The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies (61 page)

Barbequed pork with mustard and seeds:
This dish makes a great starter. You can also combine it with soup and a vegetable to make it into a whole meal.

Chicken or scallops with vegetables:
To keep this meal low-glycemic, make sure the meat or seafood isn't fried.

Stir-fried chicken, shrimp, or tofu with vegetables:
Stir-fry dishes are simple and delicious. They also offer a variety of foods in one dish, making it easy to forgo the rice or eat much less of it.

Moo Goo Gai Pan:
This simple and light meal combines chicken with mushrooms and often other vegetables.

Shrimp and snow peas:
Another light meal, shrimp and snow peas is also a relatively lowfat dish.

Fast-food restaurants

Fast food falls into that category of not-so-low-glycemic-friendly foods. However, there are a few choices that you can get by with when you're out and about and need to pick up a quick meal:

Salads:
I know fast-food salads may not sound that appealing, but their quality is continually improving. Many fast-food chains now offer premium salads, such as Caesar salads and grilled chicken salads, that are much more exciting than the small side salads they used to serve.

Apple slices:
Many fast-food restaurants are now offering apple slices as a healthier option for kids' meals. Well, apple slices are pretty darn good for adults too!

Sub sandwiches on whole-wheat bread:
Whether or not you can get a sub sandwich on whole-wheat bread depends entirely on the restaurant, but some do offer whole-wheat options. Stick with turkey, chicken, or veggie sandwiches to keep your calorie level down.

Half a sub sandwich and soup:
Many of the sub sandwich shops feature a variety of soups. If you really want to keep your calorie level and glycemic load down, pick the smallest sandwich choice (even if it's a kids' size) and get a side of vegetable or minestrone soup.

Soft tacos:
This fast-food pick has a lower glycemic load and a lower calorie level when prepared with corn or whole-wheat tortillas. (The soft flour tortilla shell actually has a higher glycemic load than the crunchy corn taco shell.)

Italian restaurants
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Selecting low-glycemic dishes from an Italian menu can be tricky because most Italian menus feature a lot of pasta dishes, which fall within the medium to high glycemic load range. Italian restaurants are obviously known for pasta dishes, but they're also well-known for tasty seafood and poultry. Following are your best low-glycemic picks at an Italian restaurant:

Cheese- or meat-stuffed ravioli:
Although stuffed ravioli is still a pasta dish, the stuffing actually helps lower the pasta's glycemic load down to at least a medium level. This dish is a good choice when you want a little pasta.

Cheese-stuffed tortellini:
Again, the stuffing lowers the glycemic load of this pasta dish to a medium level.