Low Glycemic Food Lists and Menu Planners

There are no definitive low glycemic food lists that will guarantee weight loss, given that portion control has so much influence, and so many factors come into play including how foods are cooked and prepared. However here are some vegetarian meal planning ideas that incorporate the rules of general low glycemic food lists, so you can see if it works for you.
Breakfast Unsweetened yoghurt Oat-based cereal or cereal barFresh fruit and nut platter Banana and almond smoothieOne-egg omelette with mushroomsRye crispbread with sliced tomoatoPorridge with handful of dried berriesLunch Three-bean soup (unsweetened tomato soup with french, kidney and haricot beans)Felafal and saladTomato, mozarella and olive salad with small wholemeal pittaWholemeal pasta with pesto and walnutsBean and vegetable burritosCiabatta open sandwich with grilled veg and hummusGrilled asparagus with poached eggThai noodles with tofu and beansproutsDinner Dhal with mushroom and spinachPearl barley risotto with peasChili sin carne (made with Quorn mince or TVP)Couscous and onion stuffed peppersGrilled portabella mushrooms served with sweet potato mashTofu and vegetable kebabs grilled and served with 1 tbsp basmati riceWholemeal spaghetti with 'quornnaise'Mousakka made with veggie minceSnacks A handful of almondsA small dish of olives2 squares good quality dark chocolate (the more bitter tasting the better!)Hummus with cruditesFresh fruit salad or smoothie, no added sugarMashed banana topped with sunflower seedsTwo oatcakesSmall tub of plain yoghurt, sweetened with a tbsp of fresh berriesA small bowl of plain or lightly salted popcorn (NOT sweetened!)A handful of dried apricots It is important to remember that even preparing food can modify its glycemic index as well as its glycemic load - for example, cooking a vegetable like broccoli softens the cellulose cell walls and makes the complex carbs more digestible - so if you keep your veg as crunchy and close to raw as you can, you will lower the GI because the fibre content slows down the absorption of the sugars. Light steaming is best if you can't eat something raw. Combining foods combines overall glycemic index, so any low glycemic food list has to be read in that context as well - eating relatively high GI rice with relatively low GI lentils slows the absorption of the carbs from the rice and makes a medium GI meal overall. And don't forget to use Basmati rice over any other, as it has the lowest GI due to containing more of a different type of starch to other long and short grain rices. Click here to return from Low Glycemic Food Lists to The Glycemic Index diet Click here to return to Vegetarian Weight Loss Success Home
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