 'food' these days has very little nutrition, i.e. processed foods. If I am eating whole foods and still not satisfied after my nutrition check says I should be, then I consider whether I have had enough water. Sometimes it is difficult to separate hunger and thirst. For me (and others), added or hidden sugars are also an issue that make us continue to think we are hungry when we are not. I have cut these out of my foods, mostly, and 'mouth hunger' is much less of a problem than it was in the past .I also make sure to get enough protein (check to see what your level should be. There are formulas depending on your sex and activity level, and what you want to achieve). Enough fat also helps with satiety. Personally, I do not worry about fats, as long as they are good healthy fats, like avocados and flax seed. I will get my blood levels checked again soon, just to make sure that this is working correctly for me.

    All of that said, there are some days when we just really want a little more no matter what steps we have taken. A 'slip' is not the same as a 'fall'. And there is nothing wrong with either one as long as we get back up ASAP afterward:-). We are in this together. Best wishes on this journey!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,887 Member
    I wish OP would come back and clarify what she is trying to do. On the whole, I'm also on the "just have smaller servings" team, but there are also options like winter squash or root veg other than potatoes/sweet potatoes that can maintain a similar starchy sense without the same cals and carbs.

    For example, I'm thinking about trying to make a pot roast in the instant pot tonight, and am going to have it with carrots, onions, butternut squash, and cabbage, and no potatoes. The butternut squash is a pleasant alternative to potatoes and is lower carb and cals. I often have turnips in stews instead of potatoes (roasted turnips and radishes are also good as a side). I might have beets. I don't love rice, so for me the cauliflower option (or just extra veg, including cauliflower) works fine. Ann got me interested in some of the pastas made from soybeans or lentils or the like, which often have more protein and fiber and fewer carbs for the same amount (I don't find them interchangeable but I think some of them work well with some sauces). The last generally have the same calories; the super low cal noodles never sound appealing enough for me to try, I'd rather just forgo pasta/noodles if low on cals. But I do like many pasta-like sauces on spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles (I LOVE pesto on zucchini noodles) or even just chopped up cauliflower or winter squash sometimes.

    I'm not at all anti starches, but I do tend to find them one of a few easy places to cut cals, although I don't "cut out" carbs, and suspect OP didn't mean that literally, but maybe just cut down.
  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
    Low carb food is green veggies: think broccoli, cauliflower, cuces, zuccini, egg plants. Fruits are high carbs food, not recommended on low carb diet too, except strawberries, bluberries, blackberries, raspberries. All stachy food, like grains, potato, corn, rice, quinova ALL are high carb. Many people think that only sugary food, like cake pastries, candies are high carbs, but sorry, even "healthy" breads are HIGH CARBS. So if you want to go low carbs, you change your bread buns to green salad leaves around your humburger.
    There is some low carb options in the bread shelves lately. I ve seen Zerro carb bread in ALDI, low carb tortila in Trader Joe or other supermarkets. Look for products with label 1g or 0g carbs per serving. For compare regular bread slice contains 12-20 g of carbs. Imaging of eating 4 slices of bread a day, you consume 48-80g of pure carbs if nothing else eaten. It's time to read and educate yourself about that very wide available information.

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