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I'm looking for foods that are high in carbs, yet low on the glycemic index. A great example of this would be black beans. They pack a good amount of calories relative to their serving size (227 calories per cup and a GI of 30).

For example, a couple of foods that would not qualify would include:

White Potatoes would be calorically dense, yet have a high GI (a GI around 70). Cauliflower has a low GI, yet is not calorically dense (25 calories per cup).

Which foods are calorically dense, while maintaining a low glycemic index?

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Thanks for the tag help. I couldn't quite find one that was fitting. I'd recommend adding a glycemic-index tag also. It'd be great to be able to browse posts related to it. – Levinaris Apr 27 '11 at 1:54
Not sure if this is true, but beans might have a low GI because a lot of their calories are from protein. Instead of high carb you might want to look into high protein? – Brendan Long Apr 27 '11 at 3:46
GI is not a scientific measurement. It varies widely for each person and for each source of food. e.g. each variety of Cauliflower has a different GI, and different cheese sauces will effect it differently too. The only way to check is to test yourself frequently with a glucometer, and that will vary by your bodies previous food intake too. This probably should be closed as too subjective and too voodoo science etc. GI does sell books well though :-) – TFD Apr 27 '11 at 9:24
[1] I have been considering casting a closing vote here. While the question doesn't absolutely break our rules, it is somewhere in the grey zone. First, nutrition is actually outside of the scope as defined in the faq. (This is why I am against creating a richer hierarchy of nutrition-related tags). Second, I find the question terribly unclear. The answers until now have confirmed my impression. I hope you can improve it. Here is a list of the problems: 1. Measuring "per serving" only makes sense if somebody is eating the "servings" the USDA recommends - practically nobody. – rumtscho♦ Apr 27 '11 at 12:11
[2] 2. You ask about "per serving", but define your own numbers "per cup". How much calories are there in a cup of broccoli?! (Hint: how big did you chop it?) 3. You don't specify the state of the food. The GI of cooked food is different than the GI of raw food. The GI of a cooked combination of foods is different than the GI of each of the components taken alone. 4. Calorie density will also change with cooking, because food cooked in dry heat loses water. – rumtscho♦ Apr 27 '11 at 12:12
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closed as off topic by yossarian♦ Apr 27 '11 at 12:20

Questions on Seasoned Advice are expected to relate to cooking within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

2 Answers

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If I understand correctly, glycemic index is increased only by carbohydrates. So foods where most of the calories are either protein or fat would seem to be what you're looking for.

Quick Googling tells me that the glycemic index of a steak is zero, for example. But certainly has plenty of calories!

Importantly, it sounds like you're looking for advice on how to cook for someone with some medical conditions; possibly you should ask a medical professional?

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Calories are not related to carbohydrates exclusively (though carbs can certainly pack them).

So do you want high carbohydrate food or high calory food? http://www.atkins.com/Program/FourPhases/CarbCounter.aspx has carb content and caloric values for many common food products.

There should be a list of products by glycemic index as well on the site but I couldn't find it. Dr. Atkins' book does contain one, and is a good read overall.

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