Diabetes dinners
Having diabetes doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself at dinner. In fact, it’s a great excuse to learn how to enjoy healthier meals to benefit you and your baby. A good goal for your dinner is 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates. That gives you plenty of room for delicious, satisfying meals. These diabetes dinners recipes can be part of your sample meal plan to maintain your blood sugar within normal ranges.
Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Cauliflower and Pasta – diabetes dinners
This dish is about as easy as possible. Balsamic vinegar and rosemary are sweet and savoury at the same time, and they provide flavour without adding calories or sodium. Cauliflower is one possible side dish, but any vegetable that you like works just as well.
- Two four-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
- one tablespoon of olive oil
- one-quarter of a cup of balsamic vinegar
- one sprig cup of fresh rosemary, chopped
- one-half of a head of cauliflower, or two cups of frozen or fresh florets
- two cups of cooked whole grain pasta, such as whole wheat spaghetti or macaroni
Bake the chicken in a covered baking pan with the olive oil, rosemary and balsamic vinegar at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Steam the cauliflower until it is soft, and serve with the chicken and pasta.
Nutrition Value
Each of two servings provides 350 calories and 20 grams of carbohydrates.
Lemon-Pepper Fish with Green Beans Almondine – diabetes dinners
Lemon-pepper fish is a quick, tasty dinner choice. Steamed green beans with sliced almonds are high in dietary fiber and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. You can use any white fish, such as tilapia, swai or haddock, and use fresh or frozen green beans. Whole-grain couscous is an often overlooked treasure, and it’s a perfect starch for this balanced dinner.
Ingredients
- Two six-ounce fillets of white fish
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- one clove of garlic, diced (optional)
- black pepper
- juice of one lemon
- 2 cups of fresh green beans, washed and with stems trimmed, or 2 cups of frozen green beans
- 4 tablespoons (one-quarter cup) of sliced almonds
- One-third of a cup of whole-grain couscous
- one cup of boiling water, for the couscous
Directions
Steam the green beans and almonds in a steamer or over a low flame in a small amount of water in a covered pot. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. If you are using garlic, add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until it is brown. Then add the fish and cook evenly on each side until it begins to flake. Add the lemon juice and pepper just before serving. To make the couscous, pour the boiling water over the grain and let it stand for five minutes. Fluff it with a fork before serving it.
Nutrition Value
Each of two servings provides 400 calories and 34 grams of carbohydrates.
Dessert – diabetes dinners
Diabetes or no diabetes, sometimes you’ve just got to have chocolate. There are plenty of healthy options for you even if you have diabetes. Before you dive into the pan of brownies or grab a slice of chocolate cake with frosting, consider these fast, ready-made options to round out your meal. Each has less than 100 calories and 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
- One packet of diet hot chocolate mix
- one 4-ounce single-serving sugar-free chocolate pudding cup
- one half-cup of non-fat, sugar-free frozen yogurt
