I wish garbanzos and black beans weren't ALL carb!

[cmd1974]

Just thinking (typing?) out loud.

[2BoysMom]

I absolutely agree - I LOVE these!

[Kimberli33]

I add them in small amts(say 1/2 a can for 8 servings) to salads & soups quite often and do ok.YMMV but I eat them 1-2x a week and have lost 17lbs in the last 3 1/2 weeks.
edit-kidney and black beans not garbonzo

[Maumie]

Me, too! Hummus is one of the few foods I miss.

[Avellaneda]

Oh Yikes

I thought garbanzo beans were low carb - also black and kidney beans. ??? Help!!!

[svenskamae]

See if you can find Eden brand canned black soybeans in your grocery store or health food store. They have much lower carb levels than other legumes. I have used them successfully in chili recipes, and I think one could try substituting them for black beans, up to a point, in other recipes.

There are some lowcarb substitutes for hummus made with other products, such as zucchini, that I've seen recipes for on the web but not tried. I have switched from eating hummus to eating baba ganoush, which has some of the same flavor from tahini but uses roasted eggplant rather than garbanzo beans.

[abby!]

i miss lentils the most. The red, split Indian ones.

[Patina]

I have found I can get away with eating things like lentils, black beans and garbonzos because while they have carbs, they don't spike my blood sugars. They enter the blood stream at a much slower, steadier pace so I don't sweat it if I want to add garbonzos to a salad or have a small cup of black bean soup.

I don't eat them daily or anything like that but on occassion, I have no problem with them being on my menu.

[Avellaneda]

Originally Posted by Patina

I have found I can get away with eating things like lentils, black beans and garbonzos because while they have carbs, they don't spike my blood sugars. They enter the blood stream at a much slower, steadier pace so I don't sweat it if I want to add garbonzos to a salad or have a small cup of black bean soup.

I don't eat them daily or anything like that but on occassion, I have no problem with them being on my menu.

WHEW!!!!!!

[cmd1974]

I am REALLY hoping this will be the case for me too! But because they're so carb-heavy, I don't think I'll feel comfortable adding them in for quite some time.

[Patina]

Originally Posted by cmd1974

I am REALLY hoping this will be the case for me too! But because they're so carb-heavy, I don't think I'll feel comfortable adding them in for quite some time.

That's understandable. I'm just saying that I tend to look at food in terms of how it will affect my blood sugar and legumes certainly don't spike my blood sugar through the roof like a bowl of pasta would so I don't view them as food I need to avoid at all cost. I eat them occassionally and sparingly but I don't view them as "bad".

[CreekWatcher]

After you subtract fiber from the (total) carb content as the USDA lists it, cooked black beans have about 26g carbs per cup; but a large portion of the starch in the beans is digestion resistant, and after you take that into consideration, the digestible carb content might come down to about 18g per cup.

So not only are black beans low glycemic, they are probably relatively low carb.

[pentimenti]

My gateway to low carbing was slow carbing -- Tim Ferris' 4 Hour Body. I did fairly well on that diet at first, but then became horribly sick of beans. My father also died around this time and dieting went out the window.

My lessons from that time were several fold. As nice as a weekly cheat day sounds, I can't do that. Black beans don't raise my blood glucose readings but cheat days do. I can't eat beans 3 or 4 meals a day. But now I eat beans 3 or 4 times a week. It may slow down my weight loss, but it gives me more latitude in my diet.

[cmd1974]

Originally Posted by Patina

That's understandable. I'm just saying that I tend to look at food in terms of how it will affect my blood sugar and legumes certainly don't spike my blood sugar through the roof like a bowl of pasta would so I don't view them as food I need to avoid at all cost. I eat them occassionally and sparingly but I don't view them as "bad".

That's a great way to look at it. And that's how this WOE becomes something you can absolutely stick to for life.

[Patina]

Originally Posted by cmd1974

That's a great way to look at it. And that's how this WOE becomes something you can absolutely stick to for life.

At some point give some lentils or black beans a try and see if they affect your weight loss negatively or your blood sugar. Anything I can add to my menu for variety is a good thing!

[lisamt]

Originally Posted by Avellaneda

Oh Yikes

I thought garbanzo beans were low carb - also black and kidney beans. ??? Help!!!

Which low carb diet are you following? If you're in Atkins style induction, beans are definitely not on plan. If you're on a higher carb diet you may be able to work in small servings of beans. The important thing is to know the carb counts and track them.

[Strawberry]

Most people in maintenance mode can add in reasonable portions of beans and hummus. Hang in there! Its only temporary. If you really love em, you might consider following South Beach Diet, which adds them in earlier (in exchange, you have to eat lower in fat and watch calories or portion sizes a little more strictly)

[Avellaneda]

Originally Posted by Strawberry

Most people in maintenance mode can add in reasonable portions of beans and hummus. Hang in there! Its only temporary. If you really love em, you might consider following South Beach Diet, which adds them in earlier (in exchange, you have to eat lower in fat and watch calories or portion sizes a little more strictly)

Yes, thanks for reminder to watch portions.

Spouse and I are south beaching and loving it. It's the one diet that we've been able to maintain consistently and we are loving the results.

[E.W.]

As was pointed out in post #6 you could try black soy beans. 1/2 cup of cooked
black soybeans has 8 grams of carbs but 7 of those are from fiber so i guess that
would be 1 net carb for 1/2 cup. By the way it's verry hard to find them as dry beans
and if you do they need to cook a long long time say 1/2 hour in a pressure cooker
if not longer.


Eden Foods Black Soy Beans

[cmd1974]

I'm definitely going to look for those!

[Jigsaw]

I agree, I make chili with the Edens black soy beans, and also the chocolate bean cupcakes, wonderful!

[enna1477]

I'm with the crowd that occasionally eats foods that are low GI. I have lentils or hummus at least once every 3-4 weeks so while they are not a frequent guest on the menu, I still enjoy them and have had no problems.

[synger]

I often open a can of refried beans and use it a few tablespoons at at time. I take bone broth/miso soup to work for lunch three days a week, and often add pureed veg or 1/4 cup of pureed beans/refried beans for texture and fiber.

My plan allows for limited carbs, and the 8 carbs in 1/4 cup of refried beans works for me, once in a while.