My roommates made stirfry last night, and I had a bowl of it w/just the chicken and the veggies...and a little cheese....they used the frozen stir fry veggie package. I went to look at it later b/c I liked the mix and wanted to buy some of it for myself. I nearly freaked when I saw that it had 2g of sugar!!

How is this possible?? It had red peppers, broccali, onions, water chestnuts...things like that....and it did not list any preservatives... so I cannot figure it out. Blah...can anyone explain this to me and tell me whether I should avoid it or not??

Thanks,
Crystal
282/274/150

I'm not sure, but I think that "sugar carbs" count represents a portion of the carbohydrates, not necessarily table sugar. I just ignore it. It's the total carbs that matter. If it didn't taste sweet, don't sweat over it. 2 carbs isn't that much for a whole dinner.

"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

Those are the same vegetables I use when I make soup.. There are carrots in them, which have natural sugars, onions have sugar, etc. When all is said & done, they're about 7 carbs per cup (9 total; 2 fiber).

Brown some beef chunks (approx. 1lb), dump that, 2 cups of beef or chicken broth, 1/2 can of italian style tomatoe paste, and about 1.5 cups of the frozen veggie mixture, and half a chopped onion into a crock pot, and cook on high for a couple hours. Tis yummy, and makes about 3 good sized portions.

(Probably not suitable for induction, though.. I haven't done a full carb count, but I'm guessing 8-10 per bowl.

the "sugar" you see on labels when reading carb listings isnt always sugar added to the ingredients. on labels, carbs are broken down into various categories, such as sugar and fiber. sugar carbs are the kind your body converts to glucose, fiber doesnt get converted (which is why we subtract fiber from total carbs). all vegetables have natural carbs in them, and those carbs that arent fiber will end up under the generic "sugar" category. some things like onions are higher carb than your usual induction vegies, so you'll see a higher carb count for foods with them added.

as for stirfry, i wouldnt worry about it. its actually a good thing to use to add variety and nutrients, and 2g of carbs really isnt that much in a vegie. i like stirfry myself =) especially with lots of mushrooms and chicken!

Erin
atkins since 12/2/02
preggo and lcing!

I found I have to be really careful with prepackaged veggies. The stir fry mixes are especially dangerous if they contain lots of onions (7g/half cup - 1.5g fiber), carrots (5.5g/half cup - 1.5g fiber), bell peppers (4.5g/half cup - .5g fiber), water chestnuts (15g/half cup - 2g fiber).

That comes out to about 13g carb per cup which, for me anyway, is high. Some people might be able to call these veggies "free", but I can't. They slow my weight loss every time. Carrots in particular :-(

287/277/165
start date: 8/19/03

If the frozen veggies are specifically for stir-fry, there may also be some sort of thickener mixed in that would make the stir-fry sauce thicker. If so, that could be where some of the carbs are coming from.