Cooking (or not) for diabetics

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by Hazel W

99% of the world population consists of very good cooks. I am the other 1% which is what leads me to this question. Could I be looking for an out? Question: With all the foods available on the market today, is it possible to serve up three good diabetes-healthy meals a day with little or no cooking? There are salads, of course. But I'm thinking of full-meal dishes. I am looking at ready-to-heat-and-eat canned and/or frozen foods. Martha Holmes and Glory prepare some of the best southern-cooking vegetables I have even eaten. No way could I cook like that. Does anyone do it - put together good meals with "heat-and-eat" style? Just wondering while I strive to think of dinner.

My husband has diabetes and more than one good friends as well and I cook for them all however, I cook real food. No boxed, processed anything goes on our table and I have yet to find a good substitute that comes out of a box or the frozen food section of the grocery.

You don't have to be a professional chef to make good meals for yourself, you just have to know exactly how to account for everything you eat. My husband is not limited to specific foods because I account for everything he eats in his daily meals and it is a bit more difficult for us because he is eating out most of the time because he is gone working.

There is a good guideline for free call "Carb Counting and Meal Planning", you can get it for free from cornerstone4care (or something like that, do a google search). You can also find it on amazon I believe and there is no cost or should not be.

[Trivettes]

Check out frozen meatballs. They're only a couple carbs per meatball. Of course, being pre-packaged they probably have a lot of preservatives, etc but for a quick occasional meal they're okay. I also buy bottled alfredo sauce to put on them--check the brands for the lowest carb. I was buying the Gia Russo brand of pasta sauces because they are all natural ingredients but they are expensive so when Bertolli is on sale I'll buy that. Once in a while my Publix has the Gia Russo BOGO tho. Very good on meatballs and if you can handle Dreamfield's pasta (it spikes me 3-4 hours later but not too badly if I watch my portions), then you could make meatballs with alfredo sauce and a bit of pasta. Or, cook the meatballs in Campbell's Beefy Mushroom soup (not too bad on carbs) and just before serving mix in a dollop of sour cream. Mmmmm.

I know, this is all prepackaged stuff, which I eat only occasionally, but it is an easy meal (just watch the carbs in any pasta). You could also make mashed cauliflower (cook the cauliflower until soft, drain well and mash in a bit of real cream and butter--I sometimes use the mixer or food processor but just mashing works) and top with meatballs cooked in the beefy mushroom soup or Campbells canned beef gravy. Delish!

An alternative is to make your own meatballs, which isn't really hard, just a little more time consuming. I mix ground beef with some italian seasonings, salt and pepper and roll into balls, put on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 until done. I forget, maybe 30-45 mins.

Hope this helps a bit. Oh, and always check your blood sugar at one and two hours after eating (if I have the Dreamfields I check at 3 and 4 hours too) to see which foods spike you and which don't.

[Oildog]

Maybe making pots of beans or chili and putting portions in plastic freezer containers for reheating at later times. I have to do this often as cooking for one is tough.