How to create a diabetic meal plan

Do I have to give up pasta? Do I have to start counting carbs? What can I eat?

When you learn you have diabetes or prediabetes, your first thoughts are likely to turn to diet — what a healthy diabetes diet looks like and whether keto or the Mediterranean diet is best for diabetes.

A dietitian can help you create a personal diabetic meal plan tailored to your health needs and food preferences. But if you’re ready to dive in, you can start on your own with advice from Reetu Nigam, R.D., MPH, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator with Sutter Health.

Benefits of a diabetic meal plan

“The benefit in having a meal plan is knowing that there is balance, structure and consistency,” Nigam says. “Those three things are necessary to keep blood sugar stable.”

That means structure with portion sizes to ensure you don’t overeat, balance to avoid eating too much of a single food group, and consistency around meal times.

When planning your meal times, Nigam recommends being realistic about your life so that your plan is sustainable.

“Some people can have three meals a day. Some people can eat five or six little meals a day or three meals and two to three snacks,” she adds. “If you’re hungry between meals or if you feel like your blood sugar is dipping between meals, it's fine to have snacks, but they're not mandatory.”

If you’re snacking between meals, make sure it’s at least two hours from mealtimes to help reduce blood sugar spikes.

Plate method approach

So, what types of foods should be included in a diabetes diet? Nigam says to use a 9-inch plate (to keep portion sizes appropriate) and fill it this way:

• One-half: nonstarchy vegetables
• One-fourth: protein
• One-fourth: high-fiber, complex carbohydrate

Foods to include in a diabetes diet

Non-starchy vegetables

“With diabetes, fiber is super important,” Nigam says. Non-starchy vegetables include things like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, tomatoes, leafy greens, carrots and green beans.

But potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, green peas, corn, beans and lentils are starchy vegetables and are therefore carbohydrates.

When choosing your veggies, she says, eat different colors of veggies, which helps you get different nutrients and antioxidants. And order matters: Eating the veggies first or prioritizing the veggies and protein helps slow down blood sugar spikes, she adds.

Protein

“There are animal sources of protein, of course, but we shouldn’t forget that there are also a lot of plant sources,” Nigam says.

For animal sources, stick to lean proteins, which include chicken, turkey, lean cuts of red meat (tenderloin, pork chop) and fish. If you eat fish, Nigam recommends salmon, tuna and sardines as healthy proteins that are also good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for heart health.

Plant sources of protein include beans and lentils. “They do have a little bit of carb, but they are a great protein source,” she adds. Soy products are another option. But be mindful of overly processed soy products and their sodium (salt) content.

“The closer to mother nature that you’re eating, the better,” she advises. “There’s a difference between having tofu or tempeh and a soy ‘meat’ patty.”

Dairy products like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese as well as nuts and seeds offer protein. And if you’re struggling to get enough protein, you may want to look at protein shakes and powders, Nigam says.

Complex carbohydrates

“With diabetes, it’s all about being mindful of what kind of carb you're having and how much,” she explains. Fruit is a healthy complex carbohydrate. If you have grains, stick to whole grains. For example, brown rice and quinoa are healthier options than white rice. Choose whole-grain, high-fiber breads, tortillas and chapatis over their white-flour counterparts. You can look for products made millet, sorghum, barley or almond flour.

“We recommend trying to avoid processed carbs,” she says. “Processed carbs would basically be packaged carbs or things made from white flour — think white rice, white bread, white pasta, breakfast cereal, pancakes, waffles."

Is your diabetic meal plan working?

As you try a new approach to eating, keep track of your blood sugar.

“It might be cliché to say ‘everything in moderation,’ but it’s really true,” Nigam says. “Diabetes is a lot of trial and error. You have to check your blood sugar so you can adjust your diabetic meal plan as you go.”