"Janet Wilder" > wrote in message
eb.com...
> Ophelia,
>
> Can you get an appointment with a diabetes educator? It's probably the
> best thing to do when first diagnosed. You will learn how to count
> carbohydrates and what foods are good for you and what foods are not.
>
> It's a much more professional deal than a newsgroup, sweetie.
>

Or not. Mine certainly hasn't been very helpful in terms of food. But then
I have met with many dieticians prior and I do know how to portion control,
carb count, etc. So perhaps she figured there wasn't much she could do
there. She did make some suggestions to Angela though on food choices.

I would however suggest some sort of book or online source for carb counts.
When I was first diagnosed, I got Corinne Netzer's book. Not sure if there
is a version for other countries. But... Much of it didn't apply to me
since it does focus on restaurant meals and prepared foods. And that's the
thing with prepared foods. At least they are required to give you the carb
counts. When you cook from scratch, you don't have that handy.

Does someone know of an online source for this. I know they exist. It's
just that by now, I pretty much have it all memorized so I don't look much
up. If I do need to know of something, I just look up that individual item.

One food that did surprise me was parsnips. I assumed since they look like
a carrot, the carb count would be similar. Nope. They're more like a
potato. Fortunately, I didn't care for them at all. I think they used more
often in the UK than they are here. I hadn't eaten one at all until a few
years ago.

Oh and... Another useful bit of information that you probably already know
but might not be thinking of. A portion size of a raw food would be more
than for cooked. Reason being that the food cooks down to a smaller and
therefore more concentrated state. So... One cup of raw carrots has about
the same carb count as 1/2 cup of cooked. Cup being 8 fl. oz. Sorry, I
speak American when it comes to cooking. And... If you eat too many
vegetables, even low carb ones, those carbs can really add up.

When I was first diagnosed, a favorite meal was a huge salad. I used a
serving bowl. All kinds of greens, onion, tomato, carrots, celery, peppers,
cheese, olives and nuts and usually a serving of kidney or garbanzo beans.
Sounds low carb except for the beans. But... I was eating so much in terms
of vegetables that those carbs added up to be plenty enough for one meal.
No need to add a piece of bread or anything else.