Exchange rates

Window Break Down - The Short Version


Starch = 80 calories
Fruit = 60 calories
Protein = 75 calories
Fat = 45 calories
Vegetable = 25 calories
Dairy = 90 calories
Extra = 15 calories
Bonus - 10 calories


But remember, it's not always that simple. Sometimes a food will fall into 2 or more categories, like a higher fat ground beef, or regular, full fat milk. Then you would have to follow the American Diabetic Association's exchange list. Many times you won't know that an item falls under more than one category, that's where the nutritional information label on a package comes in handy. If, by reading the label, your food item falls in the following breakdowns, use the exchange rate listed under each grouping.

Window Break Down - The Long Version

The information for this section is taken from the book Exchanges for All Occasions, Fourth Edition, by Marion J. Franz and Richard Simmons FoodMover Food Exchange & Meal Plan Booklet. I strongly suggest that if you're going to use the FoodMover you buy yourself a diabetic exchange book. It has tons more information on the breakdown of foods than the FoodMover booklets.

Starch

Calories: 80
Carbs.: 15 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Fat: trace
(1 starch window)


Calories: 120
Carbs.: 15 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Fat: 5 grams
(1 starch + 1 fat window)

Calories: 144
Carbs.: 15 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Fat: 8 grams
(1 starch + 2 fat windows)

1 slice of bread
2 slices low calorie/diet bread
2 breadsticks
1/2 of a 6 inch pita
6" corn tortilla or 7" flour tortilla
3 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup pasta
1/3 cup rice (white or brown)
1/2 cup of hot cereal
1/2 hot dog or burger roll
1/4 cup baked beans
1/2 cup beans and peas (kidney, garbanzo)
1/3 cup refried beans
1/4 cup hummus (one starch PLUS one fat window)
1/2 cup starchy vegetables (mashed potato, pumpkin, corn) 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons tapioca
8 animal crackers
2 graham crackers ( 2 1/2 inch square)
6 unsalted Saltine crackers
24 oyster crackers
12 potato chips (one starch PLUS one fat window)
1 granola bar (one starch PLUS one fat window)
1/2 cup CHinese nodles or ramen noodles (one starch PLUS one fat window)

Protein

Medium Protein
Calories: 75
Carbs.: 0 grams
Protein: 7 grams
Fat: 5 grams
(1 protein window)

High-Fat Protein
Calories: 100
Carbs.: 0 grams
Protein: 7 grams
Fat: 8 grams
(1 protein + 1 fat window)

Very High-Fat Protein
Calories: 136
Carbs.: 0 grams
Protein: 7 grams
Fat: 12 grams
(1 protein + 2 fat windows)

One exchange of Protein is one ounce of meat or fish, 2 ounces of most shellfish. A usual serving is 3 to 4 ounces, so be sure to close that many windows. Don't cheat yourself - the weight is after cooking, not before.
Cheese:
These can be either a Protein Exchange or a Dairy exchange
1 ounce of cheese (American, cheddar, gouda)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fat free ricotta or cottage cheese

Cream cheese, all varieties, are counted as fats, not protein or dairy.


Vegetables


Calories: 25
Carbs.: 5 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Fat: 0 grams
(1 vegetable window)

Vegetables are also listed under Bonus
Most vegetable exchanges:
raw = 1 cup
cooked = 1/2 cup
juice - 1/2 cup

High starch plant products, such as beans, are listed as Starches, not Vegetables

Fruits


Fruit
Calories: 60
Carbs.: 15 grams
Protein: 0 grams
Fat: 0 grams
(1 fruit window)
Usual serving size:
1 small fruit (apple, plum, pear, etc.)
2 tablespoons dried fruit (raisins)
4 ounces unsweetened fruit juice
1/2 cup pureed or chopped fruit (applesauce)


Fats


Calories: 45
Carbs.: 0 grams
Protein: 0 grams
Fat: 5 grams
(1 fat window)

