Three weeks ago, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I'm making the necessary changes in my life that I need to make, but I could really use some help in coming up with new recipes.

My current (I guess I could say former) cooking style relied a lot on things like rice, noodles, bread, potatoes, etc. Suddenly, I have to greatly reduce my intake of these kinds of food. No more pizza, pasta, potatoes, etc. Even my soups had tons of potatoes and generally had rice to go with it, so they're out also. Not a single one of my standard recipes fit into my new diet.

I don't particularly like salads. Or practically any raw vegetables. Right now, I'm relying mainly on meats which is not particularly healthy either, for different reasons.

I need some fairly simple, hearty meals that I can make repeatedly. Preferably with ingredients that can be stored for weeks at a time. Oh, I often use a crockpot in my cooking, so any recipes in that area would be very helpful.

Anyone have any suggestions.

There are some great cookbooks out now for diabetics. One you might like is Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook for slow cookers by Phyllis Pellman Good. My husband was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 3 months ago and put on a low fat, no carbs, no dairy diet and can only have fish and chicken and leafy green veggies until he loses weight and gets his cholesterol under control. He is allowed brown rice, black beans, lentils once a week. There are a lot of recipes online that will help you also. His physician sent him to free classes with a diabetic nutritionist which was a big help to him. Maybe your physician can do the same for you. Since diabetes is increasing there are more options available to those who must watch what they eat. Become a label reader if you're not already. Sugar is hidden in lots of products. I steam a lot of our fresh vegetables and use frozen vegetables rather than canned. You can also use extra lean ground turkey or chicken in place of ground beef which helps you cut calories and reduce fat. I make a slow cooker chili by browning 1-2 lbs. ground turkey in a nonstick skillet, saute a bell pepper and 1 medium onion till translucent. Add to slow cooker with 2 cups low sodium chicken broth and 2 cups water, 1 package of low sodium chili seasoning or make your own mixture, 1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes, 1 can of mild Rotel. I also add 1 package of drained firm tofu to add more protein as it takes on the flavor of the chili and hardly anyone ever notices it's in there. Let simmer on low for 4-6 hours. Before ready to serve you can add in 1 can of low sodium black beans.

If you like the spice cinnamon, you can add this to cereal, oatmeal, soups and stews and this is supposed to help with spikes in blood sugar levels. Spices and herbs are great ways to enhance the flavor of food and helps cut down on the amount of salt you add. I found a soy chorizo sausage product in the produce of my local Wal-Mart from which I make my husband an egg white omelet or scramble. I also brown some of this and add to the above chili recipe.

It's challenging but you can adjust your diet and eat healthy without robbing yourself of everything you love.

That chili sounds good. It's getting colder, so I might give it a try soon.

I have been diabetic for like 10 years and you can eat these things but you have to do it in moderation. You need to count your carbs, are you on a  certain amount of carbs ? Everything you eat will turn to sugar in your body except protein and fat. If you want to pm me I would be glad to help you. I have a cooking group with a section that has all counts included also. You do need to join but its free.

I've always had a problem with moderation.

I'm keeping my carbs down. I've found some websites with the carb count on the various foods. And, I'm looking for some more recipes, obviously. I'm having real trouble cutting down on the rice and potatoes. Those were my life.

Actually, I'm a bit lucky. It was caught fairly early. I mean, I don't have to go on any extreme diets or anything. Nor do I have to take insulin. Just pills. If I can be very careful, I might even be able to get off of the pills eventually.

I have found that barley is a great substitute for rice (Quaker makes a quick cooking barley). My body handles it really well. I don't get BG spikes with it. I also will buy the pre-cooked Minute Rice BROWN rice that comes in a 2 pack of microwavable containers... 1/2 of one of the cups is about 20 carbs. Cooking for one or two people, this is great... If I want to eat rice, I don't have to cook such a tiny amount... just pop one of the cups in the microwave for 1 minute.

I have also found that I can eat "waxy style" potatoes without BG spikes. A small (grade B is about 3 oz) red potato or yukon gold is okay for me. You will have to test yourself to see how they may affect you... Russet or "baking style" potatoes will cause my BG to spike. There is little difference in carb content of these potato styles, but my body reacts to them differently. Unfortunately it is all trial and error to see how things affect YOU. Everyone is different.

I haven't time right now, but in the next few days, I will send you some of my "old stand-by" recipes for which I always have ingredients on hand, as well as the nutritional break down. In the mean time, there are fantastic recipes at www.dlife.com (stands for "diabetes life").

I've never cared too much for barley although I may give it another try. I'm seriously considering the cauliflower rice that I've been told about. When I consider voluntarily eating cauliflower, it's a desperate situation.

I'm still working on my own recipes. I made a Kung Pao Chicken variation today. Even with a half cup of cooked rice, it still comes in at right around 30 carbs. Information comes from the American Diabetes Association. It was originally one of their recipes, but I've altered it. Most of the carbs are from the rice, so if I can come up with a good substitute, I can cut it down even more. Unfortunately, I ran out of soy sauce right in the middle, so I'm not sure if I'm finished with the recipe or not. It was good though even without all the soy sauce.

