I haven't heard that phrase for a long time where T1 is concerned not by a diabetic health care professional at least... Last time I was giving any advice on this score is when I moved onto basal/bolus regime upon I was told if I didn't eat any carbs, for goodness don't inject!
So nope you don't need starchy carbs with every meal, but if you eating a high protein based meal, you might find that you need a small amount of insulin... As a percentage of Protein does break down into the glucose, which normal ratio within a meal that contains carbs the impact of the protein is negligible, but in larger quantities it can have an impact, so this is a case of trial and error to find out what amount you need, and best time inject (before or after eating)
Yep, when I was first diabetic vegetable items such as peas, onions, and salad products such as lettuce, tomatoes etc were freebies... But this at the time was due to the 2 injections a day regime and prescribed amount of carbs... Because these are all have very low quantities of carbs per portion the impact effect on the blood glucose was pretty much negligible...
I would also ask your DSN if there is a Carb Counting course you can attend, such as DAFNE (it might have a slightly different name in your area) this will give you a wealth of information concerning carb counting, and how to adjust your insulin etc... So are more than able to adjust your insulin to the amount of carbs or not you chose to eat