Anyone have resources for recipes/meal plans including middle eastern cuisine? We're newly diagnosed Type 2 with high cholesterol, so low fat, low sugar, low carb. The only thing that comes to mind is the ever-popular carrot sticks soaked in lemon juice and cumin--yum, but I think we'd get hungry pretty quick unless we expand the menu! :roll:
-
Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »
calling all middle-eastern cuisine lovers
- Thread starter emkamel
- Start Date
WhitbyJet
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,597
I know its all so overwhelming and confusing at first, but you can learn to adapt meals to make them lower carb.
Also you might not have to go extremely low carb, find out by testing before meals and 2 hours after, see if food causes spikes. If something causes a spike you might only need to reduce the portion size, have loads of low carb veg to make up for the reduction.
You said in another post that you miss rice and potatoes, you can try small portions of Basmati rice and new potatoes are lower in carb than old ones. Experiment, be flexible, its not the end of the world, its just something new in your life that you can learn to deal with, you will feel better for it.
Incidentally, if you are low carbing you dont need to reduce fat intake, make sure you use good fats, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, lard, etc, stay away from vegetable oils.
If you give me any ideas of what your normal meals consist of, maybe I can help you make them into lower carb versions. Its even possible to make your own lower carb pitta breads, so dont despair, it will work out ok, focus on what you can eat and not on what you cannnot eat.
Check out the low carb recipes thread, you might find one or two recipes that appeal, try something new, adapt recipes by adding spices to suit your tastes, to give you one example, there is a recipe for celeriac roesti, one of my friends adds cumin and coriander to the original recipe, use your imagination.
I have a few recipe suggestions here for you.
http://paleomiddleeastern.blog.com/2011 ... casserole/
Baba Ghanoujh as a dip
Ingredients
3 tomatoes\raw, peeled and cut into wedges
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsps. lime juice
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsps. olive oil
1 lb. ground lamb
2 tsps. mint, or 2 Tbs. fresh, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese\grated, crumbled
8 Kalamata or black olives, pitted and finely chopped
4 pita breads, cut in half
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
Combine tomatoes and cucumbers in a salad bowl. Combine next 4
ingredients and salt and pepper to taste in a jar with a tight-fitting
lid. Shake vigorously. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss. Cover
and set aside. Turn on grill. Combine lamb and next 3 ingredients in
a mixing bowl. Gently form into 1 inch thick patties. Season with
salt and pepper to taste. Grill burgers 4-5 minutes per side or until
lamb is slightly pink inside. Serve burgers in pita bread pockets with
tomato and cucumber mixture. Top with a dollop of yogurt.
I hope some of this helps.
Also you might not have to go extremely low carb, find out by testing before meals and 2 hours after, see if food causes spikes. If something causes a spike you might only need to reduce the portion size, have loads of low carb veg to make up for the reduction.
You said in another post that you miss rice and potatoes, you can try small portions of Basmati rice and new potatoes are lower in carb than old ones. Experiment, be flexible, its not the end of the world, its just something new in your life that you can learn to deal with, you will feel better for it.
Incidentally, if you are low carbing you dont need to reduce fat intake, make sure you use good fats, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, lard, etc, stay away from vegetable oils.
If you give me any ideas of what your normal meals consist of, maybe I can help you make them into lower carb versions. Its even possible to make your own lower carb pitta breads, so dont despair, it will work out ok, focus on what you can eat and not on what you cannnot eat.
Check out the low carb recipes thread, you might find one or two recipes that appeal, try something new, adapt recipes by adding spices to suit your tastes, to give you one example, there is a recipe for celeriac roesti, one of my friends adds cumin and coriander to the original recipe, use your imagination.
I have a few recipe suggestions here for you.
http://paleomiddleeastern.blog.com/2011 ... casserole/
Baba Ghanoujh as a dip
Ingredients
3 tomatoes\raw, peeled and cut into wedges
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsps. lime juice
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsps. olive oil
1 lb. ground lamb
2 tsps. mint, or 2 Tbs. fresh, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese\grated, crumbled
8 Kalamata or black olives, pitted and finely chopped
4 pita breads, cut in half
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
Combine tomatoes and cucumbers in a salad bowl. Combine next 4
ingredients and salt and pepper to taste in a jar with a tight-fitting
lid. Shake vigorously. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss. Cover
and set aside. Turn on grill. Combine lamb and next 3 ingredients in
a mixing bowl. Gently form into 1 inch thick patties. Season with
salt and pepper to taste. Grill burgers 4-5 minutes per side or until
lamb is slightly pink inside. Serve burgers in pita bread pockets with
tomato and cucumber mixture. Top with a dollop of yogurt.
I hope some of this helps.
Thanks for the encouragement--we're checking out the great site on low-carb ME cuisine. Also trying to be sensible with the new challenges--I appreciate the comments on occasional indulgences as being okay, that it is the overall strategy that will have the most impact. Time to rediscover veggies! :wink:
Hi there. I am a middle eastern cuisine lover myself. My husband and I went on a trip over there and though his diet was limited, we both loved the food. He just had to be very safe in evaluating the menu. I wanted to share a site with you that I use a lot to look up meals and recipes. I'm not sure about how big their menu is in this category but you might be able to find something. Good luck 
http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/diabetic-recipes/
http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/diabetic-recipes/