The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies (87 page)

1 1/2 cups minced celery

1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 to 2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles, with some juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Dash cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley (optional)

1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika

One quick, easy replacement can make your taboo potato salad into a can-do potato salad. Although russet potatoes have a glycemic load of 26, new potatoes only have a glycemic load of 12 (that's a medium glycemic load). Exchanging your russet potatoes for unpeeled new potatoes is a simple way to up the health factor of this old favorite.

Cooking Grains and Pastas

Grains and pastas are pr
obably the most troublesome food category for people following a low-glycemic diet because they're the food group that contains the most carbohydrates. Different varieties of low-glycemic pastas and rice exist, but there are also several other glycemic grains available. The trick is knowing how to cook these grains and pastas (and for how long) and how much water to use. The following sections give you the scoop on these details and show you how to liven up the flavor of your grain and pasta dishes. For some fun recipes that feature low-glycemic grains, head to Chapter 18.

Presenting your whole grain cooking guide

Most people find t
hose bulk whole grain bins at the grocery store rather intimidating. The grains seem like they'd be difficult to cook, and the usual lack of instructions leaves you wondering how to cook them in the first place. If you don't have experience cooking whole grains, they can easily feel like too much trouble. But in reality, cooking whole grains (which contain more fiber and nutrients than white rice) is as easy as making white rice, with a few small steps and variations in cooking time.

Get started cooking whole grains with these easy tips: