Hi, I’m new to all this. It sounds great, but I can’t be doing with things like cooking my own crispbreads! Scratch cooking is great if you have lots of time, but I work full time and have 4 kids at home to look after. I don’t think I can commit to this WoE (get me!) if I’m not “allowed” to eat things I can buy in the shops, like oatcakes or tinned soup. I don’t particularly enjoy cooking so I’d like to buy things like felafels from the supermarket. Can I do this and still follow a diet that will help lower my blood sugar levels?

Has anyone managed to follow this diet using more commercial products than are suggested here?
Thanks
Wilma

Hi Wilma, no one on here makes everything from scratch especially things that are just as good store bought. The only care we take is when we check the labels and find that say, Heinz Chicken soup or whatever, has 19g of carbs. Simple changes like Heinz Chicken broth takes it down to 13g. Diet yoghurts have as much sugar as a can of coke. So buy full fat plain yoghurts and add so berries like frozen raspberries. You just have to look at labels. Nothing wrong with store bought oat cakes – who the hell makes them at home.

I see you are pre-diabetic so the thing you are watching for is carbs which include sugars but also things like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals etc. So even if you have a ready meal but leave off the potatoes or substitute for mashed cauliflower, you will be doing yourself a big favour. It is your diet, you do what you can. Obviously you wont get the quick weight loss the diet promises if you are tweaking it but, as I said, it is your pre-diabetes that is important right now.

If you need help just jump into one of the regular monthly threads. There are a couple, Marvellous May, or Joyous June.

Don’t start off disheartened, it is not easy but there are lots of ways you can make it easier for yourself.

Thanks very much Sunshine!

Can I also say that you can still cook and eat the same things as your kids, you just add a few more veg and leave off the carbs. We often have things like spaghetti bolognaise but without the spaghetti. In the early days I used to spirallize courgette but don’t bother now as I don’t actually miss the pasta.

Put an app on your phone called Yuka. When you are out shopping just point your phone at whatever food you are considering and it will instantly give you a rating and tell you exactly what is in it like fat, protein, carbs, sugars etc and will say things like ‘bad’ ‘good’, ‘excellent’ and it is colour codes, red for bad, orange for okay and green for good or excellent.

My policy is to keep it simple, if I’m cooking for others and including a carby item for them, like potatoes, pasta or rice, I simply leave it off my plate. Occasionally I’ll factor in an alternative for me, but most often will just settle for a few more of the veggies I’m cooking for the others. My main meals are just whatever protein element I’m cooking for OH or others and veg or salad.

As SG said, best to avoid special low fat and/or ‘diet’ processed foods, as these will almost certainly contain ‘nasties’, other than that, just be mindful of the carb values on food labelling. It’s a bit of a steep learning curve, but worth it.

Best of luck.

Wilma, one of my favourite resources for quick, easy meals that fit with this WOE is https://thestonesoup.com/recipe-index-2/
Lots of 5 ingredient recipes and some that are only 3 ingredients. You can search by the time it takes to cook too. I use tinned soup for nights when I don’t have the brain power left to think of anything to cook, but as s-g says, if you make sure you are buying ones that fit with the WOE, then you aren’t trying to resist something in your store cupboard that would put you off track. I also have falafel mix in my cupboard, but it is a once in a while treat, not a weekly meal, as it is too high in carbs for me to have on a regular basis.
One of the best approaches for long term success is to just make small changes that you can sustain, and then over time you will shift to eating more healthily. It sounds like this could be a big change for you, so small increments may be easier rather than trying a massive change and getting frustrated and giving up if you feel you’ve failed. For instance, could you try 1 easy recipe each week? I get stuck with my life being so busy too – I have a full time job, 2 horses and a cat, and run a farm by myself as a side hustle – that I often can fall into the trap of thinking that pre-made products will be quicker, but if you have the right ingredients in the cupboard, then simple recipes are actually often the quicker way to go, and healthier too. One of my favorites is to cook frozen broccoli in the microwave while opening a tin of beans or chickpeas and grating up some cheese, then mixing all together and popping back in the microwave to melt the cheese. Takes less than 5 min all told and always makes me feel good that I did that rather than opening up a packet of ultra processed food of some sort.