Testing tolerance for different foods

[lovinglife]

I had my curry tonight with....
... a spoon!

No rice, only a few green beans on top but they are optional

Me too! Usually the only thing I have with curry these days is …. More curry!

 

[gogobroom]

Me too! Usually the only thing I have with curry these days is …. More curry!

I tend to go for a Jalfrezi, then add a side of Mushroom Bhaji, or some other mushroom based started/side - never been a great fan of rice anyway - I do find that less than half a garlic naan doesn't raise my BG too much either, rice on the other hand sky rocket ....

 

[retrogamer]

Me too! Usually the only thing I have with curry these days is …. More curry!

Nothing wrong with that, only reason I used to have so much bread is because I prefer an ultra spicy curry. It was more to ease the burning sensation.
Haven't had the bottle to try one without anything extra yet but peas don't seem to affect me so I might try a bowl of curry and peas

I had coq au vin a couple of nights ago, sauce from a packet rather than from scratch. Had a couple of small whole potatoes with it. My BG rocketed to 10.9 and took several hours to come back down so, not sure if potatoes or something else in the sauce mix but I won't be having that again.
I want a curry now!!

 

[lovinglife]

Nothing wrong with that, only reason I used to have so much bread is because I prefer an ultra spicy curry. It was more to ease the burning sensation.
Haven't had the bottle to try one without anything extra yet but peas don't seem to affect me so I might try a bowl of curry and peas

I had coq au vin a couple of nights ago, sauce from a packet rather than from scratch. Had a couple of small whole potatoes with it. My BG rocketed to 10.9 and took several hours to come back down so, not sure if potatoes or something else in the sauce mix but I won't be having that again.
I want a curry now!!

I don’t know what it could be for you, for myself I know it would be the packet sauce rather than the 2 small potatoes, those sauces are usually carby mostly with sugar, but you’re very early in your journey and still learning what YOU can tolerate. Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll soon have it sorted

As to the curry accompaniment I sometimes have a saag paneer side dish - one takeaway that we use on the odd occasion does fried okra which is a great soak up for curry

 

[retrogamer]

I don’t know what it could be for you, for myself I know it would be the packet sauce rather than the 2 small potatoes, those sauces are usually carby mostly with sugar, but you’re very early in your journey and still learning what YOU can tolerate. Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll soon have it sorted

As to the curry accompaniment I sometimes have a saag paneer side dish - one takeaway that we use on the odd occasion does fried okra which is a great soak up for curry

Might have to try again with a home made sauce because I do like coq au vin. The potatoes were a couple of salad (Charlotte) potatoes so not huge.

Saag paneer sounds interesting, I'll have to check that out.

 

[retrogamer]

Bit the bullet yesterday re: the curry situation. Had some leftover pork so I chopped it up and made up a curry.
I make my own using madras powder rather than using cooking sauces because I prefer the taste and I can adjust the spice to suit at the time.

Anyway, a nice generous scoop of hot, spicy curry with a decent helping of peas, not with the usual chips or bread!
BG didn't even flutter. Checked after a couple of hours and no significant movement. Checked this morning and stayed pretty level all night.

I did actually get a drop to about 3.7 at around 4am (woke up and checked) but I'm not concerned about that as I know these things aren't 100% accurate. I had an alert a few days ago because the libre 2 thought my BG was 3.8 so I did a finger prick test and that showed 4.4
Anyhow, curry is definitely back on the menu, I have a tub of it in the fridge now.

 

[catinahat]

Anyway, it seems that pasta didn't affect me as much as the sandwich did so it would obviously be slightly better for me.

You need to change how you think about food, especially carbs.
The pasta is not slightly better, it's very slightly less worse .
Having said that it might be possible for you to include it. Did you make a note of the amount of pasta? You could try the meal again with a smaller amount, it might give you better results. Also the sauce needs considering, shop brought sauces often have more carbs than you would think, usually laced with sugar to improve the flavour.

 

[retrogamer]

shop brought sauces often have more carbs than you would think, usually laced with sugar to improve the flavour.

This is something I am learning rapidly. I'm trying to move more towards home made sauces which will undoubtedly be better for me but time is sometimes a defining factor. If I haven't got the time though I'll just have to do without.

Yeah the pasta result was a bit misleading, I did try again a day or 2 later and my BG shot up. Pasta is a no-no for now.
It's not so much about changing how I think about foods, I am intentionally trying various foods that I previously ate in abundance when I was ignorant towards my diet. It is purely so I can gauge the reaction my body has whilst I am using the libre 2 CGM.
For example, many online sources suggest that peas (my favourite vegetable) are bad for diabetics, they appear to have virtually no effect on my BG levels at all. I ate 100g (frozen weight) of them last night and my sugar levels remained stable all night.
I've read that some people simply cannot tolerate them though.

