Ask Diet LJ

[woodwardiocom]

So, buxom_bey has some odd, overlapping dietary restrictions.

• Because of her gestational diabetes, she needs to emphasize Atkins-y foods. Protein, vegetables, easy on the fruit, and avoiding starches, sugar, etc.
• Because of her braces, she can't really bite into things like carrot sticks, and (since taking her elastics off and on is a pain) any regular snacks can't require her to open her mouth too wide.
• She's prone to constipation, so cheese must be in moderation.
• She's prone to heartburn.
• She's not too fond of tofu.
• Because she's pregnant, snacking is required.

So, what do our foodie friends recommend within those restrictions?

Edit: Other restrictions.

• Nuts, or anything lumpy and crunchy like that, are out, due to the braces.
• Deli meat, vendor hot dogs, and other meats that aren't utterly cooked, have been dis-recommended while she's pregnant.

In case I sound less than thankful in the comments, thank you all very much for the suggestions! It takes a village to feed a Bey. Or Godzilla.

Comments

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

Hard-boiled eggs?

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I recommend making kebabs of bite-sized pieces of meat and veggies (mushrooms, bell pepper, parcooked onion wedges or pearl onions, eggplant, summer squash, etc.) on the grill, or under the broiler. Remove the cooked kebabs from the skewers and put the stuff in a Tupperware in the fridge. She can pop out a few pieces now and then for snacking. That sort of stuff is great cold. Try a marinade of olive oil, fresh orange juice, cumin, coriander, and garlic. The marinade will help tenderize the meat and make it easier to bite into.

[buxom-bey.livejournal.com]

OMG that sounds so yum! I don't know that I would've thought of that, thank you!

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

I strongly recommend quinoa: high in protein and very effective at keeping things moving, as it were. Good hot or cold, so it's easy to make a batch and then mix some up later with some vinaigrette and a tomato, avocado, or whatever to make a quick salad.

Stevia might make a good substitute sweetener, if she's looking for such.

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

She might also want to try IsoPure nutritional drinks, especially the zero-carb version. I found them more palatable than the milky or thick kind of meal replacement drinks. Last I checked (a year ago), you could get the regular kind at CVS.

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

Does the mouth gear make nuts a bad choice for snacking?

Other ideas - slices of turkey, ham, etc - those are thin/small so mouth-opening doesn't have to be extreme. Yogurt - particularly the type with probiotics, which might help the constipation a bit. Broccoli - can be steamed to be softer. Eggs. Fish. Quinoa - maybe some soups that are full of veggies so easy to eat but full of filling veggies/protein and healthy carb option. Sweet yellow/orange/red peppers - offer some crunch but aren't as hard as carrots. Beans - edamame is a good snack. Oatmeal? Some of the protein juices & smoothies?

[futurenurselady.livejournal.com]

Make sure it's plain yogurt!

Flavored yogurt has a lot of HFCS and added sugars.

With fresh berries in season right now, a cup of plain yogurt with sliced fresh strawberries or crushed blueberries is easy on the teeth and stomach, also low on impact carbohydrates.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

Edamame is good. I second hard-boiled eggs and kebabs. Nuts if they play nice with the braces. Steamed broccoli and/ or cauliflower, with a little bit of salad dressing (or just olive oil and salt)? I realize that I might be the only person I know who likes cold steamed cauliflower.

Mini-meatballs (make 'em half or even quarter sized) that you pre-cook and she can heat up in the microwave?

I like chickpeas as a salad-additive, but they're also just fine straight out of the can.

Raw button mushrooms will be easier to eat than other raw veggies.

This is going to sound funny coming from me...

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

Mushrooms. They are softer than most veggies (because they aren't, but you know what I mean)

My Dad (type II diabetic) used low fat & sugar free pudding for snacks a lot. Usually at least 1gram protein per ounce. There are vacuumed packed single packs at the store she can keep in her purse.

Pretty much any kind of low-fat dairy with probiotics would have the added bonus of aiding digestion.

Something that would be easy to heat and soft to crumbly would be premade meatballs or meatloaf.

[tactical-grace.livejournal.com]

How about lightly steamed vegetables? Things like carrots, beets, broccoli.

Second the quinoa comment -- quinoa is great.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Steamed veggies need to verge on mushy, since she can't bite into crisp stuff easily. And, y'know, mushy isn't any fun.

[squibbon.livejournal.com]

Cherry tomatoes are a nice soft veggie that's conveniently sized. I'm not sure how hard is OK, but small-sliced bell peppers and even sugar snap peas might be worth a shot. Those are all softer than carrot or celery sticks and still conveniently sized. They work well dipped in hummus. Pepperoni slices might work. I've been thinking about experimenting with tzatsiki-esque savory yogurt. Many forms of gazpacho fit the bill, and would be nice in hot weather.

[squibbon.livejournal.com]

borscht is another cold summer soup option.

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

Is the heartburn from anything highly spiced or just hot spicy food?

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

It's from almost anything. We had hot dogs and Pringles for dinner last night, and her heartburn was pretty bad. (Might have been all the condiments she uses, I suppose.)

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

OK more thoughts.

Edamame are soybeans. They don't taste like tofu. You can get them frozen at Whole Food and Trader Joes. Steam them to heat, and then add a little bit of oil and vinegar and grated lemon zest. OMFG SO GOOD. They have lots of protein and fiber.

(http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001353.html this minus the shiso leaf = YUM)

Snack wise, there is old school sliced apple with a nut butter (peanut butter or almond butter).

Hummus with a bit of pita? I scoop mine up with whole wheat pita bread. Some grocery stores have "falafel chips" whcih are basically chips made out of chickpea and are SO GOOD OMFG.

For breakfast, I really do suggest making quiche (or crustless quiche). It reheats really well. Make it on Sunday, nom on slices for the week.

Hrm. Does she like hard salami or any lunch meats? Those can be great snacks.

I think grapes would be a good occasional snack.

If she can eat whole nuts, I would strongly suggest almonds or any other nut she likes.

OH! Fucking delicious kale
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/garlicky-greens-recipe.html
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/raw-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe.html (though I would suggest steaming the kale first)

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Alas, apple slices might be too crisp, and nuts are too crunchy, given that fact that her molars don't meet at the moment.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Crackers? Crackers with a nice dip? Something like guacamole or a bean dip would be easy to whip up a large batch of, and then she could keep it in the fridge at work and hit it up all week. I'm sure you could find crackers or tortilla chips that were Atkinsy friendly.

I really like keeping a can of nuts at my desk. Planters Nut-rition brand has a South Beach diet blend that I like quite a lot.

Oatmeal?

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Just read through the rest of the comments. I love the suggestions for hard-boiled eggs, edamame, hummus and pita, yogurt (I eat Activia all the time, tasty). I love the kebob idea too: we do something like this for our sandwiches (cooking up a ton of zucchini on Sundays and making sandwiches with it all week) but it's just as good right out of the container.

I love the quinoa salad idea too. I have recipes for a chickpea salad and an edamame salad that are easy to make, really delicious, and keep nicely in the fridge. In my experience, the only problem with snacking on such things is that I tend to want to eat the whole damn bowl at once.

