Diabetes: Eating nutritious food

The plate method is a useful tool for making healthy, balanced meals.

Using this plate can help you control your portion sizes. Eat a variety of foods.  

Control your blood sugar levels. 

A quarter  of your plate of meat, fish or eggs. This food group is called protein. Protein will help bring your sugar down after meals. Protein will keep you fuller longer. Traditional food like Game and Fish will lower your blood sugar level.

Half of the plate can be filled with colorful vegetables, fresh or cooked. 

1/4 of the plate of starchy foods, such as pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, cereal, and bannock contain natural sugar. These foods make blood sugar rise. Do not avoid starchy foods. The body needs them for energy. It is good for people with diabetes to control the portion  of starchy foods at each meal.  

As beverage prefer water or milk.  At dessert fruits or yogurt.  

Try not to skip meals.  You will be hungrier for the next meal and you might eat more food.  

Breakfast - this is the most  important meal of the day. It gives you energy for the morning and helped to control portion sizes at lunch.  

Lunch - include protein, cheese,  eggs, meat, etc. It does not take long to make a healthy lunch. Protein will help bring down your sugar after meals. Protein will keep you fuller for a longer time.

Include vegetables, vegetable soups, cooked or fresh vegetables. Vegetables will not bring your sugar up. Include foods made from whole wheat cereal, such as brown bread, bannock with oats to add more fiber.   Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar in the blood. 

Supper -  try to control the portion size at supper.  Usually we are less active after supper.  The starchy foods from supper will  be used less as a source of energy compared to the breakfast.