Health Eating

                                                         HEALTHY EATING
  The next few sessions will focus on healthy eating. They will include some general tips on how to eat, what to eat and even some great recipes for Diabetics.

How to Eat: Portion Control is Key!

Use this handy tool on the plate method, distributed in support group session 1, to help control your portion sizes


The American Diabetes Association highlights an easy way to accomplish this, even if you don't have your plate method hand out with you.  
        Create your plate is a fast and easy way to choose and eat the foods you want by focusing on your portion sizes and making healthier food choices.
If you, like many others, simply do not know where to start making changes, changing the amount of food that you are already eating is a great start! 


Creating your plate, or using the plate method, is an easy way to control your blood glucose levels.


See below for a helpful video on how to create your plate, it's EASY!! 

These are the Six Easy Steps to Create Your Plate discussed in the video above:

This is a simple and effective way to manage diabetes and lose weight. The plate method, or creating your plate is great because you can still eat the foods you like but changes the portion sizes so you're getting larger portions of, the good stuff (non starchy vegetables) and smaller portions of the not-so-good stuff (see below for examples). 

Once you have mastered the plate method with the foods you're used to, try some new items from the non-starchy vegetables list.

Here are six simple tips to get you started (as outlined in the video):

Using your dinner plate, put a line down the middle of the plate.

1. Then on one side, cut it again so you will have 3 sections on your plate.
2. Fill the largest section with non-starchy vegetables such as:
   1. spinach, carrots, lettuce, greens, cabbage, bok choy
   2. green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes,
   3. vegetable juice, salsa, onion, cucumber, beets, okra,
   4. mushrooms, peppers, turnip
3. Now in one of the small sections, put starchy foods such as:
   1. whole grain breads, such as whole wheat or rye
   2. whole grain, high-fiber cereal
   3. cooked cereal such as oatmeal, grits, hominy, or cream of wheat
   4. rice, pasta, dal, tortillas
   5. cooked beans and peas, such as pinto beans or black-eyed peas
   6. potatoes, green peas, corn, lima beans, sweet potatoes, winter squash
   7. low-fat crackers and snack chips, pretzels, and fat-free popcorn
4. And then on the other small section, put your meat or meat substitutes such as:
   1. chicken or turkey without the skin
   2. fish such as tuna, salmon, cod, or catfish
   3. other seafood such as shrimp, clams, oysters, crab, or mussels
   4. lean cuts of beef and pork such as sirloin or pork loin
   5. tofu, eggs, low-fat cheese
5. Add an 8 oz glass of non-fat or low-fat milk. If you don’t drink milk, you can add another small serving of carb such as a 6 oz. container of light yogurt or a small roll.
   1. And a piece of fruit or a 1/2 cup fruit salad and you have your meal planned. Examples are fresh, frozen, or canned in juice or frozen in light syrup or fresh fruit.