Low-carb food avail.in stores...

[debby]

Let me preface this by apologizing for my ignorance. You may have answered this previously, but I am new, and don't see it as I glance at the topics.
My husband and I have begun changing our diets, as recommended by the Eades. We took our first shopping trip to get a few helpful items: low carb tortillas, low carb bread, etc. We live in a small town without many shopping options, but we did see a couple of things that confused us. We found a pasta called Dreamfields that says it has 5 grams of "digestible carbs" per serving, although it lists 42 total carbs. It then says 37 "controlled carbs", leaving the 5 digestible carbs. We wanted to be sure this works that way......
Second question was similar -it is for Balance Nutrition energy bar, "Carb Well". It has 22 total carbs, 1 carb off for fiber, and 19g off for Sugar alcohol, leaving "net carbs of 2g". Is this ok too?
We have read Protein Power, but it is an older version and did not see these two items discussed (sugar alcohol and digestible carbs) - please let us know if these are ok.
Thanks so much!
Debby

[Gaelen]

Debby, welcome in.
I think in Protein Power one of the recommendations is to "shop the outsides of the store." That means target your shopping to the fresh fruits and vegetables sections, the dairy and egg cases, the fish and meat counters. If your supermarket has a natural foods section, or a section that sells things like bulk nuts and seeds, visit that section for those things. If you've got freezer space, cruise the freezer cases for frozen unsweetened berries, frozen veggies, etc. You can't go wrong with those choices. Rather than try to find low carb 'substitutes' for your favorite high carb foods, try to fill your shopping cart with fresh and frozen foods that are as minimally prepared or processed as you can. Remember that when someone else preps it or prepares it, you have a LOT less control over what's inside. Carb levels go up. Protein sometimes goes down. You're paying for less than you're getting. ;)

Nothing is 'wrong' on this plan, as long as it helps you get your daily protein requirement and keeps your ECCs under 30-40g if you're just beginning. That said, some choices may work out better for you than others. I happen to like Joseph's Reduced Carb Oat Bran Pita Breads, but those are the only 'low carb' breads I keep in the house these days; they won on availability and taste. ;) I tend not to pick things off the shelf labeled 'low carb,' but rather READ THE LABEL to eliminate things that have partially hydrogenated oils/trans fats, or high fructose corn syrup. Doing that, I've found lots of things right on the shelf that fit on plan without being labeled low carb.

Individual people have different responses to sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners. I don't really like the tastes of the sweeteners, and I have some bad gastrointestinal reactions to sugar alcohols, so I don't use them or anything that contains them (another reason label reading can come in handy.) I've never tried Dreamfields, but some folks can tolerate the fiber compound they added to create 'digestible carbs' and others can't. When I want pasta, I have a 1/2 cup cooked portion of whole wheat pasta (about 1 quarter of what the box considers a portion), or lentil pasta, or a serving of spaghetti squash, or tofu noodles or some of my own ricotta gnocchi. Those things work for me, but you may want to experiment with the packaged 'low carb' versions, or decide to try out some of the recipes on this site for alternatives to traditional pasta.

There are also a couple suggested shopping lists (http://www.proteinpower.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57&highlight=shopping+list) in the Let's Cook forum, in "The Protein Power Kitchen." Hope this helps...and again, welcome in.

[debby]

Thanks Gaelen. I appreciate the help. We do focus on non-packaged items, as you mentioned, although you wouldn't know that from my post, I suppose! We had just seen those items and wondered if the way they counted those carbs were valid. We were on this way of eating 7 years ago, and after a year, fell away way too much. We are just trying to get re-committed. While shopping we had noticed those "new" things that weren't available before. I doubt we would have room anyway to eat those as we feel so satisfied with all the protein, dairy, vegies, fruit, etc. We love the food we have available, and we both love to cook! Thanks again!!!
Debby

[Karen J]

I've had lots of experience eating Dreamfields. Kevin and I eat small portions of it, and the only reason we bother is because we have kids that love pasta. They do not know it's any different from regular pasta. It looks the same, and it tastes the same. We eat it once a month or so.
They say that it's a legitimate product, and it has been tested independantly. I have never had any weight gain after eating it, but it's very filling so I can only eat a little anyway. For two adults and two children, we can easily get 8 meals out of half a box (when served with traditional accompanyments like meat, cheese, sauce, etc).

All that being said, I do think it is somewhat of a Frankenfood. I can live without it.

I can't tolerate sugar alcohols, either. Many people suspect that sugar alcohols do cause an insulin response, and to count (at least) half of the grams of sugar alcohols as sugar.

[LisaS]

I make a meal we call "Italian chicken" - baked chicken tenders, smothered in marinara (5 ECC/ 0.5 C), with mozzarella & parmesan melted on top - and a side of dreamfields spaghetti w/marinara. Two of us share a single (56g before cooking) serving. That seems to be a fine amount as a side dish for us and hits the pasta/pizza craving w/out being the main event. We have it maybe once in 7-10 days. It doesn't seem to cause a stall or gain, but we don't measure BG to know if it causes a spike.

[Gaelen]

BTW...another sign that I watch WAY too much FoodTV ;)
I am not sure what show it was; I think it was "The Secret Life of ..." and the subject was pasta. And there was a spot on Dreamfields, which kind of sort of explained their manufacturing process more clearly than most of the stuff on their website. They aren't de-carbing it, or carb-blocking it, but they are adding a variant of the inulin fiber blend to their dough, and inulin is non-digestible.

It was an interesting inside-look at the factory and the process...now, do you think I can find the &)^!@@ show in their line-up? Nooooooooo! ;) I will have to pay more attention next time it rolls around; I had it on for background noise while I was working on my kitchen cupboards and only perked up my ears when I heard them say 'Dreamfields Pasta.'