Diabetes Meal Planning - Low-Fat Lunch Ideas

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Two months ago, I published an article about vegetarian lunch menus for diabetics. Now, to prevent my omnivorous readers from feeling neglected, this article will be all about diabetes meal planning for meat eaters. These low-fat lunch menus aim to help you cut back on saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol while maintaining an appropriate intake of healthy fats, such as monounsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, these diabetic diet plans are created to provide your body sufficient protein and fiber, which will accordingly help you feel full longer and avoid a sugar rush. You can lose weight without feeling like you are dieting; that's the best thing about these diet menus.

Many people assume it must be complicated and difficult to prepare diabetic meals. It's actually not, though. Just remember these 6 basic rules, and you'll find that diabetes meal planning is in fact pretty simple.

1. Bye-bye refined carbs. Avoid refined sugar, white bread, white rice, noodles, baked goods, etc. Whole-grain foods are better sources of carbs for diabetics.
2. Fiber, fiber, fiber! Make sure you include fiber-rich foods (vegetables, fruits and beans) in every meal. Dietary fiber can help you avoid a rapid peak in blood glucose levels as well as improve your insulin sensitivity.
3. Don't listen to Dr. Atkins. His high-protein/low-carb diet may or may not be beneficial for non-diabetic people; I honestly don't know. But for diabetics, it is better to consume protein in moderation. Diabetics are prone to kidney problems and a high-protein diet can cause the kidneys to work harder and increase the risk of kidney damage in the long run.
4. Farewell, bad fats. Avoid saturated fat, cholesterol and trans fat from fatty meats and processed foods. I know fatty food does taste delicious, but if you want to be healthy, you'd better stay away from those double bacon cheese burgers.
5. How much should you eat? Determine your appropriate serving size and stick to it. You can do that by considering your body weight, height, how often you exercise and other physical conditions. If you have several health problems, it is wise to consult your doctor about your ideal food portion as well as what you should or should not eat. A diabetic diet plan, no matter how perfect it is, will not work unless you have a good sense of portion control.
6. Pay a visit to your kitchen! Start cooking. Preparing your own meals is a great way to improve your health, since you have the liberty to select all the healthy ingredients to put in your food. Don't use the "but I don't have time" excuse. There are many nutritious recipes that take less than 10 minutes to complete.

• 1 - 2 Spicy chicken wraps
• 1 cup Baked potato chips
• A scoop of pineapple sorbet

This low-fat lunch can be prepared in less than 5 minutes, perfect for people who live a hectic life or simply do not wish to frequent the kitchen. No matter how busy your lifestyle is or how inept you are at cooking, don't just rely on fast food restaurants or canned stuff. Try some easy salad, soup or stir-fry recipes. It can be an enjoyable activity and really won't take that much time. You can also make cooking more fun for yourself by doing it with your friends, using some nifty kitchen gadgets or learning it from your favorite celebrity chef on T.V.

• A little bowl of black-eyed pea soup
• 1 - 2 slices low-fat corn bread
• An apple or pear

Soul food is infamous for its abundant calories that will fatten you up in no time due to the use of fatty ingredients such as lard, ham hocks and high-fat meats. However, it's not that hard to cook healthy soul food for diabetics. Many soul food restaurants have modified their food and cooking methods to satisfy health-concerned customers. Now low-fat products are widely available. You can buy skim milk, reduced-fat cheese, light broths, fat-free sour cream and extra lean meats in any supermarket. Ham hocks can be replaced by smoked turkey. And instead of using lard, you can make your soul food dish much more nutritious with canola oil.

• Thai spicy ground chicken (Nam Prik Ong)
• Fresh or steamed vegetables
• A cup of brown rice
• Green tea smoothie

The original recipe for "nam prik ong" uses ground pork, but since this is supposed to be a low-fat lunch for diabetics, lean ground chicken is a much better choice. Nam prik ong is a northern Thai dish. Thai people usually eat it with rice and fresh vegetables, such as cucumber, lettuce, string beans and Thai eggplants. Steamed vegetables will also go with this dish pretty nicely.

• 1 baked salmon fillet
• 1/2 cup roasted red potato
• 1 cup broccoli slaw
• 2 - 3 diabetic jelly cookies

This diabetes meal is low in bad fat, but rich in good fat. Both salmon and flaxseed (in the jelly cookies) are good sources of monounsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fats that can help diabetics prevent heart disease and improve insulin metabolism. But just because they're nutritious doesn't mean you can overeat them. Always remember rule # 5; choose a portion size that suits you best.

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