Food Challenges! Special Occasions
Finally back from vacation! Oh, my body returned almost two weeks ago, but my brain just now caught up! I can’t even blame it on my autoimmune disease and/or brain fog. I was just more interested in working in my garden and reading good books in my spare time than anything else. Plus, I’ve been spending the last week trying to decide what my next post should be about. Hmmmmmm. Since so many people have had questions about keto and low carb lately, I think we’ll go back to that since vacations, and summer overall, bring lots of food challenges.
Year around, we all run into “food challenges”. Birthdays, holidays, celebrations, family get togethers, meeting friends for dinner and drinks, and vacations all lead to food. Many of our best memories revolve around food. Most of the above listed occasions revolve around food. When was the last time you went to a BBQ where it was only food that was ‘good’ for you? And there’s another question……what IS good for you on a low carb/keto diet? Seems like that should be easy to answer…….”Well low carb food is good for me!” True, as far as that goes, but watermelon has 22g per slice! That pretty much takes up half my carb allowance for the day! But wait, when is the last time you took a look at the glycemic index and glycemic load? If you’re a diabetic, this is kind of important to pay attention to. Although watermelon hits above 70 on the glycemic index (that’s high!), it only hits about 8 on glycemic load (that’s quite low). So what does that mean? It means your pancreas isn’t going to ramp up and shoot out a ton of insulin because of that slice of watermelon. That makes it ok to have that slice of watermelon on a special occasion! Can you have it every day? Probably not. Although, if you have a blood meter and check your own body’s response to watermelon alone, it’s possible that it’s a free food for you. Check out how to do your own experiments to figure that one out.
Watermelon has a low glycemic load. Eat it!
“Oh geez Shari! How am I supposed to memorize the glycemic index and load of every food?!” You don’t have to. Honestly! There are some simple rules I follow to stay in my ketogenic zone:
· Eat meat, cheese, and green vegies first. Watch out for that BBQ sauce! A little won’t ruin your day, but a lot will make you sorry.
· Be careful what you drink! Dry wine, water, or straight alcohol mixed with club soda. Honestly, it’s best to stick with water, but let’s be realistic. NO SWEET TEA!
· Limit nuts and fruit to just a few bites. A single handful is a good rule of thumb.
· Birthday cake? Sure! One bite. Just one and walk away. Someone next to you will likely be more than happy to finish your piece.
· “Salads” drowning in mayonnaise…..just NO. If you made it yourself, you know what’s in it. If not, it probably is full of sugar or starchy things that will ruin your day. Just no.
· Even if it ‘looks’ low carb, if it tastes sweet assume it has sugar in it. Leave it alone.
That’s pretty much it! If I go to a holiday meal at a friends or family home, I generally bring one of my own favorite dishes that I know I can eat. That way I’m guaranteed to have something special, and get to share a really good, low carb dish with all the doubters! Check out one of my favorite bloggers for great low carb recipes that will convince even Aunt Edna!
For your everyday, at home eating, bookmark some of the sites that have glycemic index and load charts. Just Google it. They’re easy to find. As a rule of thumb, on special occasions, I try to keep my glycemic LOAD on items less than 10. For every day, I try to keep my ‘load’ foods at less than a 2. That means; meat, cheese, nuts, and green vegies, along with healthy fats and all the herbs and spices I want.
Low carb and/or ketogenics DOES NOT MEAN DEPRIVATION! It’s a lifestyle choice to give your body its very best chance to be as healthy as it can be! If you’re already sick, it will give your body its very best chance to heal! Be healthy! Be happy!
Special occasions and staying low carb/keto is still fun!
