Low carb anyone?

I have spent the past month reading everything I can find about carbs, diet, and blood sugar. Yes... my blood sugar was way too high. The good news is I have changed to a low carb diet and have cut my blood sugar in half and it continues to trend downward. After only 2 weeks!

I have searched the board and looked at Google. So I am well versed in the concept of replace the sugar with Splenda or the like. My barbecue is already pretty low carb as I don't like sweet sauces and I use sugar sparingly in my rubs. My question revolves around side dishes where the main ingredient is carby. Things that I would have made before, like potato salad, corn salad, baked beans, are all pretty carb loaded compared to things like slaw.

At this point I have come up with a few ideas for low carb sides, but not enough. And that is my question.... Do any of you have a recipe or two that you can recommend as sides to go with the low carb diet?

What about mushrooms? They're one of my favorite sides and they're pretty versatile, but I don't know where they are on the carb scale.

Brad

I take a "Carb Cycling" approach which works well to keep insulin sensitivity in check and my pants fitting.

Basically, 2-3 days very low carb, and one day normal to high carb (and it helps if you get any intense exercise you want to do in on - or the day after - the high carb day). So I usually just make BBQ day the high carb day.

Some other options are to make your bread out of almond or coconut flour.

Grilled asparagus tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper is pretty amazing, but better suited for smaller crowds.

Making poblano pepper "boats" filled with guacamole and smoked is pretty easy.

The beans are probably ok as beans themselves derive a lot of their carbs from fiber, with the non-fiber carbs of the type that don't spike blood sugar. Just don't load them up with brown sugar.

Losing potato salad is a shame, but a high carb day here and there isn't going to hurt and might even be beneficial.

I'm reading a book now that uses alternating "Carb Cycling". Apparently it has to do with Metabolism Confusion. I haven't read enough to offer any insight at this point, nor have I tried it.

Any green vegetables are excellent on the grill. I just brush them with extra virgin olive oil and a touch of salt & pepper. One of my favorites on the grill is baby bok choy. A friend gave me some seeds for my fall garden so I grew them myself. I have seen it at the grocery store though. I also like squash, zucchini, asparagus, cabbage, and even collard greens on the grill. Whole heads of Romaine lettuce are excellent grilled. Another option is sweet potatoes. They do not cause the spikes in blood sugar that regular potatoes do.

Qjuju,

There are quite a few recipes out there for low carb sides. I would recommend you go look at the Atkins website. You will have to register, but you can opt out of the unwanted mailings. They have quite an extensive listing of recipes. My wife and I started the Atkins diet about a year and a half ago and I've been going to their recipe pages for ideas. A lot of them are not set up for cooking on the grill, but they can be easily adapted if you so choose. Some of them, off the top of my head, are roasted asparagus, squash cooked in EVOO with fresh ground pepper/kosher salt, green beens cooked in EVOO and garlic, sprinkled with kosher salt. There are many others, you just have to find what suits your taste.

Sorry to hear about your blood sugar thing, Q. Wish I could help you out more,but I'mno expert when it comes to stuff like that. If it makes you feel any better, I've put myself on a diet and am trying to eat healthier. Already dropped 10 lbs!

Thanks for all the great ideas! I am registered on the Atkins site and have read a lot of their recipes. I also like grilling veges of all kinds. I got my slaw figured out, but I am stuck on a tater salad replacement. Sweet taters are a good idea... I have one I have tried before, but it had some apples in it too... it could work.

Any other cold salad ideas?