Adore eggplant, which I roast in thin-ish slices (1/4", but you can experiment) in the toaster oven, right on the rack, sometimes brushed with oil, sometimes not. (I’m a fan of lemon pepper.) They freeze well, defrost in a few minutes and are a treat (well, to me,) just as they are, with some fresh chopped tomatoes and basil, or thrown over a salad. Or you can use them in a parm recipe, reducing the cheese to just favor the dish (good parm does it, or you can use mozz, but you really don’t need it to be gooey) and skipping the bread crumbs.
This will sound so minimalist, but was delightful: a friend served a big bowl of wide slices of yellow, orange and purple peppers, with a light dip. Fresh from the farmer’s market that am.
And I use peppers (and sometimes eggplant, depends on my mood,) for a riff on ratatouille. I usually use fresh chopped tomatoes, not sauce, oregano, and that ever-present lemon pepper.
@sseamom – I have eaten the Shiritaki noodles, but not as a substitute for Italian-style pasta. (More as a sub for ramen-style noodles). I actually have an unopened package in my frig right now,but they are just there for an emergency in case I have some sort of insatiable desire for noodles. I started dieting in June because I wanted to take off 15 lb for my daughter’s August wedding --and the Shiritaki helped with that, mostly because eating a modest amount left me feeling really bloated and not hungry. So I didn’t really like it and would recommend starting out with very small portions to try. I only ate them the one time – basically it seemed to help me get over the cravings with my diet, but after that I adjusted pretty easily to a diet of around 950 calories a day.
But I’ve decided that if I want a pasta substitute, I like the spiralized zucchini better. That, combined with going for a much smaller ratio of pasta to toppings, when I really feel like having the real stuff.
Scrambled eggs w/ sautéed veggies in them. I’m partial to onions, red peppers, and spinach but whatever you like can work. Sometimes a little cheese - feta, gruyere, or sharp cheddar. A few dashes of Frank’s Red hot sauce on top.
Remember you do likely need some good carbs to start the day - your body hasn’t eaten for hours so a piece of good grained bread (not that white english muffin or wonder bread or 1/2 loaf of french bread!) with an egg is delicious.
Ants on a log - really! Celery or carrots with PB and a little dried fruit (key word, little)
Veggie sticks and cheese and a little plain yogurt and fruit.
Brown and serve sausages. The best tasting brand is Jones. Runner up is Jimmy Dean pork and turkey. NOT the plain turkey, they’re awful.
I can only eat so many eggs. My egg options are either two 11 minute eggs, peeled and chopped into a bowl with a pat of butter and S&P, or eggs scrambled with vegetables and a little cheese, a la doschicos. Leftover veggies from the night before are great.
And don’t overlook the possibility of having last night’s leftovers. When I make cauliflower gratin there’s always quite a bit left over, and I have some for breakfast.
For many of us who are working at keeping our blood sugar on an even keel, morning is the worst time to eat carbs, because of the “dawn phenomenon” that boosts blood sugar anyway.
I just remember a favorite low carb hors d’oeuvres: Spuma di Tonno. It’s delicious and easy to make. I serve it with angle-cut cucumber slices and red pepper slices. Sometimes, in the summer, I just have that for dinner.
I usually use two can of tuna, and adjust the other ingredients accordingly. (Cans I find are always smaller than he calls for, so it is not quite doubling the recipe.) If I don’t have heavy cream in the house I just add a little more butter.
And yes, salt your eggplant unless you roast it whole.
I also make my own sauce. Just saute some chopped garlic in olive oil, add a can of crushed tomatoes, a handful of Italian seasoning, and simmer around 15 minutes. Add whatever else you like (basil, mushrooms, etc.). Couldn’t be easier, no added sugar needed. The tomatoes are sweet enough. Tastes better than any jarred sauce, cheaper too. Whole thing is under a dollar.
I picked up a package of these at Costco the other day - Superfood Veggie Cakes. They aren’t bad. I served them as a side the other night when we had soup and I’ve had them a couple of mornings for breakfast along with a scrambled egg. 10 grams of carbs… http://www.gardenlites.com/club/superfood-veggie-cakes
@ManhattanBoro , here’s my new favorite breakfast, as I too used to be a cereal fan:
One cup (or less) of plain Greek yogurt, mixed with any combination of the following: toasted almonds, walnuts, just a sprinkling of granola (less than 1/4 cup – I buy the less sweetened brands or make my own), and frozen raspberries or blackberries, which have fewer carbs than most other fruit.
It’s not carb free, but very filling and gives me the same energy that I would otherwise get from eggs and a piece of toast. When I ate cereal for breakfast, I’d often get sleepy well before lunch, drink coffee to perk up, then be ravenous for lunch and overeat.
Even the new-ish American Diabetes Assn diet includes carbs, but in balance with protein and the rest (and, of course, it’s all portion controlled. Imo, it’s a great diet for middle aged women who yo-yo’d over time and now have some body resistance to many weight loss schemes. ) Of course, your own doc’s advice will be custom for you.
The American Diabetes Association has historically NOT been a good source of nutritional recommendations for T2 diabetics who are not on insulin. They fully bought into the food pyramid, and are supported by Big Ag and Big Pharma. It is wise to take anything they say–much of which can be contradictory–with a big grain of salt. As of 5 or 6 years ago, most educational material aimed at diabetics assumed–for good reason–that most people would not be compliant, and tried to at least make some progress by switching them from highly processed to whole grains. Friends of mine described huge resistance in groups they attended to the idea of switching from white to brown rice. "“But but takes longer to cook!”
That said, I haven’t looked at their recs for about 5 years, so maybe they have finally seen the light.
You’re right, Consolation, last I looked, it is based on the new pyramid. I know wise eating for diabetics needs to be individualized, with one’s doc or nutritionist. Can’t be emphasized enough, imo. Eg, my mother could eat potatoes and see no impact in her numbers (genetics, I joked.) But not rice.
My egg options are either two 11 minute eggs, peeled and chopped into a bowl with a pat of butter and S&P, or eggs scrambled with vegetables and a little cheese, a la doschicos. Leftover veggies from the night before are great.