Grocery Shopping
All fruits and vegetables have carbohydrates which can raise your blood glucose levels.
A small banana has about 23 g of carbohydrates, while 1 cup watermelon has about 11 g of carbohydrates. Fruits are a good source nutrients, but be sure to add them to your meal plan in moderation.
A small banana has about 23 g of carbohydrates, while 1 cup watermelon has about 11 g of carbohydrates. Fruits are a good source nutrients, but be sure to add them to your meal plan in moderation.
Cooking and eating at home can be one of life's great pleasures. Following your meal plan may take some planning and changes as you learn to shop and cook new foods. But once you get the hang of things, it's easy to follow your meal plan.
Tips for Shopping
- Vegetables and fruits:
- Fresh & frozen vegetables are the most nutritious.
- Choose fresh, frozen, or dried fruit without added sugar.
- Look for 100% pure fruit juice or light fruit juice.
- Grains
- Look at the ingredient list on bread for 100% whole wheat, whole grain, or whole corn.
- Choose cereals that list whole grain first in the list of ingredients and contain 3 or more grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram or less of fat, and 5 grams or less of sugar.
- Dairy
- Choose nonfat, 1%, or reduced fat milk.
- Pick fat free, low fat, or light yogurt with little added sugar (less than 5 grams of sugar). Or choose plain low-fat yogurt and add your own zero-calorie sweetener and a few berries.
- Look for fat-free and reduced fat cheeses.
- Try fat-free or light sour cream or cream cheese.
- Meat and Seafood
- For beef: Choose lower-fat cuts of meat rather than higher-fat cuts meat. Try eye of round steak, top sirloin steak, top round roast, or bottom round roast. Or ask the butcher for other extra lean cuts.
- When selecting ground beef, choose the one with the lowest percentage of fat, like 90% or 93% lean.
- For chicken and poultry: Breast meat is leanest of all. Remove the skin before cooking to lower the fat content and cholesterol.
- Buy fresh fish or shellfish. Choose canned fish packed in water or rinse if packed in oil. Look for cans marked "low sodium".
- Other Foods
- Choose frozen desserts that contain 3 grams or less of fat per 4 ounce serving (1/2 cup). Look for low-fat frozen yogurt or low- or fat-free ice cream.
- Choose olive, canola, soybean, safflower, sesame, sunflower or corn oil.
- Try reduced-calorie and fat-free salad dressings.
- Choose low sodium or reduced sodium variety soups.
This information is a summary from the "Complete Guide to Diabetes" and is provided with the permission of the American Diabetes Association.
It is a comprehensive book and recommended by the American Diabetes Association for those people that want to learn more.
Click on the image to go to the American Diabetes Association bookstore.
