Can I cook scallions on the IP diet? Can I use - when I cook vegetables - powdered onion? How about onion flakes, can they be cooked or at used as is? Appreciate your more experienced dieters input!
What you don't want is caramelized onions. Even scallions can caramelize if you cook them at high enough heat without liquid. I generally stick to onion powder for that flavor when I'm cooking, as long as there's no sugar added (check for carbs in the nutritional info, and the ingredient list) that is fine to use.
Scorbett, it's not the caramelization, heating onions changes the molecular structure by breaking the long-chain, slow digesting sugars into short-chain, rapidly digesting sugars. These cause a sharper spike in your blood sugar levels.
This process occurs regardless of how they are cooked.
Scorbett, it's not the caramelization, heating onions changes the molecular structure by breaking the long-chain, slow digesting sugars into short-chain, rapidly digesting sugars. These cause a sharper spike in your blood sugar levels.
This process occurs regardless of how they are cooked.
I've read into this a lot since it started popping up on the boards - when onions are BROWNED that is when you know the long-chain sugars have broken down. It requires cooking at a significantly high temperature (like sauteeing or browning in the oven). When an onion is boiled (or cooked in a crockpot) you do not see browning, as the temperature does not get high enough to break those chains.
Scorbett, it's not the caramelization, heating onions changes the molecular structure by breaking the long-chain, slow digesting sugars into short-chain, rapidly digesting sugars. These cause a sharper spike in your blood sugar levels.
This process occurs regardless of how they are cooked.
So wouldn't it then be an issue with onion powder and onion flakes as well?
So wouldn't it then be an issue with onion powder and onion flakes as well?
If all chemical reactions were created equal, that would be true - but they aren't. Relative temperature and presence of water (both onion flakes and onion powder are made with dehydrated onions) both change the chemical reactions that take place. You can have onion flakes and onion powder with no worries.
If all chemical reactions were created equal, that would be true - but they aren't. Relative temperature and presence of water (both onion flakes and onion powder are made with dehydrated onions) both change the chemical reactions that take place. You can have onion flakes and onion powder with no worries.
So glad to have found this information out. I thought I would have to do without cooking onions at all! It seems like as long as they don't brown, it's ok. For instance, tonight I cooked onions and peppers in stir fry without browning the onions (they still had a slight crispness to them), so that was ok. Right?
I haven't started the program yet, will be starting very soon, just trying some dishes out with the hubby to see if I "can" do it. So far, so good...I think.
aliboo723: My coach explained not to caramelize the onions. To be safe, I've switched to leeks and green onions for the most part during P1, unless I'm eating them raw.
aliboo723: My coach explained not to caramelize the onions. To be safe, I've switched to leeks and green onions for the most part during P1, unless I'm eating them raw.
This is what I do too. I do miss real onions though. Oh, do it.
I've read into this a lot since it started popping up on the boards - when onions are BROWNED that is when you know the long-chain sugars have broken down. It requires cooking at a significantly high temperature (like sauteeing or browning in the oven). When an onion is boiled (or cooked in a crockpot) you do not see browning, as the temperature does not get high enough to break those chains.
I miss my cooked onions!
