Healthier alternatives for diabetes meal planning

Eating healthy is one of the cornerstones of managing diabetes. Despite what many people believe, this doesn’t mean you have to give up everything you enjoy eating. Nor does it mean introducing a whole bunch of new foods you have never tried. Substituting healthier alternatives for diabetes meal planning can go a long way to helping you continue enjoying some of your favorite foods. Despite the fact that they are considered healthier alternatives, it’s important to keep in mind portion sizes, so that the calories per serving are appropriate for your meal plan.

Choosing foods with higher fibre content can help with blood sugar control; while foods lower in fat can help improve cholesterol levels and assist with weight management and foods lower in sodium can help you manage your blood pressure. In the “Choose this” columns below are foods that are higher in fibre, or lower in sugar, fat or sodium than the alternative choices in the “Instead of this” columns. Experimenting with some of the healthier options is the way to find out if you’ll actually miss the food that was replaced. You may be surprised to discover that you actually prefer the healthier option!

Grains and Starches:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
Whole grain or rye bread	White bread
Sweet potato	White potato or French fries
Brown rice or basmati rice	Short grain rice
Whole-grain cereals with no added sugar	Cereals made with processed grains and added sugar
Barley, bulgur, quinoa	Pasta or rice
Corn or whole wheat tortilla	White flour tortilla

Vegetables:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
Fresh vegetables- raw, steamed, roasted, or grilled	Vegetables cooked with added butter or cheese sauce
Frozen vegetables, lightly steamed	Canned vegetables

Fruits:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
Fresh fruit	Fruit juice
No-sugar-added applesauce	Sweetened applesauce
Frozen fruit or fruit canned in fruit juice	Canned fruit with heavy sugar syrup

Protein:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
Egg whites	Whole eggs
Lower-fat cuts of meat, such as sirloin	Higher-fat cuts of meat
Roast turkey or chicken	Cold cuts or lunch meats
Ground turkey	Ground beef
Low-fat cheeses (less than 20% M.F.)	Regular cheeses (more than 20% M.F.)
Skinless chicken or turkey breast	Chicken or turkey with skin
Salmon, trout, mackerel – baked or steamed	Battered fried fish
Lentils or legumes (chick peas, kidney beans) for taco filling or pasta sauce	Ground beef

Milk and Alternatives:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
1% or skim milk	Whole or 2% milk
Low-fat yogurt (less than 2% M.F.)	Yogurt with more than 4% M.F.

Fats and Oils:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
Non-hydrogenated margarine	Hydrogenated or “hard” margarine, butter
Low fat sour cream on baked potato	Butter or regular sour cream on baked potato
Olive oil or canola oil	Butter or vegetable oil for cooking; use olive oil for dipping bread instead of adding butter to bread

Snacks and Sweets:

Choose this:	Instead of this:
Water, unflavored or flavored soda water	Regular pop
Air-popped or “light” microwave popcorn	Potato chips or pretzels
Sugar-free gelatin dessert or pudding	Ice cream
Sugar-free or “light” hot chocolate	Chocolate bar