Are you new to diabetes? Are you
wondering what to eat? Hopefully the following will give you some
encouragement and ideas.
Who says that having diabetes means you
can’t still whip up delicious, homemade food? When you know the
basics of meal planning, you can make almost any recipe work.
So, don’t throw out your cookbooks or
toss your favorite recipes. Instead, learn some tips about how to
cook wisely.
1. Cook with
liquid fats in place of solid fats – no definitely not. You may
use both and the solid fats are excellent. Just avoid any trans
fats.
Solid fats often include saturated
fats, which you should limit, or trans fats, which you should avoid
totally.
If a recipe calls for solid fat like
butter, lard, or hydrogenated shortening, try trans-fat free
margarine (never use margarine), spreads, or shortening instead.
Check the label to see whether the product will work for cooking or
baking.
Many liquid fats -- oils such as
canola, corn, olive, and grape seed -- can be healthy when used in
moderate amounts (and these fats have added to the epidemic of
obesity. Some oils have stronger flavors that may affect the taste.
Experiment to find which oils work best with which recipes.
Many dairy products used in cooking and
baking are high in fat. You can lower the fat content without
compromising taste (do be careful of complete low fat).
Or, if you’re whipping up a treat
that calls for chocolate or chocolate chips, try cocoa powder, or use
mini-chocolate chips and use fewer of them.
When cooking up a soup or stew, skim
off the fat that floats to the surface while it’s on the stove. Or,
place the pot in the refrigerator. When the fat has hardened at the
top, it's easy to skim off. (I do not agree with removing all fat,
as you body needs some fat for the intestines to be healthy).
Choose those that give you energy that
lasts and fiber.
When a recipe calls for "white"
flour, "white" rice, or other refined grains, try
substituting whole-wheat flour, brown rice, or other whole-grain
flours or grain products. You can also use ground nuts such as almond
or hazelnut (filbert) meal. Or you can mix several of these
whole-grain ingredients together in the same recipe. (Be cautious
with whole-grain flours as they do spike your blood glucose levels).
Sugar can quickly raise your blood
sugar, unlike the carbs from vegetables or starches, which are
absorbed more slowly.
Many times, you can cut the amount of
sugar without seriously affecting taste or texture, though you may
need to add more flour. An exception: You can’t cut corners if
something you're baking needs yeast, because the yeast needs the
sugar in order to do its job. If you’re using a sugar substitute,
check the product label to be sure it’s designed for baking.
Reach for ingredients other than sugar,
salt, and fat to satisfy your taste buds. Try out different herbs,
spices (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg), mustards, and vinegars
(balsamic, sherry).
Some spices may even have health
benefits of their own. Cinnamon, for example, may help lower blood
sugar levels.
You can also cut the amount of salt in
a recipe, unless the recipe includes yeast, which needs the salt for
rising. Or skip the salt entirely when you’re cooking, and then
sprinkle a little on at the table when it’s time to eat.
Another way to reduce how much sodium
you get is to choose fresh over canned and frozen foods, which tend
to be higher in salt. If you’re cooking with nuts, check that they
aren't salted.
If you have favorite recipes that you’d
like to make diabetes-friendly, ask your doctor for a referral to a
nutritionist. They’re experts at helping plan meals that are
appropriate for people with diabetes or other health issues.
If you don't agree, please read the full article here. I say that people are still promoting low fat and
high carbohydrate, which over the years since 1977 has been shown not
to be healthy for us.
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