Posted: 9/16/2010 4:51:28 PM EDT
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Working on my diet and health in general. I was told to avoid white flour carbs like the plague, including white potatoes and white rice. Sweet potatoes and brown rice OK in decent portion sizes.
1. How do you make brown rice more exciting? 2. Any other "good" carbs? 3. How about lentils? My wife isn't near as on board w/ the food is fuel, and is craving a bit more variety. Thanks! K |
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I am to a stage in my diet where i am really trying to fine tune my relationship with carbohydrates. I am by no means an anti-carb dieter (in fact i am against that whole idea), but i am trying to make my carb intake as efficient as possible. So i am experimenting with a lot of different carb schemes. I guess all of that is still under investigation, eventually i would like to get to a diet in which all carbs are tied exactly and perfectly to workouts, pre and post. I am not there yet though...
anyway. 1. Brown rice. I do like it plain, but sometimes i spice it up by making a pseudo Spanish rice. before it is done cooking (i.e. some liquid present) i add a pinch of garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, ground chipotle, and enough salsa (pace) to get a good mix (maybe 1-2 tablespoons per cup of cooked rice). Let it finish and its pretty tasty, and salsa only adds like 8-15 calories to your serving. Another trick to add a dimension of complexity to brown (or any) rice is as follows. before adding water or rice to your pan, get in real hot and toss in a tiny bit of EVOO , some grated carrot and a touch of finely minced onion(plus salt and pepper). sweat out the carrot mix, and add the appropriate amount of water about when the carrots and onions start to caramelize. before you add rice, make sure to rub the pan bottom to release any cooked on flavor. Add rice and cook as directed. When the rice is finished cooking, fluff it a little and crank the heat back up for a moment. Now finish the rice with a tablespoon of white vinegar. The pan should be hot and the vinegar will cook of fast, mix the rice around as it cooks off. This will add a whole new level of flavor and texture to your plain jane rice. The sugars in the onions+carrots, the salt, and the slight sourness from the vinegar finish cover pretty much all the flavor bases, and provide your pallet with a full, balanced experience. I know this is a bit long winded, but try it out it is pretty simple once you give it a go. 2. Other good carbs. The entire weight-loss, dieting, fitness, and body building universe seems to agree that oatmeal (real, not that microwave flavor packet style) is about as good as carbs get. I also really like Kashi "golean original" cereal. its like 30 whole grain carbs for 140 calories plus its tasty, quick to make, and satisfying(it also has decent protein). "Good v bad" carbs is kind of a misleading way to look at it, though. Well, high fructose and unessesary refined sugar carbs are pretty much dildos for diet and fitness, but even sugar has its place, at least if you are working out vigorously. Consider the following: good carbs like those in oatmeal, take your body about 2 hours to metabolize. Once in your system, carbs turn into the chemical energy you need to get exercise (and do everything else). So a great time to eat a carby meal or snack is 2 or 3 hours before you work out. This will not only prevent those carbs from being stored as fatty fatty fat fat, but they will provide you with a rush of energy when you need it the most. Carbohydrates are 4 kcal per gram, so you can actually do the math by estimating calories you will burn in an activity and eat carbs in accordance. Some people (myself included) eat complex carbs (oats) 2 hours before a big workout, and then spike a simple carb immediately before the big workout. simple carbs get stored by your body fast, which is why sugary snacks make us fat. If you eat those carbs right before you workout, you will be able to use them to push your body a little harder. I have not started this yet, but alot of guys supplement with pure dextrose, right before the workout for a spike in available energy, and then again right after to replenish glycogen. This is only useful for extreme workouts though... 3. I dont know shit about lentil nutrition. |
Do you like potato salad? When you cook, and then chill white potatoes, the starch in them becomes more of a slow digesting carb. Make your own potato salad and load it up with cucumbers and celery for low calorie bulk, use light mayo and spicy mustard for the dressing, and watch your portion sizes. And white taters are a good source of potassium and fiber anyway.
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I love brown rice, since it one of the cheapest, easiest to cook (Rice cookers FTMFW!) and healthiest carbs.
For plain brown rice I usually add some sriracha sauce. When I worked in a Thai place and missed family meal, that was my backup. You can also add some egg, peas, carrots, onions and soy sauce to make fried rice. Doesn't cook as well as white rice, but still good. Just heat up a wok, drop an egg in and scramble it like crazy till cooked then, then toss in the veggies for a short while. Once the onions look good throw in a little more oil and then the rice. Drizzle on some soy sauce and mix it up for a few minutes and your done. Another thing I do with brown rice is use it with certain stews such as curry or chilli. I'll put the rice in the bottom of the serving bowl and then put the stew on top. That way the rice absorbs all the yummy flavors and stretches out the meal a little bit. |
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add garlic to brown rice. I like the minced garlic in olive oil or fresh garlic. chicken broth also helps, and we cant forget broccoli
Im also a big fan of steel cut oats. cook them with a pinch of salt and when about 5 minutes before being done add some apple pieces. right before eating sprinkle on some cinnimon and a drizzle of honey. Im getting hungry just typing this. Peanut butter also mixes well with oats and helps with the much needed fat most dieters cut out. |