A random thread for food things that don't really warrant a thread of their own

[hellymedic]

Maybe low GI but low GI does not equal carb alternative to my limited brane.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Carb alternative = alternative source of carbs.

[hellymedic]

Possibly and there was I thinking it meant alternative to carbs like the courgettini or mushrooms with cheese...

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's rather an ambiguous phrase. Perhaps it even is meant to imply alternative to carbs and they've simply applied it mistakenly (or misleadingly). What is courgettini?

[hellymedic]

There is no information on the website.
I presume, like courgette 'rice', it is courgette that is formed into 'spaghetti'-like strings by cunning cutting.

[Cudzoziemiec]

If you're going to do that, you could just take a courgette and grate it!

[hellymedic]

Yebbut AIUI courgette 'pasta' or 'rice' are a Thing made with middle-class Magimix machines by the newly carbophobic chatterati.

[ian]

Sweet potatoes are often touted as a healthier alternative to potato because they have a lower GI. Generally though people eat a mix of foods and it all gets to know it each other in the stomach, so unless you're eating meals that comprise solely of sweet potato or potato, I'm not sure it's relevant, other than – of course – Carbs are Evil. I don't know what it is about nutrition, but it really does generate the most bullshit and woo. The shame is that good, healthy nutrition is very simple thing. There's no money in simplicity, of course.

[hellymedic]

There's no MONEY in simplicity; ain't that the truth?

IMO carbs are evil only if they are:

Imbibed rather than eaten
Eaten refined or dried in uncontrolled quantities.
Embellished with sugar and fat, then eaten in uncontrolled portions.

[mrcharly-YHT]

My first second attempt at baking bread is in the oven. I expect it'll be inedible, but it's a try.

...Half an hour later...

Nope. I don't need Paul Hollywood to tell me that's nowhere near fit to eat!

First went into the bin uncooked, second was still soggy in the middle, but third time lucky!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAnOXN2tNHm/

When you take your bread out, slap it on all sides. It should sound hollow and feel firmish. If it doesn't, pop it back in the oven.

[geraldc]

Sweet potatoes are often touted as a healthier alternative to potato because they have a lower GI. Generally though people eat a mix of foods and it all gets to know it each other in the stomach, so unless you're eating meals that comprise solely of sweet potato or potato, I'm not sure it's relevant, other than – of course – Carbs are Evil. I don't know what it is about nutrition, but it really does generate the most bullshit and woo. The shame is that good, healthy nutrition is very simple thing. There's no money in simplicity, of course.

I don't think nutrition is that simple. My father grew up in China/Hong Kong. He's never eaten processed foods, and has always been very careful about what he eats. He still developed type 2 diabetes, and has never been overweight in his life. We asked the doctor about why the diabetes developed, and they said, well it's just a by product of eating white rice all your life. We've all switched to mixing white rice, brown rice and red rice, in an attempt to ward off diabetes in later life, but we really have no idea what's going to happen.

[hellymedic]

Ummm... isn't white rice 'processed' FSVO processed?

[citoyen]

Yebbut AIUI courgette 'pasta' or 'rice' are a Thing made with middle-class Magimix machines by the newly carbophobic chatterati.

You need* a spiralizer - last year's must-have kitchen gadget, now gathering dust at the back of several million middle-class kitchen cupboards...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/equipment/the-best-spiralizers-tried-and-tested/


*no, really, you do

[Quint]

The archive button sprouts from our freezer were microwaved and unseasoned.
I like dull food!

It's not dull though. We're inculcated that veg is a dull side, only there because a slab of meat won't fill the entire plate and some vague quasi-religious conviction that repentance is a lukewarm green-grey sidedish. So much is our seething resentment that we punish our veg by boiling them utterly to death.

And if we do have to eat veg for our sins, then we have to hide it. It must swim in sauce, labour like Atlas under a heaven of cheese, be a slave to the bacon. We can't just eat vegetables. Veg is to be avoided, disavowed, snuck into plant pots and family dogs. To be dutifully and miserably chewed because it's good for us. So Sir Jimmy, says St Peter outside the gates, a bit of a chequered history I see. He glances back down as his clipboard. Oh, five-a-day. In you go, don't forget, complementary kale and wheatgrass smoothies at six. Broccoli is next to godliness.

It's a symptom of our odd relationship with food. We can't actually like veg for being veg. It can't taste nice on it's own, simply cooked and served. Be proud of your veg!

