Healthy Cooking Tips for Persons With Diabetes

Healthy cooking and diabetes management:

A healthy diet is not only critical to proper diabetes management, but will also help in maintaining desirable weight, controlling normal blood sugar levels, and preventing heart diseases.

Always consult your physician, registered dietitian (RD), or nutritionist to assist in planning and preparing healthy meals.

Some healthy cooking tips include the following:

• Use vegetable oil spray instead of oil, shortening, or butter.
• Steam vegetables using a low-fat broth or water.
• Season foods with herbs and spices, vinegar, lemon juice, or salsa.
• Use low- or no-sugar jams instead of butter or margarine.
• Eat or cook cereal with skim milk or 1 percent milk.
• Use low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese, or nonfat yogurt.
• Drink fruit juice that has no added sugar.
• Eat chicken or turkey without the skin.
• Broil, roast, stir-fry, or grill meats. Always buy lean cuts of meat.
• Use lemon or lime on fish and vegetables instead of butter or sauces.
• Use canola or olive oil in food preparation instead of vegetable oils.
• Buy whole grain breads and cereals.

Physicians and other experts can provide helpful resources that further cover meal planning, offer healthy recipes and cooking tips, suggest exercise programs, manage weight, and more. Excellent diabetic reference books and pamphlets are also available through your library.