List of soft low GI and low acid foods

[futurenurselady.livejournal.com]

Avocado slices
Hummus
Sugar free jello
Sugar free pudding
Sugar free ice cream (Breyers and Edy's are the best I've found)
Sugar free klondike bars (yes, these exist in plain and crunchy, they're called slim-a-bear)
Three bean salad
Cole slaw
Peanut butter
Wasa crackers
Beef consomme (add fresh thyme and it's good soup)
Deviled eggs
Veggie omelets
Quiche
Homemade beef stew without potatoes (sub in cauliflower)
Tuna fish
Smoked salmon and cream cheese
Bacon wrapped scallops
Mini Swedish meatballs
Cocktail franks
Salami/summer sausage slices
Cottage cheese

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

Also it really helps to think about what she likes to eat. What are foods she enjoys, veggies she already thinks are tasty, etc. and go from there

[minkrose]

I'd recommend getting one of the South Beach diet books. They have a ton of REALLY GOOD recipes that don't have starches. I'm not a fan of Atkins personally; there are similarities, but I think SB does it better. Even Andy likes the SB recipes. I'd lend my copy but we've been using it lately. Do you know if whole wheat starches are better? I don't know about that from a diabetes standpoint.

Edamame is delicious and high in protein, but there are some studies that indicate that unfermented soy (in any form) in large quantities over a long term can cause damage to your brain. Thus, it can't be an every day snack. Andy & I make a great stir fry based off of fried rice. You could reduce the amount of rice, make it mostly veggies with egg, and it's still delicious.

Tuna, of course, is another great option - that Bey probably can't have due to mercury. I will ruminate on this and perhaps have a conversation in person on Saturday.


Does she like green bell peppers? I love them, they're not as crunchy as carrots, and I think they go well with hummus.
Also, nuts of any sort, but especially almonds, are a great option for snacks. The fat is "good" fat and obviously there is protein as well.
I also know that sugar free stuff is much higher quality than it used to be, but I don't like sweets much so I don't know very much about these.

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

chunk light canned tuna is considered lower mercury and so is usually OK to eat during pregnancy a few times a month (so my OB tells me)

[archangelbeth]

Smoothies! Though before you go heavy on soy protein, get a thyroid test just to make sure that a soy overdose won't make her faint like I almost did when I had a soy-protein breakfast bar one day. (It was seriously freaky.)

[minkrose]

You can also use yogurt (like fat free greek yogurt) to boost the protein without soy. Smoothies are a GREAT idea! I need to make more for myself, too.

I had some similar restrictions...

[ladypantherrr.livejournal.com]

I had GD with all of my pregnancies. I am soy allergic, and I was also mostly dairy free as my nursing older children had digestive issues if I ate it.
I was also successful in managing the GD with diet and exercise only, no insulin, and all 3 were under 10 lbs at birth.

So:
1) Balanced portions in the right proportions are key (if you need an example GD diet with portion sizes, email me offlist, you may need to add an extra snack or two, or increase meat/veggie portions in meals to get the calorie content up to her requirements)
2) Protein snacks: Nut butters on rye crackers, or veggies. Cook up batches of turkey bacon (and/or regular bacon) in advance, to be able to grab easy portions of the right size. Also, grill up chicken breasts, and dice so she can easily mix with mayo/dressings/etc to make snacks to top salads with (use a kitchen scale if she has a hard time guesstimating). Turkey Pepperoni was okay (more preservatives than luncheon meat, so no listeria risk if refrigerated upon opening, easy to count slices for measuring portions, and not hard to chew). Home-made meatballs, substituting almond meal (ground almonds) for the usual breadcrumbs (keeps carbs low, while making them softer and easier to eat). I would cook up large batches of ground beef/pork with whatever spices I chose/tolerated, and would use lettuce leaves/grape leaves to make wraps of whatever ethnicity (mexican, italian, ethiopian, greek with lamb and feta and olives, etc). Eggs, in various forms (including in homemade wraps made with nori and veggies with sushi ginger and rice vinegar). Cooked fish in moderation (including faux crab/lobster sticks to make seaweed wraps with), due to the mercury content. No real lobster (toxins are such that you shouldn't have any other fish for a month while pregnant/nursing!) I have a really good chart of which types of fish are good vs those that are off limits during pregnancy.
3) Test blood sugar much more often than they recommend... believe me, it's worth finding out which starches/fruit sugars she can really tolerate (100% pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie spices, refrigerated, sweetened with stevia, pineapple)
4) If she's craving the feel of pasta, find some Konjac pasta. It's made with non-digestible starch, only 3 g or so of carbs per serving, takes on the flavor of what ever you're cooking it with.

