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Spuds vs Squashes etc

ladybird64

ladybird64

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Type of diabetes
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Dishonesty, selfishness and lack of empathy.
Morning all.

Just a general question for those in the know. Which would have a higher carb content, potatoes or veggies like butternut squash, mashed swede etc?

I guess a lot would depend on how they are prepared so lets says a meal of meat and veg, spuds (not new ones) either roasted or boiled, same for the squash and swede.

I intend to lower my spud intake even more which isn't too much of a trial as I am not the biggest fan but I do like squash etc and wonder if it would be too damaging to eat those instead with my usual portions of leafy greens.

Ta muchly :)
 
Hi ladybird. You're right, how food is prepared has a big effect not on carb content, but GI and therefore how big spike is. Mashing releases starches and makes GI worse. Old potatoes boiled are really bad for me. Roasting is better 'cos less starches, and the fat slows the release of glucose. I find most squashes ok. But tend to roast them. Roast sweet potatoes are quite good. Same for butternut. Parsnips bad as we know. Carrots not great, but roasted seem o.k. If you want boiled pots, you do need to go for new ones. If you google "carb content of veg" you'll get some useful sites
 
I have replaced spuds with celeriac and swede .I either roast them in the same way you would potatoes
or boil them and roughly chop together rather than mash ,this makes a good topping for a meat mixture to make a shepherds pie or a fish pie .My husband who is not DB enjoys these veg instead of spuds so I dont buy them any more . The difference in carbs between celeriac and spuds is about 15g depending how they are cooked
CAROL
 
I agree, celeriac or swede make a good substitute for the carby potatoes, if you are feeling adventurous try making the celeriac roesti or these radish fritters http://lchf.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=2803. I laughed when I heard of radish fritterss, sounded totally weird to me. But I decided to give it a whirl, made celeriac roesti and radish fritters, served with dips, everyone loved them, I couldnt make them fast enough. They come very close to a 'potato-ey' accompaniment to meats, sausages, fish, etc or just eaten on their own with nice dips.
 
Many thanks for the replies folks. :)

I will be truthful here (I'm among friends aren't I? :wink: ) and say that I have only tried Celeriac once, if memory serves I mashed it and none of us were very keen on it at all. But then again, I am not noted for my domestic goddess capabilities in the kitchen... :P

Also it seems to be rather expensive. I am on a tight budget and at the moment butternut squash seems to be very cheap, £1 each at Sainsbury's and they go a long way. I usually just chop them into bits and sprinkle with seasonings..I have a ton of herbs and spices such as cumin, coriander, fennel seed etc. I then just roast them in the oven.

Swede is ok, we usually have that mashed..with butter ahem..but I didn't ever think of roasting it!
I will try and give celeriac another go to see if my taste has changed! :lol: Luckily I am really not that pushed about spuds so it's not too much of a problem and as I said, I love greens so I just up my intake of those...I just like to have lots of ideas so I don't feel I'm depriving myself!

While I'm here I am going to have a mini moan.

We all eat lots of veg (although I'm married to a Glaswegian that loves his tatties, mince, pieces and jam etc) and we have brought our family up that way. BUT..it is so difficult for families on tight incomes to eat a good varied diet with lots of fruit and veg, especially when the processed foods are so much cheaper!
We are on benefits due to circumstances beyond our control although I hope to return to work at some point and trying to buy fresh is not an easy task. Although I don't condone it, I can understand why some young mums and dads can't see past the frozen chips and burgers for their youngsters..it really is a very sad situation.
 
ladybird64 said:
BUT..it is so difficult for families on tight incomes to eat a good varied diet with lots of fruit and veg, especially when the processed foods are so much cheaper!
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ladybird64 said:
trying to buy fresh is not an easy task. Although I don't condone it, I can understand why some young mums and dads can't see past the frozen chips and burgers for their youngsters..it really is a very sad situation.
Click to expand...

Don't quite get this. Don't mean to be critical, but potatos are a lot cheaper than frozen chips and it's easy to make your own chips surely. Mince is cheap as anything for making your own (much better) burgers. A whole chicken only costs a few pounds and does us at least three meals. (A roast, cold with (fresh) chips and a risotto or similar)
 
I totally take your point on this Malc but to be honest, when presented with the option of making your own chips or just taking them out of the bag and straight into the oven, the second option wins for a lot of people..I'm also not too sure about fresh spuds being cheaper.

Same goes for mince and burgers, packet of ten frozen burgers (cheap and nasty admittedly) can be bought for a pound, less than mince.

I think another part of the problem with the popularity of the processed muck (apparently I used a rude word on my previous post!)is that it comes from a lack of knowledge about fresh simple food and basic cooking skills, if nobody teaches them, how do they know how to cook? Yes, I know we think it's simple enough but I'm in my late forties and I have a feeling you're a bit past the spring chicken stage ( :wink: ) and we have acquired the knowledge of how to make meals from not a lot and with not a lot of effort.

My grandkids favourites are grandma's veggie soup and grandma's "sgetti" (cheap and cheerful)..there is hope for the up and coming young generation! :D
 
When I first worked abroad I can remember being very short of money. Not close to relatives so couldn't pop in for a fill up. Didn't have a credit card etc. I used to buy something like a chicken and make a roast, which then became a stew and then a curry. If I couldn't afford the chicken bit I just had the veg. I can remember my flatmate and I were in the same boat until payday one day and all we had in the cupboard was a jar of jalopeneo peppers and some leftover spirit of somesort-not very healthy but we had a laugh.
I think what I am getting at is that its possible to make good hearty meals relatively cheaply. After all my parents used to buy a joint for Sunday that seemed to last all week in various guises. I hated the infamous bubble and squesk though. I don't think it's the cost of food that deters to-day many younger people now really don't know how to make tasty food out of virtually nothing.It's much easier to get a cheap takeaway etc than shop, prepare, cook and clean up.Sorry I'm soapboxing and I'm just as guilty sometimes.
 
Butternut squash (raw) has 8.3g carb per 100g on average.

Smidge
 
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