The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies (52 page)
What about mixed foods?
Looking at the ingredients list for bread and pasta is one thing, but what on earth do you do with an entire entree that uses many different foods (think lasagna or a frozen dinner)? Well, unless these items have been tested, you must make your best-educated choice by looking at the glycemic load of the individual ingredients. Of course, the glycemic load of foods can change when the foods are combined together. Fortunately there's no need to get too hung up on the small details because using low-glycemic foods in moderation is shown to provide benefits to blood sugar levels and heart health. So just take your best guess when it comes to mixed foods and stock up on the foods you know to be low-glycemic (like most fruits and veggies).
Unless a product is tested for its glycemic index, you can only make your best-educated choice about it. If you know, for example, that most tested whole-wheat breads are low-glycemic, then you can get an idea for other products made of the same ingredients.
Stocking Up for Success
One of the best strategies you can put into place to keep yourself from abandoning all of your new dietary changes is to keep your pantry stocked. This advice may sound simplistic, but it's truly one of the most useful strategies for staying on track. Why? Well, if you haven't already, you'll eventually reach a point where life gets messy or busy and you just don't have time to plan and prepare healthy meals.
Thinking that every day of the week will go as planned just isn't realistic. Sure, you know that on Monday you're going to make chicken cacciatore for dinner and on Tuesday you're going to make stir-fry. What happens when on Monday your boss wants you to finish up a project at home or you just don't make it to the grocery store? All of your good intentions can easily fall apart right then and there when you revert to your old habits or simply grab some fast food or take-out. Although this is okay to do once in a while, the reality is these types of little weekday interferences occur all the time. Life just never seems to run as smoothly as you want it to, and that's one of the biggest challenges I see people encounter when making diet and lifestyle changes.
To truly integrate a low-glycemic diet into your lifestyle, you need to be prepared. Keeping some healthy convenience foods on hand at all times is the key. I'm sure you've had one of those days where you're running late or you're just not in the mood to cook. If you always have some backup foods on hand, you can throw together something quick and healthy — meaning you don't have to abandon your new low-glycemic eating habits just because life got in te way of your plan.
Stocking up on staples when they're on sale or when you have coupons can actually help you slash your food budget.
In the following sections, I share some pantry, freezer, and refrigerator favorites so you know what to stock up on in order to make fast and easy throw-together meals.
Pantry basics
Following is a list of great items to always have on hand in your pantry (feel free to swap in your own low-glycemic favorites):
Soups
Chili
Grains (quinoa, pearl barley, or brown rice)
Bread (note that this is a perishable item)
Low-glycemic cereals
Oatmeal