Hey plant lovers! Happy Saturday! What are your plans for the weekend? My best friend Raquel is staying over when I get out of job number two tonight and we’ve got a date with the couch and HGTV. Holla!
Today, we’re talking carbohydrates! If there’s anything Kasey and I love, it’s our #cleancarbs! We’re here to tell you now: DON’T FEAR CARBOHYDRATES! They do not magically make us fat. Carbohydrates are our bodies’ primary source of fuel. So, when we workout, we first rely on carbohyrdate stores in the form of glucose to get us through our workouts.
Although I haven’t been allergy tested, I’ve definitely noticed my body develop a sensitivity to gluten. Whenever I eat any wheat or grain-based product, I develop intense fatigue to the point where I want to fall asleep about 30 minutes to 1 hour after eating. I also feel super bloated. I don’t know about you but I’d rather go through my days feeling energized and not like there is an inflated balloon attached to by abdomen. Since steering clear of gluten, I”ve noticed increased mental clarity, increased energy, and have said sianara to bloating! Triple win.
That being said, if you can tolerate gluten, it is not bad for you! Sprouted grains and sprouted grain breads ancient grains like kamut and spelt are all wonderful sources of whole grains that contain gluten.
My main sources of carbohydrates are vegetables, fruits, legumes, and seeds (like quinoa). I tend to enjoy fruit earlier in the morning because my stomach feels better that way. There is a lot of talk about food combining (none of it is officially scientifically proven). I’ve researched and learned from nutrition and wellness advocates like Kimberly Snyder, applied the principles to my own life, and have been really happy with it. But that’s for a whole other post 
So, I usually have fruit and wait about 10-15 minutes before eating the rest of my breakfast.
Apple (microwaved 30 seconds) and sprinkled with cinnamon & nutmeg, Chocolate protein pudding oats!
Lately, I’ve been loving Trader Joe’s dried Conadria figs. Holla to my fig sisters!
My meals are totally and completely carb-tastic! This girl loves her #plantPOWER salads for lunch.
Ring Around the Salad: Acorn squash surrounding a blend of spinach, cabbage, broccoli, shredded carrots, tomato, cucumber, hummus, nutritional yeast, and a bit of unsweetened almond milk to blend it all together!
On-The-Go Salad: Kale, shredded carrots, tomato, avocado, Trader Joe’s tomato-basil hummus, and raw sunflower seeds!
Smoky Tofu Scramble and roasted sweet potato wedges!
On-the-Go Salad #2: Kale, spinach, broccoli, cucumber, sauerkraut and cherry tomatoes with a Sunshine Hemp & Sage burger (topped with hummus) and drizzled with Annie’s Lemon & Chive Dressing.
When dinner time rolls around, it’s just as carb-tastic with the veggies and plant-based proteins. I usually have a green veggie with my dinner too (most of them are unpictured here) like Brussels sprouts, asparagus, roasted green beans, sauteed kale or spinach with garlic, or kale chips. I like to sautee in coconut oil and add spices, herbs, and/or nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, and ground flax seeds.
Quinoa with red bell pepper, avocado, nutritional yeast, Trader Joe’s Peach Salsa, and Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning.
Tempeh (sauteed in coconut oil & Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki Sauce OR Coconut Aminos) and roasted Brussels sprouts.
Brendan Brazier’s Almond-Flaxseed Burgers*, massaged kale salad, and roasted sweet potaoto wedges (forever obsessed).
*Thanks Matt for featuring the recipe!
So, there you have it! Carbohydrates help to make us thrive – and that is the true purpose of carbohydrates. They give us fuel to make us thrive. It’s a beautiful thing, actually! The great thing about vegetable-based carbohydrates is that you get all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein to go along with them. It’s like the biggest bang for your buck. If you are new to eating plant-based, just make sure you do your research first to make sure you are getting all of your essential vitamins and minerals from a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds!
As always, I’m here for you! Email me at heather[at]fortheloveofkale[dot]com if you have any questions. Make sure you check out my girl Kasey’s post too. We want to see your #plantPOWER #carb pictures today too! Keep it coming!
Stay lovely,
Heather
Question of the Day: What are your current favorite plant-based carbs? I am loving acorn squash, sweet potatoes (all day every day), and Brussels sprouts! Beans are definitely high on my list too.
You are so true – no need to fear the carbs! I love a good carb, in moderation. Emphasis on GOOD – whole grains, fruits, vegetables. My favorites include everything you listed! Brussels, beans, acorn squash, sweet potatoes – yum.
Amen sister!
Hi Heather,
Love your blog and your whole philosophy! Just wanted to mention (I have celiac, so I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to gluten) that some of the grains you mentioned actually ARE gluten free! Brown rice, millet, and amaranth all have no gluten- if you are super sensitive, you would just need to make sure they were processed in a GF facility not shared on a line with wheat.
Great post!
Hey girl! Thanks for that correction. Bad editing! I missed that and didn’t mean to place those gluten-free carbs in that paragraph! All fixed.
Great post Heather! For a long time I struggled with Carbs because I was worried they would lead to weight gain but now having a better understanding of how much our bodies rely on carbs for energy I no longer fear them but rather love them! I love to see how many clean “veggie” and plant based carbs you focus on! I have been loving squashes for my clean carb of choice as of late! It’s so delicious and filling!
Mmmmm squash for dayyyys.
You know I’m a bean babe! I love me some beans. I bought a HUGE butternut squash today from the Gbury farmers’ market for $3. What appropriate timing for today’s post! I can’t wait to take it home and I’m gonna find a recipe to help Steph work magic on it.
FIGS!!!
and Lori and I love our carbs!
I looove carbs. Well, I basically have love for all the food groups. All necessary, and I don’t think its great to completely cut out a certain food group, unless you have allergies, medical condition, or intolerances of course. For carbs, I love oat bran, pumpkin (obvi), kabocha, okay all squash, amaranth, buckwheat, all those nutritious things:)
I’m obsessed with acorn squash right now — big bonus is that it’s super high in potassium, which I need! (Butternut squash and pumpkin also rock and I’m about to try some other forms of squash from the farmer’s market.) Rice is a major staple of my diet, though I’m trying to eat less because of the arsenic issue. Buckwheat’s great, oats, sweet potatoes when I can eat them…and honestly just regular old wheat as well.
Just as an fyi on going gluten free, if anyone’s thinking about doing it, it can be really worth it to at least have the blood test for celiac. If you do have celiac, it’s super important to be completely free of gluten, and that includes in things like medicine and hospital food that you might one day need but not have access too gf versions if you don’t have a diagnosis. There are also some other medical complications of celiac’s that it’s worth watching out for, from what I understand. (Of course, even if you test negative it can be worth trying a gf diet, because lots of people react negatively to gluten or wheat.)
Good point. However, if one has already been gluten free for a few weeks, the blood tests will not be accurate. The ttg antibody blood tests will only be positive if the person is currently ingesting gluten. Some doctors may recommend a “gluten challenge” which means reintroducing gluten for the sake of getting accurate test results. I think that if someone KNOWS they feel a reaction and they already have gone GF, it isn’t worth the pain…..
Yeah, that’s why I suggested it for people thinking of going gluten free. The reintroduction/challenge thing is a tough one…and I’m definitely biased by having spent a ridiculous amount of time in hospitals lately. I think a big part of it rests on whether the person can be fully committed to a gluten-free lifestyle for the rest of his or her life without the test, including enforcing that in what might be less-than-conducive environments.
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