Making appropriate meal choices and eating slowly are essential components of living with diabetes. Once you find the ideal mix between taste and nutrition, it's not that difficult. Avoiding meals with a high glycemic index (GI) that could raise your blood sugar levels and consuming complex carbohydrates like whole grains and vegetables like raw carrots, kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils, among others, can work. It's crucial to resist the temptation of fried and processed foods like biscuits, namkeen, cake, and ready-to-eat dishes. You can prevent a surge in your blood sugar by managing the portion size of your meals.
Dinner menus don't have to be as extensive as lunch menus, but they certainly shouldn't be tasteless. A variety of veggies, spices, and lemons can be used. Instead of deep frying, employ healthy cooking techniques including roasting, grilling, stir-frying, boiling, and steaming.
Here are some diabetes-friendly dinner recipes that are delicious and healthy-
Lemon Rosemary Coconut Oil Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
1. 2 cups trimmed carrots
2. 1 cup Brussels sprouts, halved
3. 1 cup green beans, trimmed
4. 1 cup broccoli florets
5. About 4 tbsp coconut oil, divided; melted or softened
6. 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
7. Juice half a lemon
8. Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Turn on the oven and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, a Silpat nonstick baking mat, or cooking spray.
2. Arrange the veg on the tray (choice of vegetables is mix-and-match and amounts approximate; use what you have on hand or prefer).
3. Drizzle the vegetables with 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil or, if it is firm, scatter roughly pea-sized bits of coconut oil over the vegetables.
4. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and any other desired herbs and spices.
5. Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables and bake them for about 25 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.
6. If they appear dry when being flipped, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of coconut oil, or as needed.
Tomato and Vegetable White Bean Soup
Ingredients
1. 2 tbsp olive oil
2. 1 large white or yellow onion (diced)
3. 3 cloves garlic (minced)
4. 1 cup carrots (sliced)
5. 1/2 tsp each sea salt and black pepper (plus more to taste)
6. 1 tsp dried basil, oregano and garlic powder
7. 1-pound red potatoes (quartered)
8. 2 medium yellow squash or zucchini (sliced)
9. 2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes
10.1 ounce can of tomato sauce
11. 5 cups veggie stock
12. 1 ounce can of white beans (rinsed and drained)
13. 3 cups kale (or other sturdy green/chopped)
Method
1. Heat a large pot for the veggies.
2. Add oil, then toss in the onion, garlic, and carrot. Stir to coat after adding the spices, salt, and pepper.
3. Add Squash, potatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock. Simmer the soup for a while, then turn the heat down to low and cover. After 15 minutes of simmering, toss in the beans and season with a little more salt and pepper. Make sure to reduce the heat to just a gentle simmer if the soup begins to boil.
4. After cooking for at least a further 10 minutes, toss in the kale and cover. Cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Taste the dish and add more seasoning if necessary. Serve with hearty bread.
Mushroom and bean burger
Ingredients
1. 1 bowl of sliced fresh mushrooms
2. 1 tsp herbs
3. 1 tbsp chopped onion
4. 1/4 cup bean (boiled kidney beans)
5. Salt and pepper to taste
6. 1 tbsp mashed potato
7. Olive oil for pan searing
8. 1 no. Tomato
9. 1 no cucumber
10. Mayonnaise for spread
11. Lettuce
Method
1. Cook the mushrooms and onions. Then add herbs.
2. After it has cooled, mix in the mashed potatoes and cooked kidney beans.
3. Thoroughly combine the ingredients and season.
4. Next, prepare a burger-sized Tikki.
5. Sear all sides of a pan
6. Split the burger bread in half, and toast each side.
7. Spread mayonnaise on both sides, then top with lettuce, tomato slices, and cucumber slices.
8. Top that with a pan-seared patty.
9. Add tomato ketchup to serve.
Lemon garlic salmon
Ingredients
1. 1 salmon steak 180 gm
2. 1 tbsp Garlic
3. 1 no. Lime
4. 1 tsp parsley
5. 1 tbsp olive oil
Methods
1. With salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and zest, marinade the salmon steak.
2. Next, pan-sear both sides in olive oil. Cook well and serve hot.