Carbohydrates, also called carbs, are the sugars, starches, and fibers found in a wide variety of foods such as fruits, grains, vegetables, and dairy products. They are called carbohydrates, since at a chemical level they contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Starch is a complex carbohydrate, which means it is made of many sugar units linked together. Starch occurs naturally in vegetables, grains, cooked beans, and peas.

Carbohydrates are found in foods that contain starch or sugar such as bread, rice, pasta, cereals, potatoes, peas, corn, fruits, fruit juice, milk, yogurt, cakes , candies, soft drinks and other sweets. Other possible sources include peas, milk, and yogurt.

No, you do not need to be on a low carb diet to be healthy or to lose weight! You just need to look at what kinds of carbs you are consuming. While there is nothing wrong with white bread or pasta, they are not as nutrient-dense as whole wheat and whole grains. Here are some tips for replacing starchy foods with healthy, complex carbohydrates.

-What is Wrong with Starchy Foods?

Changing your diet isn’t about being clean 100% of the time, but just making small changes to increase the nutrients and health of your meals. Which means starchy foods aren’t bad for you, but there are some good reasons to reduce them if possible.

For example, starchy foods tend to have a higher amount of carbohydrates and sugar, but not as many vitamins and minerals that your body needs. They can also affect some people when it comes to lowering their blood sugar levels.

-Types of Starchy Foods to Reduce in Your Diet

Not sure what a starchy food is? Here are some easy examples:

• White bread
• White pasta
• White rice
• Sugary cereals
• Baked pastries and donuts
• White potatoes without the skin

As you can see, most of these are highly processed foods that don’t contain man nutrients. But the good news is they are really easy to replace with healthier foods that will be very similar, but provide more nutrition in your diet.

-Healthy Carbs to Replace Them With

Don’t worry you don’t have to give these foods up or go on a low-carb diet! You are just going to replace them with their healthier counterpart.

• Enjoy whole wheat and whole grain bread : Make the switch from regular white
  sandwich bread to whole wheat bread.
• Switch to brown rice and quinoa : For rice, if you want to eat less white rice, you can
  enjoy brown rice, wild rice, or quinoa.
• Switch to sweet potatoes : While it is completely fine to eat white or red potatoes, you
  can reduce starches by enjoying sweet potatoes instead.
• Try whole wheat or brown rice pasta : There are many varieties of pasta that isn’t
  just white pasta, including those made from whole grains, brown rice, and chickpeas.

As with all diet transformation strategies, you don’t want to completely change everything you eat right from day one. Consider just switching out the starchy carbs one meal or variety at a time, like going with brown rice this week, then trying whole wheat bread next week.

Don’t forget to follow us on facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and twitter. Visit our shop to get our digital products. If you don’t want to miss any update, enter your email to subscribe here!

See you soon,

Ludmilla!