“What’s for dinner?” is one of the top questions in our households now. We are cooking at home more and to make it complicated, taking fewer trips to the grocery store. Hopefully, you have some time to cook and experiment in the kitchen and maybe even found comfort in cooking at home.
For people with diabetes, this is a crucial time to work on balancing blood glucose to help with immunity, sleep, energy, and mood. This is time to be as healthy as possible. Meal planning is necessary now more than ever to balance your plate and glucose.
Kitchen inventory
Start meal planning by using what you have at home. This helps to save money and reduce food waste. While looking through your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer do some cleaning and toss anything that’s old or expired. In your refrigerator, keep fresh produce at eye level as a reminder to eat it before it goes bad. Frozen foods are important to have on hand because they last longer. If you have a full freezer, keep a list of what you have as a reminder when making a meal plan.
Create a meal plan for 1-2 weeks
Start by making a list of some foods you have at home and want to use. Add to the list meals you want to cook. Think about what your family eats in a typical day. Write down ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the next 1-2 weeks. Look through recipes and include all food groups. Plan for vegetables, protein, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, dairy, snacks, condiments, and sauces. Include some frozen and nonperishable foods. Remember, you don’t need a recipe for each meal. A healthy meal can be a salad or a mix of different foods like lentils, tomatoes, and spinach. Plan to make some leftovers for quick and easy meals.
To control carbohydrate intake, think about following the Diabetes Plate Method. That means 50% of your plate should be non-starchy vegetables, 25% protein, and 25% carbohydrates. Plan your meals around the vegetable which should be the largest portion on your plate or bowl. This bumps up your fiber intake to help feed the good bacteria in your gut and support your immune system. It’s fine to still have some boxed or prepared starchy foods like rice and pasta but balance that with vegetables and protein.
This is an important time to eat whole foods. While comfort food and sweets taste good in the immediate, they contribute to inflammation and increase glucose levels. This can lead to a cycle of more stress and anxiety. If you need some new ideas, consider a virtual cooking class, online meal plans, a new cookbook, or a virtual visit with a registered dietitian.
You put time into meal planning, so keep your meal plans. Include some of the meals you enjoyed on your next meal plan. Eventually, you’ll have lots of meal ideas and can even use the same meal plan again.
Make a grocery list but be flexible
Now that you have a meal plan, it’s time to make a shopping list. Use your meal plan to estimate how much you need to purchase of each item. Purchase some extra non-perishable and frozen foods so you don’t run out.
Our usual food chain is disrupted, so we are all getting food in different ways now. Maybe you are going to the grocery store, online grocery shopping, or buying from local farms. Be prepared and get creative with some ingredient substitutes in case you can’t find what’s on your list. Remember, you can freeze some fresh foods like vegetables, fruits, cheese, milk, meat, poultry, or fish if you purchase more than what you planned on making. Most fresh vegetables need to be blanched before freezing.
Just like your meal plan, save a copy of your grocery list as a reminder of some staple foods you may want to buy again. Keep your grocery list in the kitchen so you can easily add to it when you run out of items.
Read labels while shopping
Due to the changes in food availability, you may be looking at some new or different foods. Continue to read the Nutrition Facts label to compare products. Also, pay attention to dates on the food labels. Food is still safe to eat shortly after it’s “use by” “sell by” dates, but it may not last much longer after that date. Food is not safe to eat after the “expiration” date.
Prep and portion
When you have time, prep some foods so they are ready to eat. Think about chopping vegetables or making a sauce so it’s ready to use when you need it. People are purchasing larger portions of foods during this time. When snacking, keep your portions in check by portioning foods into single servings.
Plan for leftovers by batch cooking. Think about cooking larger amounts of vegetables, whole grains, and protein foods so you don’t have to cook as often. Portion leftovers into single or family servings for a quick meal to eat later or freeze.
There’s a lot that we don’t have control over right now. Meal planning is one thing you can do to help your health and your food budget. Make this part of your new routine and enjoy cooking at home.