1 teaspoon butter or margarine
10 almonds
20 peanuts
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
10 small or 5 large olives
2 tablespoons low calorie salad dresing
1 tablespoon reduced calorie mayonnaise
2 teaspoons tahini
1 strip bacon
2 strips turkey bacon
3 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon cream cheese
2 tablespoons reduced fat (Neufatchel) cream cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream

Dairy

Calories: 90
Carbs: 12
Protein: 8 grams
Fat: trace
(1 dairy window)

1 cup skim milk or 1% milk
8 ounces plain, non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
See Protein above for Cheese exchanges
Some cheeses also require a fat window - check nutritional info on label 1 cup 2% milk (one Dairy PLUS one Fat window)
1 cup fortified rice milk (one Dairy PLUS one Fat window)
1 cup soy milk (one Dairy PLUS one Fat window)
1 ounce full fat cheese (American, Swiss, Mozzarella)(one Dairy PLUS 2 Fat windows) 1 cup whole buttermilk(one Dairy PLUS 2 Fat windows)
1 cup whole milk (one Dairy PLUS 2 Fat windows)
1 cup yogurt, plain (one Dairy PLUS 2 Fat windows)
1 cup yogurt, fruit flavored (one Dairy PLUS 2 Fat PLUS 2 Fruit windows)

Extras

Calories: 30 or less
Carbs.: varies
Protein: varies
Fat: varies
(1 extra window)
Extras are used for some very low calorie snacks, or to account for a few extra calories when your foods don't quite add up to one full window in any particular category. A lot of official FoodMover recipes will frequently show the Extra window in the exchanges.
Richard's newsletter this month (Jan. 2001) has an article
on 31 items for the month of January under 30 calories each
that can be used to dress up your meals. In a nutshell, they are:

1/2 tablespoon BacOs
3 flavored mini-rice cakes
1 teaspoon peanut butter
1 midge Tootsie Roll (those really mini ones)
1 tablespoon mocha fat free non dairy creamer
2 tablespoons drained sun dried tomatoes
2 reduced fat vanilla wafers
1/2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons whipped cream from the can
2 wafer-type ice cream cones (the flat bottom ones)
1/4 cup green enchilada sauce
1 Hershey Kiss
1 tablespoon wheat germ to stir into oatmeal
4 teaspoons sweetened coconut (add to yogurt)
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate (make a smoothie with yogurt and
banana)
1/3 cup salsa
1 tablespoon bottled chutney
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon pesto
2 tablespoons steak sauce
4 teaspoons sprinkles
3 skinny breadsticks
2 tablespoons mini marshmallows
1 cup light popcorn
1/4 cup jarred roasted peppers
5 croutons
1/4 cup Rice Krispies
3 maraschino cherries
1 ounce fat free ham or turkey

Bonus

Unlimited
Calories: less than 10
Carbs.: varies
Protein: varies
Fat: varies

Limited
Calories: less than ten, but may add up easily so limit to amount specified
Carbs.: varies
Protein: varies
Fat: varies

Unlimited:
Sauces, relishes & condiments, such as horseradish, mustard, dill pickles, Tabasco sauce
Carbonated water, deaf coffee and tea, sugarless soda and seltzer, fat free chicken stock
Lemon and lime
Non-starchy vegetables:
alfalfa sprouts
cabbage
celery
cucumber
green onions
mushrooms
jalepeno peppers
zuchini
all types of lettuce
flavorings and spices, such as curry, dill, chili powder, all salt and sugar-free seasonings (Mrs. Dash)

Limited:
Sauces, relish and condiments like BBQ sauce, A-1 steak sauce, sugar-free jelly should be limited to 1 tablespoon Vegetables like onion and tomatoes are limited to 1/4 cup to be Freebies
Any foods with artificial sweeteners should be limited to 2 a day

Water

The FoodMover shows 8 water windows to signify the minimum amount of water a person of average weight should drink a day. The National Library of Medicine Medline (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002471.htm) says we should drink a half ounce of water for every pound of body weight. You can modify your FoodMover if you need the exchanges by either using a larger glass of water and keeping just the 8 windows, or covering the writing under the Motivation windows and using those for 7 additional glasses of water.





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24-Jul-03