Above Photo: Forsythe Park, Savannah Georgia taken by Deb
Diabetes introduced us all to an incredible learning curve. There have been some YIPPEE moments and some GRRRR moments. I can tell you first hand: you finger test a low, finger test the high. When the remote says insulin not delivered, double check on the pump history! EEEK! Every recipe and meal becomes an exercise in math. Check, re-check, measure, re-measure. Spread sheets become part of the basal insulin (long-acting) and bolus insulin (before or after eating) looking for trends.
Hopefully some of these tips will help you as we all wander through the world of carb counting. See more products on our Go To Carb Lists page.
Brands
We tend to buy the same brands, or ones that have the same carb count on the package, so that we are not continually adjusting recipes. We will tell you the carb count when we can in a recipe, and as long as you maintain the same, buy any brand you wish. For example, Tomato Sauce (5 CHO/1/2 cup/125ml). Adjust the carbs in your recipe if the CHO count is different.
Brown Sugar vs Brown Sugar Splenda
Both Brown Sugar and Brown Sugar Splenda are 2 CHO/1/2 tsp. However, use half the amount of Brown Sugar Splenda when replacing Brown Sugar in a recipe. Half the total CHO.
Cheese
Most cheese is low carb or carb free. Pre-shredded cheese has 1 CHO/ ¼ or 1/3 cup. Shredded cheese has added stabilizers, so the cheese won’t clump together. I try to buy blocks of cheese with 0 carbs and grate my own. They really are more flavorful.
Dairy – Milk vs Cream
Whipping cream is 0 CHO while milk has carbs, because of the amount of fat. Hence, in some recipes we use whipping cream. A little goes a long way! Same with butter….always, and 0 CHO.
Dish Tips
At times, I had nearly every dish in the house dirty; weighing and measuring only to discover the final product was in the oven cooking and I’d forgotten to weigh the dish. Weigh and make a list of favourite dishes and measuring devices or write the weight on the bottom of the dishes with a Sharpie. The Sharpie may wear off after a few dishwasher trips so check every now and again.
Gluten Free vs. Gluten
Gluten Free products usually have more carbs because they are made with rice or corn. Many of our pasta recipes can be made gluten free.
High’s vs Low’s
Both are critical to treat, and require very different foods. Low’s are treated with sugar to get into the system as quickly as possible. High periods may still be around a snack time, low or no carb count foods are needed. Some of our go to food is on the Our Favourites page.
Light vs Full Fat
Even though our recipes do not focus on low carb only, we do try to minimize the carbs where we can. Be careful of light products vs full fat. Light can have more carbs, and may not be gluten free.
Mayonnaise – Light vs Full Fat
We use Hellman’s Regular. It is a good quality mayo. The “half the fat” has carbs while the regular doesn’t have any carbs.
Meat vs Other Proteins (Beans)
Meat along with fish/shellfish have no carbs except: ham and sausage. We tend to use Spolumbo’s Sausage a lot. The nutritional information is easily accessible and it’s a good guide if you purchase fresh made sausage at other markets. Obviously, we only use Gluten Free so there are no fillers. CHO comes from additions like roasted peppers and sun dried tomatoes etc.
Beans are higher in CHO and fibre; protein – 1/2 cup beans equal approximately 1 ounce cooked steak. Some consider beans more of a starch because of the CHO.
Metric vs. Imperial
This could be in the top 10 learning. Imperial measurements are accurate but Metric is more accurate. How fine you chop a vegetable will determine how much will fit in a half cup. The weight and CHO can be different every time you chop depending on how finely or coarsely you chop that given day. Then, you really should use a scale to weigh the product after chopping and it could impact the CHO count in the recipe.
When you measure with Metrics, the weight and CHO stays the same, regardless of how finely or coarsely you go at it that for the recipe. I now weigh some of our “Go To Carbs” products before I start chopping and then add directly to the recipe. It also keeps the CHO count the same every time.
Oils
Unless flavoured with an addition (ie: Balsamic vinegar), oils are 0 CHO.
Pasta
Give or take cooked pasta is about 15 CHO/1/2 cup. Very small soup pastas will trend toward 12 CHO/1/4 cup because they are more dense.
Peppers
Fresh yellow and orange peppers have slightly more carbs than red, in large amount (200 gr). When cooking or eating smaller amount, all peppers come in on the scale the same CHO.
Rice
White converted rice, cooked is generally 15 CHO/1/3 cup. Lighter rices such as Basmati trend toward 11.5 CHO/1/3 cup.
Soy Sauce
Gluten Free and regular soy sauce can have the same carb count if you pay attention to the labels. Kikkoman (Gluten and Gluten Free) has more carbs. Gluten free is milder in flavor.
Stock
If I haven’t made my own, look for a prepared stock with 0 CHO, whether Gluten Free or not is up to you. “Imagine” brand Chicken Bone Broth and “Imagine” Organic Beef Broth have recently come out with no CHO and GF.
Tomatoes
Fresh red tomatoes have slightly more carbs than do yellow or orange tomatoes.
Canned tomatoes and sauces are not created equally! The carb count can vary greatly by brand and variety.
For Example: Hunt’s Original Tomato Sauce, is 5 CHO per ½ cup. Hunt’s Thick and Rich Original Tomato Sauce is 9 CHO per ½ cup. Canned whole tomatoes vary by brand, as do pureed and diced.
Vinegars
Pretty much all vinegars have 0 carbs except Seasoned Rice Vinegar and Balsamic Vinegar. We tend to use Unseasoned Rice Vinegar. The better and more expensive the Balsamic vinegar, the more carbs, flavor and syrupy. We use a good quality Balsamic vinegar or reduction unless it’s going into a meat marinade, then we use a cheaper brand.
