How to Cook for a Diabetic

Preparing wholesome meals can be enough of a challenge without facing special needs. Fortunately, cooking for a diabetic needn’t be a massive undertaking. Whether the diabetic is a new friend, a newly diagnosed family member or a complete stranger, accommodating her needs can be accomplished with a little forethought and planning. As a general rule, diabetics don’t need special foods - they need balanced foods. Keep that in mind and it shouldn’t be too difficult to cook for a diabetic.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Meal plan and recipes
• Plenty of vegetables
• Optional: Diabetic cookbook

1. Plan the meal. Determine the structure and basics of the entire meal. How many courses will there be? Will the main dish be meat, fish or vegetarian?
2. Serve a broth based soup with plenty of veggies. Avoid cream soups and starchy vegetables. If including pasta or noodles, opt for whole grain products.
3. Prepare a hearty salad. Serve it up as its own course, rather than as a side. Use lots of green, leafy vegetables as a base, but don’t be afraid to liven it up with brightly colored veggies like cherry tomatoes. For extra oomph, include chopped apples, grapes or raisins.
4. Consider a high protein main dish such as roast beef or grilled chicken breast. Cook without added fats or fillers. Opt for foods that can be roasted, baked or grilled over foods that require frying.
5. Serve two or three healthy sides and aim for dishes that are not heavily processed. Consider vegetables that can be roasted or steamed. Opt for brown rice over white. Choose baked potatoes over mashed. Skip refined foods and sweets.
6. Give bread the boot. With a variety of tantalizing foods on the table, nobody will want to fill up on carbohydrate heavy rolls and bread anyway.
7. Make a fruit based desert such as unsweetened applesauce or fruit cocktail with a dollop of light, whipped cream. If serving a more traditional desert like cake or ice cream, serve in smaller portions and avoid offering seconds.

Tips & Warnings

• Make ice water the drink of choice when you cook for a diabetic. Adequate hydration is essential for diabetics.
• Before you cook, talk to your diabetic. Ask about favorite dishes and preferred vegetables.
• Frozen vegetables sometimes retain more nutrients than fresh and they are easy to use. Keep plenty in the freezer so they’ll be ready to cook at a moment’s notice.
• Health food stores offer many alternate varieties of traditional ingredients. Whole grain bread, whole wheat tortillas, brown rice pasta and more are usually available.