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Diabetes Friendly Meals
A diabetes meal plan is your complete guide to nutrition. It helps you manage your daily Macronutrient and Micronutrient intake. Especially when you are a diabetes patient, you need to be extra careful about what you put inside your body. While also monitoring how it affects your blood sugar levels. A good way to do that is by cutting down carbs or consuming more complex carbs than simple carbs. Simple carbs instantly elevate your sugar levels.
Break that Fast
Diabetes meal plan options can be hard to find. Running to work and prepping beforehand is hard as it is. To have to go through a proper run-through to decide what to eat and what not to eat can be impossible. So here’s a simple and easy Diabetes Meal Plan for you. First things first, let’s talk breakfast.
Eggs
Eggs are the most famous breakfast in the western domain, most European and American countries consume eggs in various forms scrambled, hard-boiled, sunny side up, fried and omelet, and thousands of other options.
However, you might wanna steer clear of adding cheese and other high-carb ingredients to your eggs, because that might defeat the whole purpose of choosing the healthier options.
Why is egg considered healthy? To answer that question, the egg is an amazing source of protein. With 6gm of protein in each egg and 70 calories.
With all the dietary restrictions imposed upon you with diabetes, breakfast can be a task.
Chia Seeds Pudding
Sounds a little bland but just 2 tablespoons of Chia seeds contain 10 gms of fiber and 5 gms of protein. With the high levels of omega 3 fatty acids present in them, they can be deemed as some of the most healthy food options for diabetics.
You can consume them after soaking them in water or make chia pudding Chia smoothies, Raw chia, Chia Truffles. You can even bake them in bread.
Along with the massive amounts of nutrients present in them, they help reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Chia seeds are probably the best dietary supplements a diabetes meal plan should include.
Smoothies
Smoothies are a new trend. You must have come across videos of your favorite fitness coach mixing all sorts of fancy food supplements and blending them all in to create this. Ever wonder why these funny-looking smoothies are such a rage right now?
It’s simple, the perfect blend of protein and fiber with tiny amounts of sugar is what makes these smoothies so magical.
Smoothies are that one diabetes breakfast that can help you bring down your blood sugar levels if consumed consistently. and let’s not forget, it’s kind of fun to watch all those colorful fruits and vegetables blending in together.
The most classic smoothie that’s diabetes-friendly and refreshing can be made in just 5 minutes. Just add Yogurt, berries, and milk. Try avoiding any artificial sweeteners because that would defeat the whole purpose of this healthy diabetes meal plan.
Hassle Free Lunch
Just because it is a struggle for you to maintain your blood sugar levels, doesn’t mean you should have to miss out on tasty meals. You don’t have to stick to bland diabetes meal plans to maintain your carbohydrate intake.
On the breakdown, carbohydrates become sugar (glucose) and raise blood sugar levels. And becomes hazardous for a diabetic patient. Does that mean that a diabetic patient should just stop eating carbs? Absolutely not, so here are some tasty lunch ideas to include in your meal plan.
Mushroom Sandwiches or Burritos
Mushrooms are the safest option for diabetic patients to add some texture to their lunch pallets. They are known for having a low Glycemic Index. Mushrooms also have a considerable effect on improving your bone density.
Along with these are multiple other health benefits like they contain polysaccharides and Vitamin B which improve your blood sugar levels and lower your cholesterol.
Just make them ahead of time and bake them as and when you like.
Corn Cheese and Basil Frittatas
With the goodness of corn and basil, these frittatas are a great pick for someone with diabetes. And although starchy carbs pose a threat to diabetic patients because they can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels. when consumed in moderation, they can make for a great meal.
Prep them at night and put them in the fridge. you can bake them at lunchtime or prepare a fresh batch. One serving of these little egg bites can be quite satiating and tasty as well.
Each of these has 6gms of protein along with 5.2 gms of carbs. Basil adds a rich flavor and all parts of these special ingredients can help lower your blood sugar levels to a great extent.
Tofu Scramble Sandwich
This High protein scramble can be a real game-changer for people who are trying to lose weight of body fat percentage. And the fact that it is low in calories only helps it top the chart of this diabetes meal plan. Tofu has high amounts of protein and is known to improve skin elasticity.
With 8gms of protein in each 100gm serving and 2 gms carbs, you can eat to your heart’s content and be healthy. Do NOT overeat to compensate for the fewer calories though because that would make it useless.
What’s for Dinner?
The hunger you feel after a tiring day at work can only die after a satiating meal. But that satiating meal doesn’t have to be Pizza, Fries, Butter Chicken, or other monosaturated fats and simple carbs just dying to be picked by you. It’s often advised to have your lightest meal of the day at dinner. But a light dinner does not equate to a bland meal, at least not in our diabetes meal plan.
