Weekly Menu – The Low(er) Carb Edition

I had an appointment with an RN at a diabetes management program last week. The thing she stressed over and over to me was carbs, carbs, carbs. She told me not to be too concerned with calories at this point, but to try and get myself to a range of 150-200 grams of carbohydrates per day. This includes not just breads, grains, rice, etc. but also fruit. She said the carbs from things like veggies and nuts are negligible at this point and don’t need to be counted.

The goal is 3 carb “servings” of 15 grams each for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus one carb serving for a snack. 15 grams * 3 meals = 45 grams per meal plus one 15 gram snack. This can be expanded up to 20 grams per serving, or 20 grams * 3 meals = 60 grams per meal plus one 20 gram snack. Basically, I can break it up however I like.

Meal planning this week was tough. 15 gram servings of most things, especially rice and noodles, don’t seem worth eating. 1/3 of a cup of cooked rice is like 2 spoonfuls. Meh.

With an eye toward cutting the carbs, here’s our weekly menu:

• Sundried tomato crusted tilapia with asparagus and mashed cauliflower
• Savoy cabbage soup with basil chicken saugages and Wasa flatbread
• Chicken breast with broccoli & water chestnuts and spaghetti squash
• Dreamfields pasta with baby portabellas in olive oil and garlic, slice of bread
• BBQ chicken tender sammies with salad
• Tofu stuffed mushrooms with mushroom risotto