Carbs are our friends

I have to admit, I cringe every time I hear someone saying they're avoiding carbs to lose weight. If you read my earlier posts, I've tried this, it worked (until it didn't), but it left me tired, stressed, and generally unhappy.

Now I'm not advocating downing an entire box of Thin Mints, but do your research. Complex carbs - beans, whole grains, potatoes (YES, POTATOES) are nature's superfoods. They're filling, generally low in calories, high in fiber, and can help stabilize blood sugar to avoid toxic hunger swings.

Eat your (complex) carbs, my friends. 

If you follow my eating logs, you'll see that I eat a lot of these. I found this list on BistroMd:

  • Whole Grains: wheat, oats, brown rice, quinoa, millet, rye, farro, quinoa, barley along with whole-grain breads, cereals, and flours
  • Beans and Legumes: lentils, soybeans, peas, peanuts, chickpeas, beans including black, kidney, and pinto
  • Nuts and Seeds: almonds, cashews, pecans, chia and flax seeds, quinoa, walnuts
  • Starchy Vegetables: beets, butternut squash, carrots, corn, russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, yams, zucchini
  • Fiber-Rich Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, onions, spinach, peppers, tomatoes, and green, leafy veggies such as kale, spinach, and lettuce
  • Fiber-Rich Fruits: bananas, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, fruits with the skin such as apples and pears
Reviewing this against my meals for the past eleven days, I think I'm doing okay: wheat and oats; beans, lentils, peanut butter; almonds in my salad and flax on my cereal; potatoes; spinach, peppers, tomatoes; bananas and blueberries.

Remember, there's no must-do foods in this way of eating. I don't eat onions or yams or sweet potatoes or beets or squash. I will try to incorporate broccoli and cauliflower though because I really enjoy them. And I have a great quinoa chili recipes for the Instant Pot that I need to dust off.

Stay tuned.

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