Thanks for the website.

Also, check your local library. There are tons of cookbooks for diabetics, and you can quickly tell which ones are by legitimate writers with expertise in that field. My husband has diabletes, and those library books provided tremendous help.

This is a good pie recipe if you want less carbs make it has a parfait with no crust or eat a smaller serving

Albert --

If you don't care for barley so much, you can always start by adding a little bit to your rice... maybe 1/4 barley and 3/4 rice. You can slowly adjust the amounts as you go along. I was the same way about barley. and it worked for me. I found I prefer the "quick cooking barley" best... doesn't have such a firm texture. (They are rolled flat like oatmeal... think about how the texture is different from regular old-fashioned oats and the steel cut variety.)

Hi Albert,

I hesitate to give you this DELICIOUS recipe, because it features cauliflower---which you've already send you don't like---but, well, frankly, you're going to have to try new foods in order to find new recipes to control your diabetes.   This can be a substitute for mashed potatoes.  You'll never miss them again.

Cut up a whole head of cauliflower into small pieces (you're going to put it all in a food processor anyway, so the smaller the better).  Roast them in the oven on a lightly greased pan.  About 350 degrees.  Turn them every 15-20 minutes so they cook evenly.  They are done when they a lightly browned--but not burned.  Transfer them to the bowl of a food processor.  Most likely, it all won't fit into the food processor at once, so you'll have to do this in batches.  So, put some into the processor.  Then add some low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese--and pulse until smooth.  Add the cottage cheese a third of a cup at a time.  Every batch will take a different amount of cottage cheese.   But the idea is to get it to come together and resemble the consistancy of mashed potatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  This can be served hot, or cold.  Cold is also yummy.  This is really quite delicious!!

Cauliflower has practically no calories (one and a half cups = 45 cals!!)  and the cottage cheese is low in carbs. 

Oh, any by the way---it's important to roast the cauliflower and NOT boil it.  Boiling makes it too soggy.  Roasting dries it out and makes it taste better!!  

I hope you'll give it a try.  I really think you'll like it!!

Hey Albert,

We relied very heavily on these 3  books after my mom was diagnosed as being prediabetic, overweight, and having hypertension. My mom is now well within her normal weight group, her blood pressure is relatively normal as is her cholesterol. The recipes are delicious and easy and we still use them.

http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Cleggs-Terrific-Diabetic-Cooking/dp/1580402607/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Beat-Diabetes-Scrumptious-Recipes/dp/0762108975/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290368813&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-EatingWell-Cookbook-Carbs-Flavors/dp/0881507016/ref=pd_sim_b_25

I have 6 Diabetic cooking little books.  They are the type of cookbooks you find at the store checkout line.  The title is "Diabetic Cooking".  They are perfect for type1, type2 and pre-diabetic diets.

I have Jan/Feb 09; March/April 09; May/June 09; Sept/Oct 09; Nov/Dec 09 (almost full year- only missing July/Aug);

andI have Jan/Feb 10.

1 book credit per 2 books or 4 credit if you want  all the books.

I can't list these in the normal posting of books since they are a magazine type since they were mailed to me at home and there is no ISBN.

Thanks

I am an in home aide for a woman who is diabetic (and we have daily arguments on what is healthy!)

a couple of the websites I have found are daibeticconnet.com and and diabetic gourmet, they send me recipes everyday, and that has really helped me out!

Mainly just count your carbs, knowing how many you can have per meal and snack.

and make sure your bgc is on track! and I will end up lecturing here if I dont stop, hehe, good luck!

If you need to know the carbs on a recipe, you can enter all the ingredients and amount of servings into a recipe calculator such as this one. http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp 

I am a type 1 diabetic so I know exactly what you're going through. A website with some good info/recipes is dlife.com.

Hope this helps!

Stephanie, for our Christmas dinner I roasted the cauliflower (but didnt have the recipe with me at the time, so didnt follow the exact instructions) and wow, we liked the roasted cauliflower just as a veggie! I did end up smashing it and making it into mock mashed potatoes, but I had poured butter buds and garlic on it before roasting it, I think we could all eat that just as is, very happily!  Im going to try the idea with a few other veggies too!

Sheyen, I am so glad!!!  I know most people will really like it if only they get up the nerve to try it.

By the way, the roasted cauliflower is also an ecellent substitute for the macaroni in tuna cassarole and other similar cassaroles.  Plus it's just much lighter fare, and less bulky in the belly if you overindulge.  And yummy! 

Anyway, thanks for posting you tried it.

I've found that watching the glycemic index of food helps.  Do better with sprouted wheat breads instead of whole wheat flour.  Some carbs are serious problems, some aren't.  All are better when balanced with protein and veggies.

Website for glycemic index

Oh.  Each person has different diet needs.  Just because a food is safe for person A does not mean it does not spike the sugar for person B.  You need to learn where your personal safe limits are.