meoman said:
Is this the Pearl Barley based Scoth Broth I should try?
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... ley-recipe
or have you adapted a new one?
That's the one yes. one of the first recipes I tried when I decided to go low GI. You can use it out of the packet but you have to cook it for a long time, 45 to 60 mins is typical and oyu have to keep an eye on it to make sure the liquid doesn't dry up. Someone recently told me that they use it as a rice substitute and today I saw the Hairy Bikers use it for a paella instead of rice. Parboiled brown rice works for me though.
It's a shame the bread doesn't work for you yet. I had problems with porridge to begin with. It would put three of four points on my after breakfast readings but I just had smaller portion sizes and seemd to get used to it. Now it puts on half a point. The bread I have with molasses adds a couple of points, so I can't recommend it for sensitive types but the Sisu you asked about is listed on this page:
http://www.thehandmadebakery.coop/our-bread
It too has molasses but probably not as much as the hearth loaf.
With all these things brown rice, wholewheat pasta, rye breads, barley, porridge etc, it is a matter of testing before and after and seeing which are better than others. Then, portion sizes can also be varied. I found that, as my average levels came down, I could 'tolerate' some carbs which I couldn't eat before. I don't know why this is. However, I do exercise 15 mins twice daily. Now, a morning session on a rower and an afternoon session on a bike. It helps reduce de novo lipogenesis and plasma VLDL. There's something in that old saying about 'walking off a meal'.
This summer was great for my BG levels as I ate a lot of tinned fish with salads, mackerel, herring, tuna etc and salmon bakes, tuna pasta and pasta with sardines. If I eat a lot of fish, I will be mostly in the 4s and low 5s. I have found that I can eat 3 or 4 boiled new potatoes but mash is out. That's like eating sugar. In fact, I avoid even old potatoes.
I have a lot of trouble with shop bought chapatis and rotis. Even so called wholemeal usually spikes me but, if I make my own, I control the portion sizes and it's not too bad. Chickpeas, lentil curries etc are high in carbs but they are sslow release. Mt favourite at the moment though is a spinach and chicken curry. Literally, gently fry and soften finely chopped onion, add the chicken pieces and some garam massala spices and, when that's cooked, add a tin of spinach. I someties have it with brown rice but if I have a few boiled new potatoes as left overs, I put a few pieces in. The trick with these is to have the potato very firm. Very soft has too much simple sugar in it.