# CALORIE and / or CARB Saving Ideas? (Here's a few, but would ♥ more!!)



## Jill (Sep 3, 2013)

Over the past year, for whatever reason, it's finally clicked in my head as to what works best for my body, and I've been able to lose a lot of weight just really by eating my veggies first, and eating more of them. I love them anyhow, so that helps.

I'm an insulin dependent diabetic, and have been for many years. For that reason, every carb counts, and so does every pound. Plus, the more carbs I eat, the more insulin I have to take. Insulin tells your body to store excess calories, which = fat. I didn't need that at all and am happy b when I heft a bag of feed and compare that to what I don't have to lug around and haven't felt hungry at all.

HOWEVER, it's really only been recently that I started to think about ways to "stretch" the carbs and calories in things like pasta and rice...

While I'm not a fan of zucchini or squash, if you use it in pasta recipes to substitute for part of the pasta, I do not think you will even taste the difference (I do not), and you will cut the carbs in nearly half if it's a 50/50 mix, and ditto the calories.

Also not a fan of cauliflower, however, I do like mashed cauliflower prepared like mashed potatoes, and again, you could even do a 50/50 or whatever split. Cutting the carbs and the calories by a ton.

Cauliflower can also stretch rice dishes, which I didn't know until recently! I have lots of rice mixes (rice-a-roni, chicken fried rice from Knorr, chicken flavored rice mix, etc.!). I'm going to be "cutting" that with cauliflower. It will be healthier in several ways!

Really excited to try some new recipes using these ideas (I've already done some, and all were very good).

Hope this can help others as well!


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## fourluckyhorseshoes (Sep 13, 2013)

I am also a low-carber (at least I try to be). Have you made Cauliflower rice? Use a cheese grater to grate to cauliflower and then saute with a bit of oil and seasoning of your preference. I LOVE it !

Have you tried Dreamfield's Pasta? At home that is what we buy. I know some people think its a scam, I haven't checked my blood sugar to see if it works, but it tastes exactly like pasta.

I love spaghetti squash and pasta sauce, but you have to watch the sugar content of a lot of jars sauces.

Another thing that's really good is carrot fries--- cut carrots in to french fry sized slices and roast with a bit of oil for 45 ish minutes on 400-450 degrees. Yum


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