The Low Carbaholic

Vary your protein choices:

• Choose fish more often for lunch or dinner. Look for fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, and herring.
  Some ideas are:
  • Salmon steak or filet
  • Salmon loaf
  • Grilled or baked trout
• Choose dry beans or peas as a main dish or part of a meal often. Some choices are:
  • Chili with kidney or pinto beans
  • Stir- fried tofu
  • Split pea, lentil, minestrone, or white bean soups
  • Baked beans
  • Black bean enchiladas
  • Garbanzo or kidney beans on a chef’s salad
  • Rice and beans
  • Veggie burgers or garden burgers
  • Hummus (chickpeas) spread on pita bread
• Choose nuts as a snack, on salads, or in main dishes. Use nuts to replace meat or poultry, not in addition to these items:
  • Use pine nuts in pesto sauce for pasta.
  • Add slivered almonds to steamed vegetables.
  • Add toasted peanuts or cashews to a vegetable stir fry instead of meat.
  • Sprinkle a few nuts on top of low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt.
  • Add walnuts or pecans to a green salad instead of cheese or meat.

Go lean with protein:

• Start with a lean choice:
  • The leanest beef cuts include round steaks and roasts (round eye, top round, bottom round, round tip), top loin, top sirloin, and chuck shoulder and arm roasts.
  • The leanest pork choices include pork loin, tenderloin, center loin, and ham.
  • Choose extra lean ground beef. The label should say at least “90% lean”. You may be able to find ground beef that is 93% or 95% lean.
  • Buy skinless chicken parts, or take off the skin before cooking.
  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts and turkey cutlets are the leanest poultry choices.
  • Choose lean turkey, roast beef, ham, or low-fat luncheon meats for sandwiches instead of luncheon meats with more fat, such as regular bologna or salami.

Dietary Fiber

You may have seen dietary fiber on the label listed as soluble fiber or insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is found in the following:

• Oatmeal
• Oat bran
• Nuts and seeds
• Most fruits (e.g., strawberries, blueberries, pears, and apples)
• Dry beans and peas

Insoluble fiber found in the following:

• Whole wheat bread
• Barley
• Brown rice
• Couscous
• Bulgur or whole grain cereals
• Wheat bran
• Seeds
• Most vegetables
• Fruits

How much dietary fiber do I need each day?
It's recommended that you get 14 grams of dietary fiber for every 1,000 calories that you consume each day. If you need 2,000 calories each day, you should try to include 28 grams of dietary fiber.

To find out how many calories you need each day, visit MyPyramid.gov and enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level in the My Pyramid Plan tool.

Your body uses carbohydrates (carbs) to make glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going.

Your body can use glucose immediately or store it in your liver and muscles for when it is needed.

You can find carbohydrates in the following:

• 
• 
  
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Breads, cereals, and other grains
• Milk and milk products
• Foods containing added sugars (e.g., cakes, cookies, and sugar-sweetened beverages).

Healthier foods higher in carbohydrates include ones that provide dietary fiber and whole grains as well as those without added sugars.

What about foods higher in carbohydrates such as sodas and candies that also contain added sugars? Those are the ones that add extra calories but not many nutrients to your diet.

"Good" carbs is used to describe foods that have more fiber and complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates that take longer to break down into glucose.

These terms aren't used in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Instead, the guidelines recommend choosing fiber-rich carbohydrate choices from the vegetable, fruit, and grain groups and avoid added sugars.

It is also recommended that at least half of your daily grain choices are whole grains.