Planning A South Indian Diabetic Friendly Diet
Table of Content
Indians with diabetes have a harder time dealing with the illness because of our cuisine. Many of our staple foods like rice and potatoes are high in starch.
But you can personalize your South Indian meals and make diabetes friendly food choices.
Diabetes Friendly Food Choices
A cup of coffee or tea without sugar
A glass of warm water with lime and ginger is healthy
When you wake up…
- Have a couple of digestive biscuits
- A cup of coffee or tea without sugar
- A glass of warm water with lime and ginger is healthy
At breakfast, have…
- Steamed idlis with chutney
- Soft dosa cooked with minimum oil
- Upma made with cracked wheat, quinoa or poha
- Pongal made with brown rice
- Ragi dosas and idiyappams
For a mid morning snack have…
- A glass of buttermilk
- Avoid tender coconut water or juices(high sugar content)
- Low sugar content fruit
- Handful of unsalted nuts
Diabetes friendly lunch options
- Brown rice, diabetes rice, quinoa, broken millets
- Kootu with water based vegetables
- Porials with vegetables like carrot, beans, cabbage etc
- Greens blended with dhal or plain
- Sambhar with non tuber vegetables
Evening tea can include…
- A cup of tea or coffee with no sugar
- Digestive biscuits
- A small healthy snack like upma or adai
Healthy dinner options
- Have a clear vegetable soup before dinner
- Make a bowl of salad
- Wheat chappathis with dhal and vegetables
- Adai made with dhal, and chutney
- Oats porridge with vegetables
Good snack options (when you just need to binge)
- Vegetable salads
- Fruit salads (with fruits low in sugar)
- Steamed or boiled vegetables
- Steamed dhal vadas
- Microwave papads with vegetables on top
Tips for meat eaters
- Grill your meat instead of deep frying
- Make it into a curry instead of dry frying
- Have more lean meats like chicken and fish
- Add vegetables to the meat dish
Tips to manage your diabetic diet
- Eat a snack when you wake up
- Drink two glasses of water before a meal
- Have small meals every two hours
- Eat dinner early
- Carry a small snack at all times
What you should avoid
- Deep fried foods
- Coconut based curries and chutneys
- Curries with excess oil like kara kuzhambu
- Biriyanis and pulaus that have excess oil and rice
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Updated on 22nd Jan 2024
