also for Debbie.... NON GRAIN CARB OPTIONS

Fruits: Pick a fruit, it has carbs. The sweeter it is, the higher the number of carbs it will have in it.

Veggies: some veggies have carbs, some don't. In general, a vegetable that you consider sweet or starchy is likely high in carbohydrates. Carrots, peas, corn, lima beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can count as a carb. They are sweet

Beans: beans, nuts, and seeds are high in carboydrates, but if you pair them with a grain, they become a protein.

Because Debbie asked....WHOLE GRAIN CARB OPTIONS

1. Whole grains simply cooked in water or broth in whole state (oat groats, wheat berries, brown rice, millet, barley, quinoa, etc) can be served with something over them, like stir-fry, cooked seasoned beans, pasta sauce, salsa and cheese, etc. You can also eat these for breakfast with a little honey or maple syrup. You can make them into a fruity salad with diced fruit and yogurt. Or make them into a savory salad with diced veggies and dressing. In any recipe that calls for cooked rice, try using different grains. Millet, barley, and quinoa have some excellent nutritional benefits. If you like them, use them.

2. Whole grains that have been cut up in some way, but not completely ground into flour (like oatmeal, bulgur wheat, cream of wheat, corn meal) can simply be cooked in water and made into porridge for breakfast. Cornmeal can be made into porridge and then poured into a bread pan and then sliced. Some people like to fry these slices in a little butter and eat it with syrup. Or you can fry it in olive oil and serve a sauce over it. I'm not a fan, but I'm not knocking it. I don't like polenta, either, which is pretty much the same thing. Polenta is a great whole-grain food.

3. Whole grains that have been ground into flour and then prepared to make baked goods are another great source. If YOU prepare muffins, biscuits, pancakes, breads, pita, crackers, etc... at home, you KNOW what goes into them. You can take any recipe and tweak it to follow our rules. I've made cakes and replaced the white flour with whole wheat, the shortening with butter, and the sugar with honey. You don't end up with the same result, but you usually end up with a good one. I recommend my baking mix, posted in my earlier entry for pancakes with strawberry sauce. Try flours made from other grains, too. If you have a wheat grinder, use it to make brown rice into flour. If you use 3/4 whole wheat flour and 1/4 brown rice flour in a recipe, it makes the product lighter. Other flours don't have gluten like wheat does, so you can't replace it cup-for-cup.

If you are NOT the baker, you need to be careful. I don't purchase ANY baked goods unless I can see that the first ingredient is whole wheat flour. It can't just say WHEAT flour. It must say WHOLE wheat. (99% of the flour used to make foods is wheat flour. But it is not WHOLE. It is usually just enriched white flour. It doesn't have wheat germ or wheat bran in it. It has probably also been bleached.) I look for baked goods that have fewer than 5-7 ingredients in them and I need to recognize them as real foods. Beware of hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup, particularly if they are listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. If they come later in the list, there isn't that much of them so if you need to compromise to save the budget, go ahead. It isn't ideal, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

Some of my favorites to prepare on my own:
brown rice for any meal or snack; it can be sweet or savory.
quinoa, for savory meals. It isn't so good for breakfast. (cooks in 20 minutes like white rice)
Old Fashioned oats (not quick) for breakfast.
Whole wheat baking mix (for muffins, pancakes, and biscuits)
Whole wheat tortillas (I have a great recipe. Time consuming but better than store-bought)

Some of my favorites to buy at the store:
Wheat Montana Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Franz 100% whole wheat bread (my compromise bread)
Triscuits (the only cracker I'll buy)
Flat-out multi grain with flax sandwich wraps
Barilla Whole Grain pastas (they are only 51% whole grain; a compromise for taste)

Things I want to learn to make:
whole grain pie crust that I like, without shortening
whole grain crackers
whole grain pita bread
a cookie I like that follows my rules

What is a Carb?

Carbohydrates are the foods that give us energy. Good carbs give us energy that lasts. Bad carbs give us a spike of energy and then we feel all blue and tired. Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Most such foods are high in starch, so some diets will call them a "starch."

The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get between 45-65% of dietary energy from carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55-75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% directly from sugars.

So, we need carbs, lots of carbs, but we don't want to eat carbs that have been processed in such a way as to remove the natural healthy qualities that they possess. We should eat "whole" carbs, aka "good" carbs, meaning carbs that still retain all the nutrients the Lord intended them to have.

Whole grains are cereal grains that contain bran, germ, and endosperm (the whole grain). Refined or processed grains are processed to remove the bran and the germ and only leave us endosperm. You KNOW oat bran, wheat bran and wheat germ are super healthy, right? So why is America living on products made from flour that is stripped of these healthy nutrients? Boggles my mind, I tell ya! Buy bread whose first ingredient is whole wheat flour, not unbleached wheat flour. Most flour in bread is made from wheat, but very little of it is actually made from WHOLE wheat. Buy cereal whose first ingredient is a whole grain.

The same thing happens with rice, by the way. Brown rice is processed to remove the husk but the bran and germ are in tact. White rice is processed futher to remove the germ and the bran. Unless the rice says "brown," it is white. Jasmine rice, arborio rice, all the fancy rices that you can get are stripped of vital nutrients and fiber. What a waste.

Doesn't it make you wonder why white rice and white flour are cheaper than their whole grain counterparts? Wouldn't you think it would be cheaper to process them LESS?? A conundrum. Really.

If you choose a potato as your carb, eat the whole potato, even the skin. Other vegetables are also high in carbohydrates, like carrots, corn, and peas. Fruits are also carbs. Eat them whole. An orange is better than orange juice, for instance.

Since only 10% of our carbs should come from sugar, we need to watch our sugar intake, particularly processed sugars (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup). Even healthy sugars that are unrefined and come to us in their natural states, like honey, real maple syrup, agave nectar, deydrated cane juice (rapadura, sucanat) should be used in moderation.

So...... If you are already following diet rule #1 and #2, diet rule #3 is your next step. I think it would be smart to get in the habit of following 1 and 2 for a week before adding #3. This is about long-term habit building, not instant gratification. If you are in a hurry, though, take the plunge. Rule #3 is the BEST rule. It will get rid of your belly flab and make you feel happier and healthier. Promise.

RULE #3
No "bad" carbs/ processed carbs. Here's the list: processed sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup) or any food containing these sugars, white flours (flours with the germ and bran removed this includes bleached and unbleached wheat flour), white rice. Replace these items with natural sweeteners in moderation, whole grain flours, brown rice, and quinoa.