High carb items like bread and pasta always send my BG skyrocketing within about 20-30 minutes

 

[Dancing Badger]

So, I decided to try the pasta dish again as it was just so darn tasty!
Guess the results from day 1 were skewed in some way. Maybe something to do with me only just applying the CGM monitor?? BG before was 4.6, 2 hours after it was 7.8, it reached a peak according to the graph in the app of about 8.9 approximately 3-4 hours after eating.

Pasta is off the menu!

I'll be going carb free for a day or so to give my body a break. I'll still be monitoring my levels because I'm not 100% sure if everything I do eat is ok for me. Some items have a very low amount of carbs but as you know, it's pretty impossible to avoid everything.

I'm probably asking the bleedin' obvious, but did you check out the carb content in the bolognese sauce mix?

 

[retrogamer]

I'm probably asking the bleedin' obvious, but did you check out the carb content in the bolognese sauce mix?

Yes I did, quite high actually which I expected. 57.1g per 100g so that definitely wouldn't help. Is it possible to make a low carb Bolognese sauce? I don't know, I'll have to check. Maybe try pasta with a lower carb sauce and see what happens.

I'm just drooling over a lasagne now!

 

[JenniferM55]

Pasta sauce is dead easy, using tinned Napolina tomatoes (Tesco have a special offer 4 x 400g tins for £2.50 atm), Napolina don't have any sugar added, 3.6g carbs for 100g

Chop an onion (or more if you can afford the carbs), garlic and Italian Seasoning (I use dried oregano and a bit of dried hot pepper) and seasoning. Mix the 4 tins of tomato and the other chopped ingredients together and freeze in recipe size bags. You can drain out some of the tomato juice if you like.

Just add a bag to browned mince and cook as you would with a jar of pasta sauce. Or pour the sauce over chicken breasts that's also nice with mozzarella over the top.

 

[becca59]

Try cooking the pasta-your own not ready done in a supermarket meal-plunge into cold water then reheat in boiling water. Top with homemade bolognaise.

 

[Margarettt]

Pasta sauce is dead easy, using tinned Napolina tomatoes (Tesco have a special offer 4 x 400g tins for £2.50 atm), Napolina don't have any sugar added

You are even fancier than me @JenniferM55 I just check whatever tin of chopped tomato has no added sugar and pour it over mince, meatballs etc. Straight from the tin. No one has complained yet and believe me they know how. I count 3 carbs for my quarter of the tin.

 

[Dancing Badger]

Yes I did, quite high actually which I expected. 57.1g per 100g so that definitely wouldn't help. Is it possible to make a low carb Bolognese sauce? I don't know, I'll have to check. Maybe try pasta with a lower carb sauce and see what happens.

I'm just drooling over a lasagne now!

Homemade bolognese is infinitely better and has far fewer carbs than anything that comes out of a packet. I make a huge pot of it to portion and freeze. It makes a quick meal when served with 60g of wholewheat pasta (raw weight), topped with grated Parmesan or your choice of cheese. That’s one meal that has virtually no effect on my BG - but of course we’re all different.

 

[MrsA2]

I'm just drooling over a lasagne now!

Lasagne is perfectly possible
Use a low carb bolognaise like the posts above and layer it with either:
Cheèse slices, the rubberier the better
Leaves from a savoy cabbage cooked first in water until just soft
Best of all, both the above.
Top with a cheese sauce made from cream cheese with grated cheese added.

Some might use low carb pasta sheets but I've never found one I like, or can afford

 

[retrogamer]

Leaves from a savoy cabbage cooked first in water until just soft

This is the only bit that would be a problem for me, can't stand cabbage.
I still need to get some lupin flour, someone else said it makes a decent pasta. Might try it. I definitely don't want to try almond flour.
I'm pretty sure I've read about other alternatives to make the layers.

 

[Dancing Badger]

This is the only bit that would be a problem for me, can't stand cabbage.
I still need to get some lupin flour, someone else said it makes a decent pasta. Might try it. I definitely don't want to try almond flour.
I'm pretty sure I've read about other alternatives to make the layers.

The Hairy Bikers used leeks cut lengthwise along one side and opened out to make the layers.

 

[LivingLightly]

The Hairy Bikers used leeks cut lengthwise along one side and opened out to make the layers.

Yes, leeks are in season. I've also used aubergines cut lengthwise.

 

[lovinglife]

I’ve used cooked split leeks, aubergines, I’ve also used nothing just layered the bolognaise and cheese sauce in an oven proof dish, also done it on top of cooked chicken breasts

 

[KennyA]

Yes I did, quite high actually which I expected. 57.1g per 100g so that definitely wouldn't help. Is it possible to make a low carb Bolognese sauce? I don't know, I'll have to check. Maybe try pasta with a lower carb sauce and see what happens.

I'm just drooling over a lasagne now!

It is very easy. A basic tomato sauce is grated carrot/celery/onion, tomatoes (usually plain tinned), garlic. Bacon/pancetta. Salt and pepper, bit of basil. You can use tomato paste if you want a thicker sauce. I usually fry the bacon or pancetta and then cook the veg in the fat. Beef or pork mince added before the tomatoes go in.