Fruit and Nuts

[pedro606]

Hi,
Please forgive me if this has already been covered many times before. I am just confused and need some clarification.

I am trying hard to eat less carbs as most of us are. I also understand that fruit and nuts are good BUT not ALL fruit and nuts.

I have been 'snacking' on them when I feel a bit hungry. From what I have read and probably not fully understood-- dried apricots and almonds are supposed to be good. Is that correct.

With that in mind I made a nice lamb type of tagine cooked in a slow cooker using apricots, almonds and powdered almonds. I had cauli rice with it. I also added leeks and spinach and some butter beans to the 'tagine' (not very Morroccan but it tasted nice).

If someone could help and clarify my misunderstandings on fruit and nuts-- I would appreciate it.

Are dried better than fresh. What about blueberries etc etc. What about bananas.

My wife gave me a dessert of fromage fraiche with some grapes(white) and some sliced banana-- it was very nice but my BSugar reading was about 8 after it. Something obvioulsy wrong there.

Thanks for any help and advice,

Pete

 

[sugarless sue]

Hi Perdo, one thing I could suggest is to get a carb counter book or find a site online.this way you can check out the carb content of fruits and other things that you would like to eat. Bananas are quite high in natural sugars but some diabetics can get away with eating them.
Dries fruits have concentrated amounts of sugars in them because of the drying process but are OK as long as you go easy on them.( I like dried fruits as well!)Again,we are all different and this is where testing comes in to play.
Nuts are good,but watch out for peanuts and cashews as these are higher in carbs because they are not a proper nut.

 

[pedro606]

Thanks for that. I have looed at Amazon.co.uk for a carb counter book but there are many mixed reviews on books available. I really need something so simple that a two year old could understand!!

Any ideas anyone or even a good web site.

Thanks,
Pete

 

[sugarless sue]

Collins Gem carb counter or calorie counter.Easy,portable and simple to use and not expensive.

 

[Dennis]

Hi Pete,

As Sue has said, get yourself the Collins Little Gem Carb Counter book - available from all bookshops at anything between £3 and £5.

To give a quick answer to your question about dried and fresh fruit:
one fresh apricot = 3.9g carb; one dried apricot (2 dried halves) = 4.25g
100g fresh black or white grapes = 15.5g carbs; 100g raisins or sultanas = 69.2g carbs
100g black or red currants = 6.6g; 100g dried currants = 68g
100g blueberries = 10.1g
one medium banana = 23.2g (bananas and dates are the two fruits with the highest amount of carbs)

As you can see, with most dried fruit the drying process gets rid of the water content. The sugar content stays the same, so an equivalent weight of dried fruit will nearly always have much more sugar than the fresh fruit.

 

[pedro606]

Dennis,

Many thanks for that. I have ordered that book on Amazon.

I love the dried apricots , they seemed sort of semi-dried,- must take it easy not to snack too much on them though. blueberries look OK though which is good.

It does look as though it is the bananas and grapes that have had an effect on me. Must tell my wife to stop buying them and then temptation is out of the way.

I was literally shocked that currants and sultanas were so so high. I used to put a lot of those in a so called healthy cerial breakfast. I have stopped having that cerial. I shall cut out the sultanas and currants as well now- I normally add them to the curries that I make. I have already substituted rice with cauli rice.

Looking for different ways now as what to add to cauli rice as I don't want to get fed up with it as I used to love my rice(my wife is from the Far East). I added some ground almonds last night and it was tasty. I just hope ground almonds are not high in Carbs as I would be defeating the object!

Regards,

Pete

 

[Dennis]

Hi Pete,

You are safe with almonds. They are low in carb and high in protein. They are also supposed to be very good for lowering cholesterol.

 

[Thirsty]

Pete, it's been said elsewhere but avoid peanuts and cashews as they're not nuts but legumes, and have a high carb content.

 

[pedro606]

Dennis and Thirsty,

Many thanks for that- something I never knew before. I have just had that book delivered and it is just what I was looking for- will be a great help.

Just one other thing- would you recommend eating shrimps/prawns. I bought a few avocardos the other day and my wife bought some prawn cocktail and we figured putting them both together. My wife said that she thinks prawns etc should be eaten in moderation- something to do with cholestrol. Any thoughts.


regards,

Pete

 

[Thirsty]

Prawns and other crustaceans do contain a fairly high amount of dietary cholesterol, so your wife's correct in advising moderate consumption. Also, be careful with prawn cocktail sauces, as some of the commercially produced varieties contain a hefty amount of sugar.

Scallops, mussels, cockles and other shellfish are a good alternative to prawns, and they're delicious.

 

[Doczoc]

With regard to cholesterol in prawns, there have been studies that show that dietary cholesterol has little if no effect on blood cholesterol levels. I say enjoy your prawns and avocado , but as Thirsty said, watch the dressing, it's easy enough to make a low sugar (carb) dressing.

 

[sugarless sue]

All sea-foods contain purines which are not good for you if you happen to suffer from gout!

 

[pedro606]

Would neuropathy in the feet come into the same category?

pete

 

[Thirsty]

All sea-foods contain purines which are not good for you if you happen to suffer from gout!

Gawd, you just can't win, can you? I'm off to the fishmongers for a dozen oysters so I can cut my fingers opening them and then watch my ankles swell up.

 

[Trinkwasser]

Fruits are very much suck it and see, I can manage strawberries blueberries and cherries as long as I keep the quantities down, and half an apple with a meal. Most everything else is off the menu, except for ripe grapes (the kind in a bottle, the grapes themselves are basically bags of sugar water)

I do sometimes eat *small* quantities of dried fruit mixed with larger quantities of nuts, the fat and protein slows down the carbs. The combination can be useful fuel for prolonged walking or gardening.

Prawns are good and especially good with avocado. They contain astaxanthin (so does salmon) which is a very useful chemical. Do heed Sue's warning about gout though. I like to fry them in some toasted sesame oil with sesame seeds and chillies and cashews, and often add other hot spices and other things like peppers, and eat them with a big handful of salad. The only downside is that 85% chocolate goes down soooo well after chillies . . .

 

[Bubsy Malone]

Blueberries and strawberries are my favourites as well, I like them with yoghurt for my breakfast - sometimes with a few blackberries thrown in for good measure