Help me cook for a diabetic!

My husband just found out he's diabetic. i can cook... But im more a southern/soulfood type cook :p

How do i make healthy food taste good? I realize i will have to change everything in my cooking. Any good websites? Ideas? Recipes? Anything? Im clueless!

reply to post by showintail


These may help:

www.diabetes.org.uk...

diabeticcookingadvice.com...

www.basiccookingtips.net...

reply to post by showintail


You're new mantra should be carbs & sugars bad.
Proteins & complex carbs good.

He's going to have to stay away from sugary and starchy foods.
breads, pasta etc.

And he should eat more protein and complex carbs. Veggies and to a small extent fruits. Talk to your doctor about that.

His doctor should be able to outline foods he should be eating and what to stay away from.

And start reading food labels. You'd be surprised at the amount of things that contain sugar in one form or another.

You can look at some books. Dr. Atkins has his atkins diet that's great for diabetics.
Plus many more. I'd ask your doctor for his opinion.

reply to post by grey580


I wouldn't be looking towards the Atkins diet.

OP should simply focus on Diet's directed towards people with Diabetes.

Thank you, i will check out those websites. I thought about googleing it, but then id just be overwhelmed with everything going on in life atm.

Originally posted by showintail
Thank you, i will check out those websites. I thought about googleing it, but then id just be overwhelmed with everything going on in life atm.

The sites I've linked are pretty easy to follow and full of good advice

My wife has been a Type 1 diabetic for 26 years. So obviously, we've learned how to eat around her dietary needs. The premise in a nutshell is sugar and other simple carbs are out. Complex carbs and proteins are ok. Fats are alright, but should still be moderated.

For grains and pastas, I stick with low glycemic varieties. Whole grains as much as possible. I only cook with brown basmati rice and stick to 7 grain style breads, although we do eat bread only on occasion.

Learn to love vegetables. You would be surprised how well you can eat with veggies and not suffer from lack of flavor. I also buy all my meat in bulk... higher up front costs, but I store it in a chest freezer and the per meal costs go down a LOT.

For convenience sake, I suggest getting a pressure cooker. It helps when making beans, potatoes, etc. without having to stew them all day. When it's easier to eat better, then you are more likely to do it.

Starting with your doctor's office, ask them to refer you to a dietician and local support groups.
Ask for a maximum list of resources available to your in your community, including public health.
There is a lot of good community support out there in every center usually, and once you hook up to one group, I'm confident the rest, according to your needs, will fall into place.
And make sure your husband is involved in this. It is his responsibility and his health problem too, even though you may be the sole cook in the household.

All the best to your family.

reply to post by showintail


Whole grain pasta's with tomato sauces and meat

Hello,here is an idea.First,if your husband goes to the doctor in the next couple of weeks,ask to have his blood ph checked.If it is overly acid,have his mineral levels checked.Different people have different reactions to minerals,and can become toxic on some minerals,and defecient in others,and this can be a problem.
As for the cooking,try using dark brown sugar in your cooking.Instead of pork fat,use roasted sesame seed oil.If you go to a store that sells stuff from Japan,or China,you can find it .
Try this for collard greens: for every pound of raw greens,add two tablespoons dark brown sugar,one tablespoon salt, half a tablespoon of black pepper and half a cup of sesame oil.put half a large pot of water on the stove with the raw washed greens inside,when it gets to a boil,toss in the stuff,then turn the heat down to low,with the lid onn.let it simmer for a minimum 2 hours.
Dont let him drink any soda of any kind.The combination of ingredients,and carbonation of any kind can harm his healing.
use the same recipe for chicken.Put the oil on the outside,then roll the ckicken in the dry salt-sugar- pepper mix,then bake it in the oven.

Definitely count your carbs and cut out sugar. Try switching from using sugar to using Splendia. Portion control is also a factor that will help. Try to eat at least 5 times a day but small portions. Have a light breakfast, snack, light lunch, snack and dinner.

reply to post by showintail


Head to the book store and buy the Diabetic Cookbook.

Originally posted by Death_Kron
reply to post by grey580

 

I wouldn't be looking towards the Atkins diet.

OP should simply focus on Diet's directed towards people with Diabetes.

If you knew the history of Dr Atkins you would know that he developed the diet to help diabetics!
The diet is very geared towards the needs of diabetics.

But in any case you should ask your doctor what he recommends.

In any case stay away from processed foods and things with sugar or that will convert into sugar once in your body.

Originally posted by lisaloeb1214
reply to post by showintail

 

Whole grain pasta's with tomato sauces and meat

Stay away from tomato sauces.
Very high in sugar.

Taste of Home website has diabetic recipes

Thank you all. I do alot of fresh foods and my kids love veggies. so finally this has opened his eyes. And mine. Half assed healthy aint gonna do it. Goodbye smothered porkchops, white bread, and soda, lol. I will look all yalls replies over again tomorrow, with fresh eyes. Ive been back and forth to the hospital all day. Im tired.

Question, i have young kids. 6 and under, will a diabetic diet be adequate(sp?) Im going to ask their pediatrician, but that appts not until the first. Again. Thank you all

Stop cooking and just learn to prepare raw foods.

www.disclose.tv...

reply to post by showintail


A diabetic diet will not harm anyone who is not a diabetic.
It might make them healthier and they will wonder why they feel so much better.

reply to post by rangersdad


My neighbour is diabetic and if he cheats with alcohol on occasion, his sugars are off the next day. He knows he should not do this and it's having a chronic effect on him. It's a hard thing for some people to not cheat every now and then, so it's important that you reinforce and encourage his good behaviors. I mean this in the best way possible.

As you learn, and as your hubby tests his blood sugar, you will come to see what foods react more on him. I understand that this is a big deal for you, but you can't be expected to know all there is to know at once. Don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed.

If you haven't done so already, a good kitchen scale is an essential item in portion control. Along with this, I would strongly urge he keeps a journal of everything he ingests. (also note amounts and maybe total calories etc. A journal is really helpful to detect patterns and things. Again, all the best to you and yours.

reply to post by showintail


I was diagnosed last October with adult onset type 1 diabetes, so I know where you are coming from.

I'm gonna recommend dlife. They have a great recipe section. Several different browse methods, including low carb & carb safe. You can also browse by type, i.e. side, entrée, then sort by carb count. Very handy!
www.dlife.com...

I can also recommend Dreamfields pasta. It only has about 5grams "digestible carbohydrates" per serving. This was recommend to me by a diabetes expert at Vanderbilt.
www.dreamfieldsfoods.com...

And it might not hurt to pick up the Calorie King book. It is small & portable, great to have handy. Besides normal food listings, it also contains counts for popular restaurants. Or if you have a smart phone (iphone or android) there is a great app called Calorie Counter. I use that app almost daily!

Hope that helps!!!
OiO