With my little 1-year old just having been diagnosed with type 1, I kind of wish I was someone who normally ate more pre-packaged food. Trying to work out how many carbs in the things I cook from scratch is really hard and I then have to work out her small portion. If I was a meat and 2 veg person it would be easier. But we are a semi-vegetarian house (partner does not eat meat but does eat fish, and me and my two little ones get a steak in when he's not looking!). So I often cook things like vege stews with rice or spuds, lots of different kinds rice, pulses. Just seems if I had sausage, mash and carrots every night it would be easier. Just spent an hour of my precious saturday when he takes the girls out (so I can try to do all those things you never get round to doing) trying to work out total carbs in a lentil shepherds pie, then estimate the percentage of the pot by looking, that she will eat. The best web sites I've found so far listing carbs in different foods are all american so I have to work things out starting from cups. If anyone has any suggestions to make my life a little easier that would be welcome!! I have resorted to giving her one meal a day from a baby food jar and pot of fruit which has the carbs written on it. Just to make things more tricky she is also on a dairy free diet for eczema, and so is her sister aged 2.5, plus no tomatoes or citrus. aaaaargh!!!!!!!!!!! Think I might go to the cafe down the road and get lunch in. Followed by tray bake made with 1000 pints of condensed milk until I feel sugared out. Just cos I can. Even though I'll feel rubbish after. ok enough ranting. I feel I have to go on her diet so I can be a good role model. But I don't, do I? Not like I stuff face with crisps etc anyway, just quite a sweet tooth now and then.
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It would be easier if I didn't cook from scratch
- Thread starter Mumlé
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SacredHeart
Senior Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Actually, I find cooking from scratch not to be too much of a problem 🙂
First off, the Collins Gem Carb Counter book is a good investment, because you can take it anywhere with you, and it's still useful in the house.
If you're using recipes that work in 'cups', you can pick up american style measuring cups fairly easily and cheaply, these days - I know Lakeland Plastics have a variety to choose from, which would help make those simpler. I have a measuring cup that has conversions on it, which is really useful and was less than ?2.00
One suggestion I've used on occasion, is to make ahead and freeze individual portions. This is great, because you've got pre-made, healthy ready meals when you're short on time, and you can measure up the ingredients, and divide it by how many portions you're freezing. Then just put a sticker with the carb value on it on the container. With stews and things, you're right, there will always be a certain amount of guesswork involved, but it's as close as you're probably going to get.
Don't know if any of that was any use, but I hope so! 🙂
First off, the Collins Gem Carb Counter book is a good investment, because you can take it anywhere with you, and it's still useful in the house.
If you're using recipes that work in 'cups', you can pick up american style measuring cups fairly easily and cheaply, these days - I know Lakeland Plastics have a variety to choose from, which would help make those simpler. I have a measuring cup that has conversions on it, which is really useful and was less than ?2.00
One suggestion I've used on occasion, is to make ahead and freeze individual portions. This is great, because you've got pre-made, healthy ready meals when you're short on time, and you can measure up the ingredients, and divide it by how many portions you're freezing. Then just put a sticker with the carb value on it on the container. With stews and things, you're right, there will always be a certain amount of guesswork involved, but it's as close as you're probably going to get.
Don't know if any of that was any use, but I hope so! 🙂
MeanMom
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent of person with diabetes
i know exactly what you mean as i cook most things from scratch and we are (mostly) veggie too. Once you have worked out the carbs for a recipe tho' the next time you wont have to so it gets easier with time. To work out the amount per small portion i weigh the whole thing then work out how many carbs in the whole thing then how much per 100g, then weigh K's portion. I have scribbled all over my recipe books 🙄
Agreee with sacred heart re freezing portions (was already doing this pre D as we all eat different food in this house too) and Collins Gem is a MUST. You can buy it in most book shops but I wish it didnt have a picture of a bikini on the front!
