Low Glycemic Diet Garden
Recently my doctor gave me the kick in the pants I really needed to lose weight. Like 50 lbs of weight. She suggested the South Beach Diet because it is based on the glycemic index. The diet had worked for me before but I’d just gotten lazy. So while thinking about what type of garden I wanted to plant this year I decided I should try to center my garden around foods lower on the glycemic index that I can eat.
So here is the list I’ve compiled that you can plant for a low glycemic/South Beach Diet kind of garden:
Veggies
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Bok Choy
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Caper
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chayote
- Chipotle
- Collard Greens
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Green/string beans
- Heart of palm
- Jicama
- Kale
- Leeks
- Lettuce {all varieties}
- Mushrooms {all varieties}
- Mustard greens
- Nopales
- Okra
- Onions
- Parsley
- Peppers {all varieties}
- Radicchio
- Radishes {all varieties}
- Rhubarb
- Sauerkraut
- Scallions
- Snow peas
- Spinach
- Sprouts
- Squash
- Swiss chard
- Tomato
- Turnip greens
- Water chestnut
- Watercress
- Wax beans
Nuts and Proteins
- Almond Tree
- Brazil nuts
- Cashew
- Macadamia
- Peanuts
- Pecans
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Walnuts
Beans
- Adzuki
- Black beans
- Black eye peas
- Broad beans
- Butter beans
- Cannellini beans
- Chickpeas or garbanzos
- Great northern beans
- Italian beans
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Lima beans
- Navy beans
- Pinto beans
- Soy beans
- Split peas
- White beans
Lowest Glycemic Fruits
- Cantaloupe
- Rhubarb
Mid Glycemic Fruits
- Apples
- Apricots
- Bananas
- Blackberries
- Cherries
- Cranberries
- Grapefruit
- Guava
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
- Papaya
- Plum
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Tangerines
- Tomatoes
Now obviously you won’t be able to grow all of these depending on your area and climate, but if you can grow some of the healthier foods in your own yard it will definately help your waistline, health and pocket book! So take the list and figure out which ones will grow where you are. Now if I could just figure out how to grow a papaya in the hot dry desert I would be in heaven!
