Breaking the Carbs Addiction

[swellmomma]

I have been thinking about this for a bit but am not really sure how exactly to proceed. We eat tons and tons of carbs. Pasta, potatoes, bread, cereal etc. We love our carbs. Ds12 is the worst for it. HE would live off of carbs alone if I let him. This kid will eat a whole loaf of bread, or a whole box of cereal at once. If carbs are available he gorges on them. I would not be surprised in the least if at least some of his behaviour issues were linked to that. SO the big question goes to how to cut back on carbs without going crazy from deprivation, and without completely breaking the bank (after all carbs are cheap and filling). I am hoping eventually to go gluten free, but for now I want to focus on the carb aspect not the gluten. I know that some carbs are still necessary for good health, but which ones and how much? If one normally gorges on them (and sneaks them if they are in the house) how do you still incorporate them into a healthy diet while making sure no one is over doing it?

[Mama Geek]

I consider good carbs to be low glycemic index carbs. Sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, brown rice instead or white rice, etc. For something sweet m&m's with peanuts or low glycemic index fruits like berries. Try to have lots of veggies with meals and a regular amount of protein. Dairy really helps as well, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese if you like that. Beans are filling so if you are willing to fix 2 different veggies make one of them something like pinto beans or black beans. Maybe set aside one 1 or 2 days a week that you will give yourselves a favorite treat. Also I would suggest for pizza a thin crust pizza.

[muffinmom]

insist on switching to all whole grains for any carbs you have in the house. it's not as easy to eat as much of those, meanwhile it should have a slower release in their systems. in other words, don't bring refined carbs into the house, bc they WILL be eaten.

 

cut down the portions, and make the veggies, fruits, and protein the stars of the show in a meal. make sure the snacks you offer are of the veggie, fruit, or dairy variety OR whole-grain carbs.

 

one thing we did was to not let ourselves eat any sweet treats unless we made them from scratch. we could ensure more quality ingredients that way, and it made us really have to decide how bad we wanted the treats.

 

hope that helps!

[ktgrok]

Use fruit and nuts for carb fixes. Maybe some oatmeal sometimes. And then base meals on veggies, rather than on carbs. Oh, and sweet potatoes are fine for most people. For instance, instead of chicken and mashed potatoes, we have a barbecue chicken salad. Instead of pasta and red sauce I make up sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc and then simmer it all with some italian sausages or meatballs and redsauce, and top it with some cheese when I serve it. Think veggies instead of carbs.

[Susan in TN]

Make small changes at a time.

 

We used to eat cold cereal or instant oatmeal every day for breakfast. That was 3 or 4 years ago. Now we have eggs 4 days/week, old fashioned oatmeal 1x/wk, yogurt/fruit parfait 1x/week, and gluten free blueberry biscuits or pancakes 1x/wk (usually Saturdays). Sundays before church we have eggs and pastries. Sometimes we'll have english muffin, toast, or bacon with the eggs. Once every couple weeks we'll have cereal.

 

So that's one meal per day cut way back on carbs.

 

I've created dinner menus - like the other posters here - that are based on veggies &/or meat rather than carb foods. We'll have pasta, rice, or bread a couple times a week with a meal. Sometimes sweetpotatoes. Otherwise, it's a couple different veggies, meat, and always a lettuce salad.

 

FWIW, I keep a good supply of bagels and mixed nuts for my teenage son, who really needs the extra calories - he has them for snacks. He's always eaten his weight in pasta :tongue_smilie: but I do encourage him to eat as much meat and veggies as possible at meals - and he is at the age where he is interested in and understands the nutritional issues behind different foods. So that might help in your quest.

 

Go slowly. There will be resistance, but as we all know, resistance is futile. They shall be assimilated. :D

[swellmomma]

Thanks ladies. Some of the ideas you gave I have tried but need to put more effort in. For somethings I guess it is a matter of making it a new habit. Like brown rice. None of us like it, when I have made it I used chicken oxo to flavour the water I cooked it in but then that was adding salt. We do love sweet potatoes around here so we eat those often. I guess the first thing I can change is the breakfast we eat, well that the kids eat since I rarely do. For a long time I only served them hot cereals (cream of wheat, red river, oatmeal) but then I got lazy about it again and we switched back to cold cereal and toast. So If I focus on that for a while maybe that will help and include more eggs etc into the mix.

 

Right now we have a lot of carb based meals, like spaghetti and meat sauce, or casseroles etc. Cheap and stretch our tiny bit of meat far kwim. Maybe if I increase the amount of veggies we serve so veggies on the side even if they are mixed in the casserole already, or serve some with meals we don't normally serve them with (like the spaghetti) that will help lower how many actual carbs we are eating.

 

I have never heard of cauliflower rice, where do you get that?

[MeghanL]

The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program is a book that can be checked out of the library and offers a really great program for cutting out sugar (& white carbs) from your diet without the mood crash that usually comes from diet changes.

[amy g.]

I'm going to disagree with the gradual approach and say that I think cold turkey is easier on everyone.

 

Today we had home grown sausage, eggs and salad for breakfast. The kids get their own lunch, but I can see by the compost that today they had peaches, bananas and trail mix. We are having fish, and cabbage and another salad for dinner.

 

I don't buy pasta, cereal, crackers, bread or cookies, but I don't restrict anything when we are out of the house. Yesterday we went out for lunch, and the kids had root beer floats, but they also requested side salads instead of fries with their meals.

 

I can't help you with ideas for making it cheaper, though. My food bills are out of sight, and increasing weekly.

[Anita in NC]

My downfall is carbs. I love bread and pasta.

 

Right now I'm trying a dairy free/gluten free diet. For one, I want to see if I have more energy without gluten in my diet. Secondly, I just want to be able to restrict what I can eat. Thirdly, I need to get my weight back under control since it has been sneaking up there recently.

 

I've been eating potatoes and brown rice instead of bread and pasta. I'm not tempted by these though, so I can eat a small portion and just be done.

 

We'll have to wait and see how long I last.

[Cindy in C-ville]

I've cut out the "white stuff" for myself and am headed this direction with the rest of the family. Katya would eat nothing but potatoes, bread, and sweets if I let her. I do think cold-turkey is a better way to cut the cravings. I want to do it before we get started with school b/c it's going to be rough for a few days, at least.