If hearing eliminating carbs from your diet makes you not diet you are just like me. Not all carbs are bad , just like people there are some good ones. Here is a list of 10 good carbs you can actually eat.
10.) Brown rice: The key here is brown, with the fiber husks in place. Rice allergies are rare and it digests readily without too much distress, bloating or gas. It is best for fat loss to keep serving sizes under 1 cup cooked or 1/2 cup dry weight.
9.) Steel cut whole oatmeal: This is the whole oat with all valuable fiber and nutrients in tact. It takes a bit longer to cook, but the nutty flavor and slower insulin response are worth it. As with brown rice, keep serving sizes under 1 cup cooked or 1/2 cup dry weight.
8.) Quinoa: Love this stuff!! Another high fiber, gluten-free cereal grain. Higher fiber and mineral content than the oats or rice for even better insulin control. If taste doesn’t suit you at first, mix 1:1 with oatmeal until you get used to it. Once you are, you’ll be hooked.
7.) Yams/sweet potatoes: These are best prepared baked, in the skin. Not much more carbs than a regular russet of similar size, but more fiber, vitamins and minerals. I like them baked, then refrigerated cold and sprinkled with a little cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
6.) Winter squashes: Butternut, pumpkin, spaghetti or acorn squash are all very nutritious and now can be found in markets year round in most places. Cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and bake them skin side up
. Yum!! These are full of fiber, vitamins and minerals and a nice change of pace. Good stuff, trust me. 🙂
5.) Peas and Legumes: Most beans varieties and green peas for this option. Choose from black, pinto, navy, kidney, white, red, chickpeas, garbanzo, etc. beans or green peas, as all of these are high fiber and very filling. Protein content, along with the fiber, fills you up without filling you out by keeping insulin response low. For best results, soak and cook slowly. As a snack, try hummus! (Make it your self)
4.) Colorful fibrous veggies: Red, yellow and orange bell peppers, green beans, beets, yellow summer squash, zucchini, purple eggplant, carrots, parsnips, red and green chili peppers… the colors mean carotenoids, and plenty of mixed carotenoids means more antioxidant coverage. A wide variety of colorful vegetables in your diet will improve your health and make your skin glow. Gotta love them veggies!!
3.) Super fruits: Fruits are great foods, full of fiber and enzymes, and with their quick digestion yet slow insulin response makes them ideal for an instant energy boost. But not all fruits are created equal and most don’t even make this list, but a select few make it almost to the top. Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates, cranberries, and acai are amazing foods. You will feel the difference when you eat them versus other fruits. They are excellent when your sick, or when you workout hard, for that extra level of protection.
2.) Leafy green vegetables: Kale, sea kelp, turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, beet greens, chlorella, wheat grass, endive, alfalfa sprouts, spring green lettuces, spirulina, and spinach are so low calorie, yet so nutrient dense, they rank very high on my preferred carbohydrate list. Include these several meals a week and they will cover almost any base you missed. Almost #1, but we are almost there..
Any #1 is……
1.) Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, bok choy, napa cabbage, and Chinese cabbage are maybe not as high in micronutrients as the leafy green vegetables or super fruits, yet they contain DIM or Diindolymethane, a phytonutrient that acts as an estrogen disposal agent. Excess estrogen plagues almost anyone who is overweight or has practiced poor dietary habits for any amount of time. When you rid yourself of excess estrogen, you free up testosterone to do its job of building muscle at the expense of body fat. It is best to consume these incredible foods in large quantities. My fav is broccoli rabe or baby bok choy, saut?ed in a little olive oil, with sea salt and garlic. Yum!!!
OR…try mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes, it’s awesome!!!
There you go. Now you have the ulimate list of my favorite carbs to get you lean or KEEP you lean all year long. Print this out and hit up the store today, don’t delay!
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