Diabetic Menu Guide

A vegetarian by definition is a person who does not eat meat in any form.

A very small minority of people in the United States describe themselves as being vegetarian and there are others who are somewhat or mostly vegetarian, meaning they do eat and enjoy poultry, red meat and fish but not frequently.

For diabetics, a vegetarian diet can offer a very good option to help control and manage blood glucose levels, and just as noted above, it seems the occasional transgression into meat eating is OK, it adds some variety occcasionly.

The American Diabetes Association’s Exchange Lists for Meal Planning can provide the guidelines to devise a diabetic menu that meets the special needs of any of the diabetic community that wish to follow the plant based vegetarian way.

Depending on the food choices, a vegetarian diet does offer some benefits over our normal non-vegetarian way of eating. It is usually low in saturated fat and cholesterol free, it emphasizes whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes (beans and peas), so it is high in fiber, which helps to slow glucose absorption into the bloodstream.

There is also a vegan diet, a stricter form of vegetarianism, which avoids the consumption of all meats, eggs, dairy, and fish, that has been well researched and proven to be very effective.

A noted author and diabetic specialist, Neal Barnard, M.D., has high praise for the vegan diet, he has stated that “The diet appears to be remarkably effective, and all the side effects are good ones, especially weight loss and lower cholesterol”. Dr. Barnard advocates a program that he believes can reverse diabetes, he has describes the vegan diet as “A diet that skips animal products, keeps vegetable oils low, and favors high-fiber, low Glycemic Index foods [and in doing so] tackles all the many problems faced by the diabetic.”

Speaking as a type 2 diabetic of many years myself, for a long time on maximum doses of the prescription medicines glyburide and metformin and still struggling to control my blood sugars, it sound very tempting. I certainly tire of the constant battle and uncertainty I face every day and I have been told by my doctor that I’m close to having to add insulin to my daily medications. I know that is not such a bad thing and helps a lot of people, but I’m wondering whether I should try the vegetarian diet approach before adopting the insulin route, maybe for me a path of no return. Although I like, but am not overly fond of, fruits and vegetables, partly because they don’t seem to have the flavor that I recall from my younger years, it is worth checking further, I’m sure, because the vegetarian diet does combat so many other problems as well as diabetes.

So rather than just jump right in, I will start slowly with something I really like anyway, soups and stews.

I have a good and really easy to make bean soup recipe, shown below courtesy of my wife, that I can recommend and a great baked vegetable stew that I found on a fellow diabetic site.

If any one can suggest similar easy-to-make recipes, “I’m all ears”.

Here’s the simplest of soup vegetables from my wife:
The dried ingredients are: Peas, Barley, Lentils, Beans, Rice.
Rinse before eating.

In our case, we use a 450 gram package of dry soup mix, bought at the local grocery store for less than $2 and just follow the directions. If we use the whole package, it makes a large pot-full of soup that will last for several meals, but here is the recipe from the package, it’s for half, about 225 grams:

1.   Bring 1-quart of water or vegetable soup stock to the boil (we use a the soup stock, about a half-package @ about $2.60)

2.   Add half the contents (about half-pound) of the package. Perhaps season to taste

3.   Cover and simmer until tender, about 45 miutes

4.   Saute 1-chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of margarin.

5.   Cover and cook another 10 minutes – and that be good soup, thick and rich.

A quarter-cup of soup is about 50 grams including about 32 grams carbohydrate, and about 170 calories.

There are several brands of course, depending on your region. One that we buy often is from Kwik Kool Brand. There are also some dry soup mixes with different ingredients.

Return to Topics list.

No related posts.