If you are just coming round to the importance of diabetic diet meals in managing your condition, you may be worried about the convenience of following such a diet plan. You may wonder whether the ingredients for a diabetic diet are easy to find, and within your economic reach. You may also wonder whether it would be difficult to get hold of diabetic diet recipes or to prepare the meals.
Most probably, the biggest worry on your mind is whether the decision to eat diabetic diet meals will have a negative impact on your social life. After all, eating meals is a social undertaking. We break bread together with others, sitting around a table, and enjoying the experience together. If you have to eat diabetic diet meals, how can you share in the experience of your friends and family? How can you partake in the ceremony of shared meals and avoid feeling like an outsider at the dinner table?
The Good News about Diabetic Diet Food
The good news is that you don’t need to separate yourself from your family and friends in order to maintain your commitment to eating diabetic diet meals. The most remarkable thing about the best diet for a diabetic is that it is also the best diet for the average person. Your friends and family can certainly sit down at the table with you and eat with you. You can continue to share the same traditions of family meals and shared food as long as the food that you ingest meets diabetic diet guidelines.
What are these diabetic diet guidelines? Well, they include the careful management of calorie, fat and sugar intake. In other words, you should avoid highly-processed foods, which are typically high in these. Instead, minimally processed, low GI carbohydrate sources should be on your priority list. These include wholegrain food products such as brown rice, and bread made from wholegrain wheat and other cereals. Roots such as yams and sweet potatoes are better choices than Irish potatoes, which are high GI foods. You should also prioritize fresh fruit and vegetable consumption.
Other factors that you should keep in mind when making meals for diabetes include food preparation techniques. Deep frying is not a good food preparation technique. Instead, it is better to poach, steam, stew, grill or bake. It is also best to avoid shortening, and animal fats (including butter, ghee, and the fat that typically comes with meat) when cooking. Instead, you should cook with moderate amounts of vegetable oil such as olive oil. Meat cuts should be lean, and chicken should be skinless. As for spreads, minimally processed nut butters are a better choice than jam, butter or margarine.
Related articles: Healthy Eating with Diabetes | Diabetes UK Recipes |
