What's for dinner?
Do you hear that question often or find yourself asking that question often? Or maybe you are trying to figure out breakfast or lunch and you just want to grab something quick and easy and get on with the rest of your busy day.
It's not always that simple when you have diabetes. You need to plan. That can seem daunting, especially if you don't have all the information or tools at your fingertips to help you make sound, well-rounded, healthy decisions for your meals.
A great place to start is learning what a healthy balance of the different types of foods are that you need daily to keep your body fueled and your blood sugars as balanced as possible. *Everyone's needs are different and their blood sugars react differently to different foods and at different times of the day so it is always recommended to work with your Certified Diabetes Educator or Registered Dietitian at Valley Medical Group to figure out the best plan for you.
In addition to meeting with your medical professional, helpful tools for food planning are key to beginning and maintaining a well balanced meal plan that will make daily meals and snacks a lot easier to handle to maintain the balanced nutritional requirements your body needs to keep your blood glucose as steady as possible.
Out with the old and in with the new...
Did you know that the Food Pyramid is no longer the recommended guideline for nutritional meal planning? The Create Your Plate method is now recommended for everyone. It varies for individuals depending on age and medical needs.
The Create Your Plate method starts with a 9" plate which is then divided into sections. It is recommended to eat 25% Protein like fish, chicken, and beans, 25% Grains and Starchy Foods like rice, pasta, and potatoes, 50 % Non-Starchy Vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and spinach. They also recommend a serving of fruit, dairy or both if your meal plan allows, and a drink with low-calories like water, unsweetened tea or coffee.
Below is an example of the Create Your Plate:
The American Diabetes Association has a Create Your Plate tool available to help people with diabetes make more nutritionally balanced decisions. You can find the tool here. This interactive tool allows you to choose from a handful of examples on their drop down lists for Proteins, Grains and Starchy Foods, Non Starchy Vegetables, Fruit, and Drink.
This tool gives great examples of foods that fit into the different categories to complete a balanced meal but the lists in the tool are a little limited. Just below the tool though, they have provided links to extensive lists of non starchy vegetables, grains and starchy foods, and protein foods.
Now that you have some tools to start planning well-balanced meals, you'll need to set aside some time on a day that works best for you and plan ahead. Plan a week's worth if you can and then prepare your grocery shopping list and you're ready to go for the week.
Once you've begun to plan your meals, knowing what's for dinner or any other time of the day, should be a lot easier to answer and you're more likely to stay on track with your healthy meal plan and keep your blood glucose levels more balanced and make your daily life a little easier.
Thanks for the tip!
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