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The Best Diabetic Recipes
October 3, 2008
There is great difference in opinion as to what constitutes the ‘best’ diabetic recipe. It is not simply the case that recipes must be free of sugar; in fact you can still cook with sugar. Rather you must be more careful to make sure that your meals are balanced and monitored alongside other meals to make sure that there is a healthy intake of all major food groups.
Having been recently diagnosed with diabetes you might be daunted by having to make dramatic changes in your eating habits, and going without food that you previously loved. However, many recipes can be adapted with a few small adjustments that will create a healthy alternative for diabetics. There is no need to start from scratch and to think that you cannot continue to enjoy the same types of meals you previously loved.
You can go through your old recipes and find healthy replacements, such as using low-fat versions of cream, butter etc. as well as using a lower amount of salt and avoid frying foods. You may need advice on adapting recipes and there are a number of great diabetic recipes online helping you to find meals that satisfy you and that you enjoy. You can even continue to enjoy snacks such as cakes and biscuits with a great deal of recipes available using diabetic modifications.
When looking for diabetic recipes it is important you first know what your body needs, and for this it is probably best to seek advice from your doctor if you are unsure. As a general rule, always bear in mind the principles of low fat content, healthy amounts of fruit and vegetables and starchy carbohydrates such as pasta. Above all you will need to find a way of planning your meals that works for you individually.
Buying Diabetic Foods in Supermarkets
Diabetics are generally advised to keep track of their diet as well as maintain a healthy exercise regime. It is important to monitor the intake of certain foods such as sugars and fats, though a healthy balance is also important. At times it may seem easier to buy packaged food for diabetics from supermarkets, though this is not always recommended.
When you are looking for diabetic foods in shops it is important to know what you are looking for before you buy. Everyone has different diet requirements and preferences so it would be a good idea to first talk it over with your doctor.
Diabetic foods in shops often use artificial sweeteners in place of sugar, following the commonly held (though mistaken) view that sugars should be cut completely in a diabetic diet. These sweeteners do have the benefit of a slower rise in blood glucose level after consumption, as well as the fact that these sweeteners do not contain calories like regular sugar. However, intake of such sweeteners and their value is highly debated by experts.
It is extremely important that you read labels carefully when shopping for diabetic food products, and take care not to be swept in by misleading statements such as ‘diet’ food. Diet food may or may not necessarily be lower in sugar or fat content so it is important to be alert.
Be careful when purchasing specially labeled food, as in most cases it may not offer a huge benefit whereas the price will be dramatically increased. Often the terms used to describe these products can be misleading, and it may be more worthwhile and healthy to cook your own food from scratch, knowing exactly what will go into it. Above this it will also help to save you money.
Diabetes and Carbohydrates
A managed diet can greatly help diabetics, especially those with type 2 diabetes, often alongside exercised and prescribed medication. You really can take control by monitoring what you eat and sticking to certain foods in specially-formulated diabetic recipes. Whilst the rules are not set in stone, there are certain foods that you should try to avoid in your cooking.
Starches, including pasta, bread, cake, potatoes, rice etc., are high in carbohydrates which, once consumed, are broken down into glucose with the aid of the insulin in your body. If you are diabetic then your insulin is unable to perform this task properly, which means it is a good idea to monitor your carbohydrate intake to make sure that your body is able to get the amounts of glucose it needs.
Too many carbohydrates mean that your blood glucose level may rise well above the normal level, though eating too few will mean that your body will be lacking the energy that it really needs. For this reason what and when you eat becomes extremely important. Eating smaller portions throughout the day could mean that you will not need as much insulin to bring down your blood sugar level, whereas eating too much at once will require a lot of insulin which diabetics do not have.
A meal plan will help you to keep track of how many carbohydrates you are taking in. It may be difficult at first to monitor this, but ask your doctor for advice and make meals using recipes with ingredients you know you can measure. Check food labels carefully and make sure that your diet includes a healthy balance of all the food groups: the aim is not to cut out certain foods but to create a balance using foods you enjoy eating.
The Rules of Diabetic Diets
The general idea of the diabetic diet is ‘sugar-free’; however there really is no strict diet that diabetics must stick to so long as they make sure to manage their condition properly. Sugars must be eaten in moderation but can be enjoyed as much as any other food. There is no one diet prescribed to all diabetics, though there is general advice worth following. Above all you should try to develop meal plans that work for you as an individual.
So what general advice is given to those diagnosed with diabetes? Firstly you can try to eat more fruit and vegetables, which means at least five portions per day. This advice is recommended for anyone, but especially so for diabetics. You can try replacing your usual snack with a piece of fruit, or having fruit as a dessert after your main meal and adding more vegetables to soups, stews and so on.
Eating less saturated fat is also an oft-cited tip for diabetics. Foods that contain a high proportion of saturated fat include butter and other dairy products, meat and chocolate to name a few examples. To cut down on your intake of saturated fat try choosing lean meat and skinless poultry as well as making sure that any dairy products you do eat are of the low fat variety. It is also a good idea to cut down on fat in general which means choosing fat-free or low-fat sauces and dressings as well as using less margarine and oil in your cooking.
Remember that these rules are not set in stone and as long as you monitor your diet and eat different types of food (such as fat or sugar) in moderation you should be able to continue to enjoy those meals you love.
