I had the same problem. The most cost effiecient way is to either find a good website with more down to earth recipes or do what I did, go to a used bookstore and buy 1950s to 1970s cookbooks. I have some so old the pages are yellowed, but the recipes include very easy to find items and give detailed instructions on how to make simple dishes. It's pretty easy to substitute lower GI items in those old recipes. You can also find them on Amazon sometimes.
The originial price in the 1960s for this book was $2.95, and in the 1990s I paid $1.50, and it's now 50 cents plus shipping on amazon:
Amazon
There are a ton of recipes that are very simple. For the ones that call for breadcrumbs, just use whole wheat bread crumbs. The ones that call for rice, you can add small lentils.