The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies - Meri Raffetto [69]
Stocking Up for Success
One of the best strategies you can put into place to keep yourself from abandoning all of your new dietary changes is to keep your pantry stocked. This advice may sound simplistic, but it's truly one of the most useful strategies for staying on track. Why? Well, if you haven't already, you'll eventually reach a point where life gets messy or busy and you just don't have time to plan and prepare healthy meals.
Thinking that every day of the week will go as planned just isn't realistic. Sure, you know that on Monday you're going to make chicken cacciatore for dinner and on Tuesday you're going to make stir-fry. What happens when on Monday your boss wants you to finish up a project at home or you just don't make it to the grocery store? All of your good intentions can easily fall apart right then and there when you revert to your old habits or simply grab some fast food or take-out. Although this is okay to do once in a while, the reality is these types of little weekday interferences occur all the time. Life just never seems to run as smoothly as you want it to, and that's one of the biggest challenges I see people encounter when making diet and lifestyle changes.
To truly integrate a low-glycemic diet into your lifestyle, you need to be prepared. Keeping some healthy convenience foods on hand at all times is the key. I'm sure you've had one of those days where you're running late or you're just not in the mood to cook. If you always have some backup foods on hand, you can throw together something quick and healthy — meaning you don't have to abandon your new low-glycemic eating habits just because life got in te way of your plan.
Stocking up on staples when they're on sale or when you have coupons can actually help you slash your food budget.
In the following sections, I share some pantry, freezer, and refrigerator favorites so you know what to stock up on in order to make fast and easy throw-together meals.
Pantry basics
Following is a list of great items to always have on hand in your pantry (feel free to swap in your own low-glycemic favorites):
Soups
Chili
Grains (quinoa, pearl barley, or brown rice)
Bread (note that this is a perishable item)
Low-glycemic cereals
Oatmeal
Polenta mix
Canned beans
Canned vegetables
Canned fruits packed in water (with no added sugars)
Tuna fish or packaged salmon
When stocking up your pantry, always choose low-glycemic items that have a long shelf life.
Freezer-friendly favorites
The beauty of the freezer is that it allows you to use produce in an affordable and convenient way so you don't need to abandon fruits and vegetables when you're short on time. The following items are great to keep in your freezer on a regular basis:
Frozen vegetables (all kinds except for potatoes such as French fries)
Frozen fruits (with no added sugars)
Bag of skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Frozen salmon burgers
Whole-wheat hamburger buns
You can also add your own cooked freezer favorites to have handy when you need them. Some ideas include
Homemade soups, stews, and chilis
Cooked brown rice, quinoa, or pearl barley (portion in individual serving bags so you can pull one out for a quick meal)
Grilled chicken
Weekly refrigerator staples
Refrigerator staples are more perishable, so pick foods you know you'll use to avoid wasting anything. Don't get discouraged if it takes some time to figure out what your refrigerator standbys should be. That's completely normal.
You may have a much longer list of refrigerator staples than the following one when you do your meal planning. These items are just meant to be around for quick meals when you need them:
Cheese
Yogurt
Milk
Eggs
Deli meats
Salad dressing
Favorite grilling sauces
Prewashed bags of salad greens or fresh spinach
Favorite low-glycemic