Practical Meal Plans

Q: Hi Ginny,

I am having trouble finding a nutritionist/dietitian to help me with meal plans. The books are some help, but not very personal or adaptable. I went to one that my insurance will pay for when I was first diagnose, but her suggestions were not really practical and we didn't have a good repore. I need practical doable plans for a single person. Eating a half a banana is not practical, just wasteful. Any suggestions?

Thank you.

A: First, let me tell you how sorry I am that your appointment wasn’t what you needed. I don’t know who your insurance is with, but insurance providers usually have lists of dietitians that are contracted with them. You may want to start your search with your insurance provider. Ask your insurance company to help you find another dietician. You can also check with your insurance to see if your primary care physician has a diabetes educator or care manager in his/her clinic who could help you. At your next diabetes visit, be sure and take all the information you were previously given. Take a few minutes at the beginning of the visit to let the new dietician know your exact needs. Your statement “I need a practical doable plan for a single person” would be a great place to start. If you were given a certain number of carbohydrates to eat at each meal, be sure and add that information too. If you need or want sample meal plans, be sure and ask because that would be very easy for a dietician to provide. Please let us know what happens in your search.

Do not give up! You are paying for this service and you should get the exact information you need from the visit. ginny

Cooking for friends with diabetes

Q: Hello Ginny,

I have a girlfriend and I like her a lot. When we started dating she told me that she has diabetes type II. She is so kind and she has cooked dinner a few times for me and I love it, but I’d like to cook for her more often, however I need to be conscious about her Carbs intake. She told me that she is allowed 45g of Carbs per meal and I was wondering if you have recipes that I can cook that would be within that amount of allowable Carbs intake per meal, or at least point to what direction I should go in order to abtain such recipes.

Please let me know. Thanks.

A: How lovely that you want to cook a dinner for your friend!

Most people with diabetes watch their carbohydrate intake carefully. You said your friend is having 45 grams of carbohydrates per meal. What are carbohydrates? They are all the starches (bread, pasta, rice, cereal, potatoes, corn, beans and lentils), fruits (fresh, frozen, dried and juice) and milk products (milk, yogurt, ice cream) that we eat. Each general serving is approximately 15 grams. A serving is about 1/2 cup.

Your friend is trying to have 3 carbohydrate servings per meal. What would a dinner for her look like? A big salad; a serving of fish, chicken or beef (spices are great but be careful with sauces); and vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, zuchinni, spinach ect.). So far we don't have many carbohydrates in the meal. Some patients are tracking very intensively and count salad and vegetables. If these are in servings dishes, your friend could help herself and either count them or not. Now, if you wanted to add carbohydrates like potatoes and dinner rolls, place these in serving dishes as well. If there are choices for people with diabetes, that is such a plus. Your friend can put the amounts on her plate that fit in with her personal plan and what she chooses to have at the meal.

There are great cookbooks that you can check out too: Betty Crocker's "Diabetes Cookbook", "1,001 Delicious Recipes for People with Diabetes" by Sue Spitler and "The Everything Diabetic Cookbook" by Pamela Hahn.

I am also sending your note to my friends, Lisa and Ann, to see if they have more information to add.

Happy cooking, ginny