GI diet foods list

Make your choices from this list of free foods, and one- two- and three-point foods

Read our complete guide to the GI diet here

The GI foods list

Free foods
Drinks Decaffeinated coffee or tea, herbal tea, redbush tea, soda water, water.
Herbs and spices Fresh or dried, all types.
Vegetables and salads Artichoke (globe), asparagus, aubergine, beans (green), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage (all types), cauliflower, celery, courgettes, cucumber, leeks, lettuce (all types), mushrooms, onions, peppers, radish, spinach, tomatoes, watercress.
Miscellaneous Fat-free stock, low-calorie salad dressings, mustard, piccalilli, vinegar.
 
1 POINT
Breakfast cereals All-Bran, porridge oats (traditional).
Dairy Low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat diet fruit yogurt, low-fat fromage frais, low-fat natural yogurt, skimmed milk.
Fruit Apples (fresh or stewed), apricots (dried), blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapefruit, melon (canteloupe), oranges, peaches (fresh or canned in juice), pears, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, tangerines.
Grains Oats, pearl barley, pot barley, wholewheat pasta.
Pulses Baked beans, butter beans, chick peas, kidney beans, lentils (all types), reduced-fat hummus, soya beans and all other pulses, dried or canned in water.
Vegetables Broad beans, corn on the cob, mangetout, peas (fresh or frozen), sugar snap peas, sweetcorn, vegetable and pulse soups (cream-free), vegetable sauces for pasta and fish etc.
Equivalents Extra lean beef, lean pork, lean poultry, Quorn, seafood, tofu, tuna canned in spring water, white fish.

2 POINTS
Bread, biscuits, cakes and crackers Dark rye bread (pumpernickel type), oat biscuits (unsweetened), oat bread, Ryvita (dark rye), stoneground wholemeal bread, wholegrain bread, wholewheat pitta bread.
Breakfast cereals Muesli, Grape-Nuts, Shredded Wheat, Special K, Weetabix.
Dairy Semi-skimmed or whole milk, whole milk yogurt.
Fruit and nuts All fruit juices, all plain nuts and seeds, bananas, dates (fresh), figs, grapes, kiwifruit, mango, papaya, pineapple, prunes, raisins, sultanas, watermelon.
Grains Basmati rice (white or brown), buckwheat, bulgar wheat, white durum wheat pasta.
Vegetables Beetroot, carrots, potatoes (boiled and new), pumpkin, squash, swede, yam, sweet potatoes, avocado, guacamole.
Miscellaneous Honey, sugar.
Equivalents Classic vinaigrette, eggs, lean lamb, low-fat spread, medium-fat cheese, oil (groundnut, olive, sesame, walnut), oily fish, pheasant and other lean game.

3 POINTS
Bread, biscuits, cakes and crackers Bagels, brown, white and wholemeal loaves, cakes, croissants, crumpets, French bread/baguettes, rice cakes, scones, sweet and semi-sweet wheat-based biscuits, wheat crackers.
Breakfast cereals Cheerios, Coco Pops, Bran Flakes, Rice Krispies, Cornflakes, Puffed Wheat, cluster-type cereals.
Dairy Full-fat dairy produce other than whole milk and whole milk yogurt.
Fruit Dried dates.
Grains Couscous, instant noodles, rice (other than basmati).
Snacks Corn chips, crisps, oriental mix, pretzels, trail mix, wheat snacks.
Vegetables Parsnips, potatoes (baked/chips/jacket/mashed/roast).
Miscellaneous Caffeine-rich drinks, carbonated soft drinks, chocolate, commercial sugar, desserts, pastry, sweets, white flour, wholemeal flour.
Equivalents Alcohol, bacon, butter, duck, fatty cuts of meat, full-fat hard cheeses, lard, oils (except those in the 2 points list).

Read our complete guide to the GI diet here

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