Vegie-Lentil Tacos
A combination of flavourful ingredients and vegetables, this meatless taco is a supreme choice for diabetics. With lentils adding to the protein content it is the perfect vegetarian dinner. Top it with cumin, chilies, paprika to add more flavor. you can even add a little bit of grated cheese on top of the diced onions, tomatoes, bell peppers.
Using pulses and lentils can help replace the traditionally starchy stuffing used in tacos like rice. Also, make sure you’re using whole wheat tortillas or wrap the whole filling in a large leaf of lettuce, some people even use seaweed wafers.
Cottage Cheese and Rice Rolls
As evident from the name this delicious packet of goodness takes so little time to cook. You just need cooked brown rice, tofu or cottage cheese, cabbage, and diced-up onion, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
Cottage cheese and tofu are great for diabetes patients as they have much fewer calories and great protein content.
This is an easy one-pot meal that can be your go-to with 2 of these rolls having just 220 Calories.
Go An Extra Mile
While having a meal plan can be quite effective. There are a few more practices you can incorporate to lead a healthier lifestyle. This is why we bring to you more ways to keep yourself healthy while you’re trying to maintain a healthy weight and blood sugar levels as a diabetes patient are mentioned below.
Implement Portion Control
It is always advisable to eat less than your cravings. Most of us do realize that we are overeating but are unable to get over it. We have the idea that one rice bowl will suffice our hunger, still, you eat another one, but only to regret it later.
Every time you eat that extra potion than required is a step towards several diseases including obesity and the rise in blood sugar levels.
Include Fiber-Rich Foods
Increasing your fiber intake can help a diabetic patient in a multi-facet manner. Here’s how:
Fibers prevent blood sugar spikes- When you eat high-carb food, the fiber attaches to it in the stomach and slows down the absorption process of sugar in the intestine.
This helps to prevent blood sugar spikes after meals. Slow food absorption due to fiber helps reduce situations of extreme highs as well as extremely low blood sugar levels.
Fibers help in Appetite control: Fibrous foods are filling, which can help to control your appetite and have less of an effect on blood glucose levels. This is because fibers are those carbohydrates that do not get broken down, and so do not increase the load on the body, unlike other carbs do and raise blood sugar levels. Fiber foods stay in your stomach for a longer time which is why you feel full for a longer time and you do not crave to eat more carbs.
Track Your Nutrition
Research shows that keeping track of your nutrition can be very helpful. If you keep a record of the number of calories that you are consuming then it would make it easier for you to understand why you are not able to lose weight.
You can do this through various apps, we at Mantra Care have made it easier for you to keep a log of what you eat in a day and how many calories it contains to make it easier for you.
As a diabetic, you should not only track your calories but also your carb intake, macro, and micronutrients. Our nutrient tracker helps you track all these.
It’s very simple to use. You just need to add your breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals to our app. We already have a list of over 10,000+ food products with the nutrition values pre-feed in the app.
You can just choose from this list and be done!
If you can’t find a food item, you can manually add it to our app. Or even request your health coach to get it added for you. We urge you to be regular in tracking your food. This plays one of the most important roles in your diabetes reversal. Also, we later analyze your food intake to create a customized diet plan for you.
Get Moving
For diabetes patients, exercise offers surprising benefits. Not only does it lower your stress levels, but it may also lower your blood sugar level and may even reduce your insulin requirements.
Exercise is so important for people with diabetes that the American Diabetes Association recommends 150 minutes of exercise each week. Simple basic workouts you can start with include:
Brisk Walking — Because anyone can do it almost anywhere, walking is the most popular exercise and is highly recommended for people with diabetes. Spending 30 minutes of brisk walking, five times each week is a great way to increase your physical activity. You can even break this 30 minutes down into 10-minute sessions three times a day.
Dancing — Dancing is not only great for your body. The mental work to remember dance steps and sequences actually boosts brain power and improves memory. For those with diabetes, it is a fun and exciting way to increase physical activity, promote weight loss, improve flexibility, lower blood sugar and reduce stress. If you are in 60+ or have difficulty dancing, you can try Chair dancing. Just sit on the chair, and make your upper body rock n roll. In just 30 minutes, a 150-pound adult can burn up to 150 calories.
Swimming — Swimming stretches and relaxes your muscles and doesn’t put pressure on your joints, which is great for people with diabetes. For those with diabetes or at risk for developing diabetes, studies show it improves cholesterol levels, burns calories, and lowers stress levels.
Yoga — An Indian form of exercise, yoga incorporates fluid movements that build flexibility, strength, and balance. It’s helpful for people with a variety of chronic conditions, including diabetes. It lowers stress and improves nerve function, which leads to an increased state of mental health and wellness. According to the ADA, yoga may improve blood glucose levels due to improved muscle mass.
A Word From MantraCare
Do you want to get rid of diabetes? Join our online diabetes consultation program and reverse your Diabetes naturally through lifestyle changes such as a Personalized Diet plan, Exercise, dieticians, and health coaches.