As far as being a role model - well im a bit of a bore and think all parents should be a role model for their kids re eating (and everything else) BUT that means showing them that anyone can have a treat now and then (but eat your tray bake when they are asleep🙄)
Good Luck x
Agreee with sacred heart re freezing portions (was already doing this pre D as we all eat different food in this house too) and Collins Gem is a MUST. You can buy it in most book shops but I wish it didnt have a picture of a bikini on the front!
As far as being a role model - well im a bit of a bore and think all parents should be a role model for their kids re eating (and everything else) BUT that means showing them that anyone can have a treat now and then (but eat your tray bake when they are asleep🙄)
Good Luck x
Copepod
Much missed Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
In practice, when making stews etc, I just count / see the amount of potato etc before starting to cook (my partner and I take it turns), then estimate what proportion of the total I eat at each meal - a single pot may last several days / some frozen etc. Obviously, that relies on assuming that carbohydrate contents are equally distributes through the stew - and also that I don't misinterpret parsnip as potato, for example or fail to identify a garden grown vegetable - once put raddish in a stew, thinking it was a small parsnip, but the CHO content isn't too different, so didn't matter much.
Cakes / flapjacks are much rarer events - usually we make a cake for each other's birthdays - so I don't bother too much about working out CHO, just estimate CHO g for a piece that looks the right size. However, I'm aware that as an adult, with a larger bodyweight (about 73kg), I've got much more leeway than a child has. I have great respect for parents of children with any dietary restrictions, not just diabetes.
Cakes / flapjacks are much rarer events - usually we make a cake for each other's birthdays - so I don't bother too much about working out CHO, just estimate CHO g for a piece that looks the right size. However, I'm aware that as an adult, with a larger bodyweight (about 73kg), I've got much more leeway than a child has. I have great respect for parents of children with any dietary restrictions, not just diabetes.
I've been building up my own spreadsheet of nutritional content of meals.
Most things I buy have all the information I need on the packaging and those that don't I just take a peek online.
Once the details are in the spreadsheet, I can mix and match the ingredients in the portions that I want to build up each meal.
It's a bit fiddly getting it set up in the first place, but eventually I'll have a complete list of the meals and the portions I eat along with their nutritional content.
Also, in a short while, I intend to write a little stand-alone program to do it in a more elegant way (my spreadsheet is getting a little clunky as I keep adding new types of meal). If it works well, I may make it available to others for a modest fee (the equivalent of doubling what Northerner pays me to moderate here, for example) 😉
Andy
Most things I buy have all the information I need on the packaging and those that don't I just take a peek online.
Once the details are in the spreadsheet, I can mix and match the ingredients in the portions that I want to build up each meal.
It's a bit fiddly getting it set up in the first place, but eventually I'll have a complete list of the meals and the portions I eat along with their nutritional content.
Also, in a short while, I intend to write a little stand-alone program to do it in a more elegant way (my spreadsheet is getting a little clunky as I keep adding new types of meal). If it works well, I may make it available to others for a modest fee (the equivalent of doubling what Northerner pays me to moderate here, for example) 😉
Andy
two useful replies! have ordered collins gem on amazon immediately, and will get lots of 2B pencils to write in cookbooks. and get more tupperware. and a bigger freezer. and 24 extra hours each day. haha. oh yes, the guy in the cafe gave me a coffee cup full of eton mess (meringue and cream and raspberries etc) as a freebie WITHOUT ME ASKING.
KayC
Well-Known Member
Ah! I was about to create my own spreadsheet.
Please let me have a look at it when it's complete, I'm very interested.
The spreadsheet is ready now, it's just growing as I add new stuff. If you PM me with your email address, I can send it to you, if you're interested in that in the meantime.
Andy 🙂
p.s. It's an Office 2003 Excel spreadsheet.
onions and stuff
another question which probably sounds stupidly obvious, but I'm new to all this - when I cook my stew or whatever, I can just add up all the uncooked carbs to get the total (worked out from carbs per 100g on the pack), right? Even including the things that don't count for much like onions and mushrooms etc? It's the veggies that are more tricky because half the time I can't seem to find the info. If it's not on the packet, or I didn't buy it in a packet. Then can work out per portion or weigh the total and get carbs per 100g, or percentages? Am hoping collins gem turns out to be a gem.
another question which probably sounds stupidly obvious, but I'm new to all this - when I cook my stew or whatever, I can just add up all the uncooked carbs to get the total (worked out from carbs per 100g on the pack), right? Even including the things that don't count for much like onions and mushrooms etc? It's the veggies that are more tricky because half the time I can't seem to find the info. If it's not on the packet, or I didn't buy it in a packet. Then can work out per portion or weigh the total and get carbs per 100g, or percentages? Am hoping collins gem turns out to be a gem.
