Diabetic Recipes and Diet

Is having diabetic recipes a must for everyone? Maintaining a healthy diet is important for everyone, but it is especially important for people with diabetes. Having diabetes certainly limits some of the food you can eat, but with the right diabetic recipe you can still enjoy fine food.

Sometimes, it is hard to know what foods are safe for you to eat. For your safety, you and your dietitian should work together to design a meal plan that's right for you and includes foods that you enjoy. A diabetes diet meal plan is a guide that tells you how much and what kinds of food you can choose to eat at meals and snack times. A good meal plan should fit in with your schedule and eating habits.

Keep in mind that while many diabetic recipes are fairly simple and fast to make, some recipes may be more complex and take longer. The right meal plan will also help keep your weight where it should be. It is important to gather the right diabetic supplies when planning your diabetic recipes. Whether you need to lose weight, gain weight, or stay where you are, your diabetic recipes will be sure to help.

Understanding Carbohydrates and Fibre

Simple carbohydrates are sugars -- they are found in refined sugar, and in fruits.

Complex carbohydrates are the starches -- they are found in beans, nuts, vegetables and whole grains. They are considered very healthy mostly because they are digested by the body slowly and provide a steady source of energy.

Carbohydrates have the most immediate effect on your blood glucose since carbohydrates are broken down into sugar early during digestion. It is important in your diabetic recipes to have the suggested amount of carbohydrate at each meal, along with some protein and fat.

Carbohydrates are mainly found in three food groups: fruit; milk and yogurt; and bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and starchy vegetables. You will need to consider the total amount of carbohydrates when working out your daily meal plan.

What Is Carbohydrate Counting?

Instead of following an exchange list, you monitor how much carbohydrate (sugar and starch) you eat daily. One carbohydrate choice is equal to 15 grams of carbohydrate.

With carbohydrate counting, you plan your carbohydrate intake around the amount of insulin that's available to process it. The insulin can be either injected or naturally produced by your body. If you eat more carbohydrate than your insulin supply can handle, your blood glucose level goes up. If you eat too little carbohydrate, your blood glucose level may fall too low. A registered dietitian will help you figure out a carbohydrate counting plan that meets your specific needs. For adults, a typical plan generally includes three to four carbohydrate choices at each meal, and one to two carbohydrate choices as snacks. With carbohydrate counting, you can pick almost any food product off the shelf, read the label, and use the information about grams of carbohydrate to fit the food into your meal plan.

Carbohydrate counting is most useful for people who take multiple daily injections of insulin, use the insulin pump or who want more flexibility and variety in their food choices. The amount and type of insulin you are prescribed may affect the flexibility of your diabetic recipes.

Carbohydrate counting may not be for everyone, and the traditional method of following food exchange lists may be used instead.

How Much Fibre Should I Eat?

Fibre also delays sugar absorption, helping to better control blood glucose levels. In addition, fibre binds with cholesterol and may reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood. Lastly, it helps prevent constipation and reduces the risk of certain intestinal disorders.

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Cooked dried beans and peas
• Whole grain breads, cereals, and crackers
• Brown rice
• Bran products

Understanding Fat

Here are some general guidelines to take note in all your diabetic recipes for selecting and preparing low-fat foods:

• Select lean meats including poultry, fish, and lean red meats. When preparing these foods, don't fry them. Instead, you can bake, broil, grill, roast, or boil.
• Select low-fat dairy products such as low-fat cheese, skim milk, and products made from skim milk such as nonfat yogurt, nonfat frozen yogurt, evaporated skim milk, and buttermilk. Remember to include dairy products in your daily carbohydrate count.
• Use low-fat vegetable cooking spray when preparing foods.
• Select lower fat margarines, gravies and salad dressings, and remember to watch the carbohydrate count on condiments and dressings.
• All fruits and vegetables are good low-fat choices. Remember to include fruit and starchy vegetables in your daily carbohydrate count.

Your registered dietitian can provide more information on how to prepare and select low-fat foods.

Understanding Salt

· Salt and seasoned salt (or salt seasonings)

· Boxed mixes of potatoes, rice, or pasta

· Canned meats

· Canned soups and vegetables (with sodium)

· Cured or processed foods

· Ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, other spreads, and canned sauces

· Packaged soups, gravies, or sauces

· Pickled foods

· Processed meats: lunch meat, sausage, bacon, and ham

· Olives

· Salty snack foods

· Monosodium glutamate or MSG (often added to Chinese food)

· Soy and steak sauces

Low-Sodium Cooking Tips

• Use fresh ingredients and/or foods with no salt added.
• For favourite recipes, you may need to use other ingredients and eliminate or decrease the salt you would normally add. Salt can be removed from any recipe except from those containing yeast.
• Try orange or pineapple juice as a base for meat marinades.
• Avoid convenience foods such as canned soups, entrees, and vegetables; pasta and rice mixes; frozen dinners; instant cereal; and pudding, gravy, and sauce mixes.
• Select frozen entrees that contain 600 milligrams or less of sodium. However,limit yourself to one of these frozen entrees per day. Check the Nutrition Facts label on the package for sodium content.
• Use fresh, frozen, no-added-salt canned vegetables, or canned vegetables that have been rinsed before they are prepared.
• Low-sodium canned soups may be used.
• Avoid mixed seasonings and spice blends that include salt, such as garlic salt.

What Seasonings Can Replace Salt?

So there you go, hope we have managed to give you a greater insight on how you can control your diet through proper food intake and what to look out for when you are on your diabetic recipes programs.




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