Please, please feel free to ask me more, if she's interested in herbal recommendations as well.

[aota.livejournal.com]

Atkins makes the Advantage Shakes that are pretty good. I drink them and they taste better than most of the other diabetes food replacements that I've tried before. They make nice in-between meal snacks that won't stick to her teeth.

http://www.atkins.com/Products/AvailableProducts3l3/Atkins-Advantage-Shakes.aspx

[mizarchivist]

Looks like previous commenters have given more than enough suggestions- My only suggestion was to echo the notion of egg-based food. There's been some studies recently (so I've heard) that have negated the "eggs are bad" notion, plus eggs are good for baby brain development (again, anecdotal).
Also cottage cheese, particularly in the upcoming hot weather may be a good notion- adding a bit of jam that's not HFCS laced or moderate fresh fruit may make it more fun. See if fat is an issue in this scenario, because if it's not (and I'm betting it's not) get the cottage style, which tastes SO much better.

Good luck and hugs.

[asciikitty.livejournal.com]

And on *that* note, there are brands of cottage cheese with active cultures in like yogurt, which might help with any residual dairy digestive issues. Cabot, maybe?

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

on a constipation note, wheat germ helped me a lot in trimester 1 when I had a worse issue with it. You can buy it loose at whole foods. I ended up sprinkling it over things like yogurt and cereal.

[dancer.livejournal.com]

From my coworker who had gestational diabetes, has full-blown diabetes now (wears an insulin pump) and works in my department on educating diabetic patients on good practices:

"Deli meats heated in the micro or for example fried ham would be okay [heat to steaming]. South Beach Diet has more options for food choices. She may want to skip the restrictive part and go to the maintenance part of the book.

Grape tomatoes, cooked carrots, etc might be easier with the braces."

[dancer.livejournal.com]

Oh, my brother and sister in law put plain greek yogurt on things instead of sour cream (like sweet potatoes). A good way to sneak in some healty, mushy protien that doesn't have added sugar/fruit.

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

We use non-fat greek yogurt as a mayo substitute in chicken and tuna salad. It shows up in a few other places too - handy stuff.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

When we go to the hot-pot restaurant they always bring us a little dish of boiled peanuts, which seems to be a standard dish in some part of the world and probably comes out of a jar you can buy at an Asian grocery store (H-Mart?). It's peanuts plus carrots and celery and maybe onions, and it's all boiled and maybe pickled and it's surprisingly yummy.

Homemade baked beans (that way you can cut down on the sugary ingredients). Here's the recipe I worked from the last time I made baked beans -- except I added bacon:
http://teddywolf.livejournal.com/280506.html#cutid1

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Oh, and curried chicken salad. I like to put grapes in mine, but one can just cut them into smaller pieces and still get the sweetness.

leftover chicken, cut into pieces
celery, especially the green parts (microwave this so it's easier on the braces?)
red grapes, chopped
mayo (or Greek yogurt, as mentioned above)
curry powder, salt and pepper to taste

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

How about chicken pot pie or shepherd's pie? For the mashed potato topping, you could just put less on her serving. For some high protein snacking, I've really enjoyed roasting chick peas but it sounds like those would be too crunchy. Maybe seasoning them with some salt and garlic powder and just pan-frying them a bit would still be a satisfying snack?

Maybe a nice big hunk of meat braised with lots of vegetables? I thought this recipe for Succulent Braised Pork was a great one-pot dish. I did what a lot of the comments suggested and added more onions, more carrots, and mushrooms. Makes everything very soft and tender and easy to chew and plenty of leftovers for easy reheating for future meals.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the suggestions! (That pork looks very tasty.)