• Serving Size. This is the first thing you should look at when picking up a food product. Does the serving size seem realistic? The nutrition information on the food label corresponds directly to the size of the serving. For example, a jar of pasta sauce may say that it has 6 servings in it and each serving is 1/2 cup. What happens if you have 1 cup of pasta sauce? Well, instead of getting 12 grams of total carbohydrate for that serving (as it says on the label), you’ll be getting 24 grams, because you’re having two servings of the sauce. That’s a big difference!
• Servings. This is another handy tool that gives you tons of information about whether a food will fit into your meal plan. This item tells you how many servings are in the package. Every other bit of data in the food label is based on one serving. If a small bag of potato chips says it has 2 1/2 servings and you eat the entire package, then you’re taking in two and a half times the amount of calories, fat, and carbohydrate listed in the food label. If you look at that bag of chips and can see yourself eating the whole thing in one sitting, it may be best to avoid temptation and not purchase it.
• Calories. Keep an eye on the number of calories in the foods you buy. The meal plans in this book are based on calorie levels throughout the day, so you’ll want to purchase foods that will fit into your daily calorie limit. It’s also important to note how many of the food’s calories come from fat, which is listed right below the entry for calories. If most of the calories come from fat, then it’s probably not a good choice for a healthy diet. If you’re trying to lose weight, paying attention to the number of calories in a food is essential.
• Total Fat. This entry shows you how much total fat is contained in the food you’re thinking about buying. There are several types of fat that can be found in food, including monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans fat. In general, try to avoid foods that contain a lot of saturated and trans fat in each serving. None of the recipes in the Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner contain more than 3 grams of saturated fat and most contain almost no trans fat. Fat packs more calories per gram than any other nutrient, so if you’re aiming to lose weight, it is especially important to lower the amount of fat in your daily meals.
• Total Carbohydrate. Because you have diabetes, it is very important to take a look at how much carbohydrate is included in every food you buy, especially if you’re counting your carbohydrates. You should pay more attention to this than to the amount of sugar in a food, because total carbohydrate is what ultimately affects your blood glucose levels the most. Also make it a point to check out how much dietary fiber is included in each food. Dietary fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet, and Americans don’t get nearly enough of it. You don’t need a lot of it (about 25–30 grams a day), so make this a daily goal.
• Ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first ingredient comprises the majority of any food item. Check out the ingredient list for things you’re trying to avoid, such as coconut or palm oil, which is high in saturated fat. Also try to avoid hydrogenated oils that are high in trans fats. The ingredient list is also a good place to look for heart-healthy ingredients, such as whole-wheat flour and oats.
Each recipe in the Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner has its own Nutrition Facts label printed on the same page. Just like when you’re buying foods at the grocery store, you’ll need to look at these details when preparing your meals. Keep an eye out for the number of servings that each recipe yields, so you know how much of the dish you should be eating. And just like with a packaged food item, the nutritional information for each recipe applies to one serving only.
Also, there are a lot of similar products out there with differing nutritional contents. We don’t want you to go out and feel that you can buy only one kind of sugar-free jam, because that makes grocery shopping difficult and it’s unnecessary. Diabetes is difficult enough to manage without having to worry about which store carries that one specific brand of canola oil mayonnaise called for in the recipe. So please be aware that the nutritional information for each recipe is a very close approximation to what you’ll be getting from your cooking, but it may not be exactly the same.
How do I shop smart?
First off, don’t shop when you’re hungry. When you are hungry, you’re more liable to make impulse purchases because something looks good at the moment. Save yourself some extra calories and some money, and avoid the grocery store when you haven’t eaten.
Another great shopping rule is to approach a grocery store by circling the outside walls first and then moving to the interior aisles. Foods that perish require refrigeration, and those foods tend to be along the walls of a grocery store because that’s where they plug in the refrigerators. Also, foods that perish have fewer additives and preservatives, which means that they are healthier and pack fewer hidden calories. So, when you hit the store, start at the edges.
When you’ve finished picking up your perishable goods, head toward the aisles. Remember to stick with your shopping list and avoid last-minute purchases. With the meal plans in the Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner, you won’t eat or need those foods anyway, so save the money you might spend on those items for a healthier gift to yourself—like a trip to the spa or a visit to a museum. Try to buy the best-quality ingredients you can find (remember that a high price does not always mean high quality), so you can get the best taste out of your dishes.
Step 5: Start Cooking
Now it’s time to get started with cooking. If you’ve become a take-out meal addict, then now is the time to reconnect with cooking at home. In our busy workaday world, it’s nice to take a breather at the end of the day and spend some quality time with yourself preparing meals. Sharing meals with family and friends can be a great way to bring everyone closer and take pause at the end of a long day. Give it a chance—you may find that you like it quite a bit. If you’ve been cooking at home and loving it, then you may have to make a few changes to your current cooking habits.
The recipes in the Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner use the healthiest cooking methods and ingredients available and still offer great taste. With these recipes—and definitely on the first time through—try to avoid substitutions or adding ingredients because you feel that it needs more flavor. An extra dash of oil or another pat of butter dramatically increases the amount of fat and calories in each dish you prepare. Give the recipes a chance to stand on their own, especially if you’re using fresh, high-quality ingredients. You may find that you’ve been relying on salt and butter in the past when you didn’t really need it.
Step 6: Repeat Cycles as Desired
It’s generally best if you follow the weekly cycles as they are written during your first time through the book. Following a healthy meal plan takes practice and experience, so let the Ultimate Diabetes Meal Planner gradually teach you how to do this. As you become more comfortable with meal planning and making healthy food choices, you’ll be able to create your own meal plans and adjust your own favorite recipes. In the meantime, let this book do all of the hard work for you.
If you do come across recipes that don’t quite suit your fancy, swap out that day with another one in the book. Be sure to use the entire day’s meal plan, so you can keep your diet balanced and your nutrient intake consistent. In some cases, an entire week’s worth of meals may not appeal to you. If that’s the case, then swap out the entire week with a different one. If you feel like eating a summer meal and it’s only spring, go ahead and do it! Following a healthy meal plan should be fun and flexible, so don’t feel like there are rules carved in stone with this book.
Remember, your goal in using this book is to bring a healthy, diabetes-friendly meal plan into your life. Don’t get discouraged or frustrated. It is a tool to help you, so make changes as you see fit to make it work for you.