At the weekend, I tossed some padron peppers in a hot skillet, nothing more than a splash of olive oil. Served hot with a sprinkle of salt. Food doesn't get much better than that. If I ordered that in the US, they'd stuff the peppers with Monterey Jack and put bacon on top (and anywhere south of the Mason Dixon line, they'd deep fry the lot).

       All anyone has to do with veg is to look into a good Italian/Asian/Mediterranean cookery book, no need for sauce, just sweat down some peppers with a few coriander seed then add some cider vinegar (thank you Ottolenghi) one of the multitude of veggie curries or even the so called boring English veg such as swede or celeriac a hint of seasoning or a finely sliced chillie and there you go, simple and moreish

[Quint]

Sweet potatoes are often touted as a healthier alternative to potato because they have a lower GI. Generally though people eat a mix of foods and it all gets to know it each other in the stomach, so unless you're eating meals that comprise solely of sweet potato or potato, I'm not sure it's relevant, other than – of course – Carbs are Evil. I don't know what it is about nutrition, but it really does generate the most bullshit and woo. The shame is that good, healthy nutrition is very simple thing. There's no money in simplicity, of course.

I don't think nutrition is that simple. My father grew up in China/Hong Kong. He's never eaten processed foods, and has always been very careful about what he eats. He still developed type 2 diabetes, and has never been overweight in his life. We asked the doctor about why the diabetes developed, and they said, well it's just a by product of eating white rice all your life. We've all switched to mixing white rice, brown rice and red rice, in an attempt to ward off diabetes in later life, but we really have no idea what's going to happen.

        White Rice - it would not (normally) be Basmati in that part of the world, Basmati rice has a low GI whereas short grain rice is quite high

[hellymedic]

I am going out for a meal with my uncle, his two adult offspring, and my partner.
I am in a wheelchair.
Partner does not like sushi.
Cousins eat anything.
Uncle is a diabetic who has stopped needing insulin and eats no sugar, no carbs, no meat, no dairy. He does eat fish and vegetable oil.
I've decided to go to wagamama. I don't really like wagamama but they are wheelchair-friendly and look like they can feed uncle and partner.
Quelle joie!

Other restaurant suggestions within a reasonable radius of my abode welcomed!

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've run out of rum

[ElyDave]

Can somebody explain to me why Sainsbury's sweet potato fries and sweet potato chips are listed as 'Carb alternatives'.

There no nutritional info (yet) but I cannot imagine these are carb-free (or even low-carb).

TEnd to be lower GI, at least less likely to spike my BG, but definitely not carb free.

Maybe they just mean an alternative carb? But alternative to what?

[ElyDave]

Yebbut AIUI courgette 'pasta' or 'rice' are a Thing made with middle-class Magimix machines by the newly carbophobic chatterati.

I've developed a new taste for cauliflower "rice", you just grate it and zap it the microwave for a bit.

Today I made a rosti of mostly grated cauli, grated sweet potato, spring onion, herbs and spices.  Very tasty, but didn't stick together, not enough starch.

[Kim]

I am going out for a meal with my uncle, his two adult offspring, and my partner.
I am in a wheelchair.
Partner does not like sushi.
Cousins eat anything.
Uncle is a diabetic who has stopped needing insulin and eats no sugar, no carbs, no meat, no dairy. He does eat fish and vegetable oil.
I've decided to go to wagamama. I don't really like wagamama but they are wheelchair-friendly and look like they can feed uncle and partner.
Quelle joie!

Other restaurant suggestions within a reasonable radius of my abode welcomed!

Hmm, there should be an app for this sort of thing (filtering venues within a given radius according to dietary/access/whatever needs).  No, I'm not volunteering.

[hellymedic]

Hungryhouse nearly do this for takeaways but cousin accepted he Dad was an awkward customer.
I'm pretty awkward too.I think wagamama is the 'least worst' in the circs.
Here's hoping...

[hellymedic]

Meal went well. We were joined by another cousin & his partner so we had a merry party of 7 at wagamama.

Restaurant closed at 7 which, though a bit early, terminated events before cousin (27) played up too much with his father (72 going on 6) which was No Bad Thing.

Cousin is a dab hand with chopsticks: most impressive!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Closed at 7!!! That's more of a cafe than a restaurant!

[hellymedic]

Restaurant is at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, where the shops close at 6 I think, on a Sunday and the restaurants an hour later.

I really don't want extended shopping on a Sunday and can live with the reduced dining hours at the associated eateries.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Ah. Helly and her clan as mall rats.