MeanMom
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent of person with diabetes
yes - collins gem has all veg in there - my dietitian said there is so little carbs in most veg not to bother counting - but if all you eat is veg ...
In practice I count all types of beans peas sweetcorn carrots, but not usually onions or tomatoes - unless i use loads (say a whole tin of toms) Always count root vegetables.
By the way the Collins Gem Is a gem, but you still have to do lots of sums as it often lists foods per what it thinks is a portion size (eg 50g) so you would still have to work back to work out per 100g and then the actual portion size you are using. So I have written all over my Gem too🙄
And ... yum, Eaton mess ...
In practice I count all types of beans peas sweetcorn carrots, but not usually onions or tomatoes - unless i use loads (say a whole tin of toms) Always count root vegetables.
By the way the Collins Gem Is a gem, but you still have to do lots of sums as it often lists foods per what it thinks is a portion size (eg 50g) so you would still have to work back to work out per 100g and then the actual portion size you are using. So I have written all over my Gem too🙄
And ... yum, Eaton mess ...
hello,
I cook my meals from scratch too so working out the carb content can be a challenge at times. I eat mostly vegetarian food as well so I do count root veg and pulses as I tend to eat quite alot of them for some meals.
Working out how much carbs are in a portion of lasagna or a quiche for example takes a bit of work but as others have said once you have a list of your common recipes and the carb content of them then it's a bit easier. I do find that my portion sizes are not always consistent though!
Sometimes I can't be bothered to calculate the exact carb content by adding up all the ingredients so I do a rough guess (with mixed results!). I can see how this wouldn't work for a young child though so you probably have to be a bit more careful than me in your calculations.
I cook my meals from scratch too so working out the carb content can be a challenge at times. I eat mostly vegetarian food as well so I do count root veg and pulses as I tend to eat quite alot of them for some meals.
Working out how much carbs are in a portion of lasagna or a quiche for example takes a bit of work but as others have said once you have a list of your common recipes and the carb content of them then it's a bit easier. I do find that my portion sizes are not always consistent though!
Sometimes I can't be bothered to calculate the exact carb content by adding up all the ingredients so I do a rough guess (with mixed results!). I can see how this wouldn't work for a young child though so you probably have to be a bit more careful than me in your calculations.
If you have salter digital scales you can record your family meals with the carb counts etc and then just weight the portion your having. I have scales but dont use this method. I think (?) its Adrienne who does this so she will be able to help you more with it.
When I am making a casserole or stew, I usually put Alex's into his own casserole bowl so its already weighed and carbs worked out. I find this makes life easier and stops spending ages trying to count each potato or decide whether they have melted into the sauce. But, you will be able to 'guesstimate' the carbs in a plate of food when you have had more practice. I never thought I would get the hang of it - but I now find its second nature and sometimes even count the carbs in my own food!
Bev
When I am making a casserole or stew, I usually put Alex's into his own casserole bowl so its already weighed and carbs worked out. I find this makes life easier and stops spending ages trying to count each potato or decide whether they have melted into the sauce. But, you will be able to 'guesstimate' the carbs in a plate of food when you have had more practice. I never thought I would get the hang of it - but I now find its second nature and sometimes even count the carbs in my own food!
Bev
AlisonM
Much missed Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
I do what Sacredheart does and cook ahead of time. I buy things on twofers or bogofs and have a huge cook in then divide the results into portions for freezing. Everything gets measured as it's cooked so I don't have to worry about it when it comes time to eat, I usually write the calorie and carb info on the top or on a label.
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