Having diabetes doesn’t mean we should lose the flavor of our cookies and dishes. There are so many things we can use instead of unhealthy ingredients that are bad for our blood sugar levels, like refined sugar, potatoes, ketchup, white rice, canned vegetables, fruits, etc. By using both healthy and delicious ingredients, we’ll not only prevent dangerous blood sugar spikes but enjoy our food. And if you’re ever in the mood for something sweet, you can even explore options like “get well cookies delivery” that offer diabetic-friendly treats without compromising on taste. Here are a few cooking tips for diabetes-friendly meals that will cut calories and keep the blood sugar stable without losing flavor.
Cooking Tips for Diabetes-Friendly Meals
1. Baking Hack
We should replace sugar with unsweetened applesauce for our favorite desserts. Even better, we need to make Web MD and use it whenever needed. The trick, however, is to reduce the number of wet ingredients in the recipe as applesauce contains a lot of liquid.
In that way, we can enjoy our favorite baking dessert without worrying about raising our blood sugar levels.
2. Chia Seeds!
We need to use these tiny hydrophilic seeds in different recipes to boost our meal’s nutrition and volume. They can absorb a lot of water, becoming gelatinous and increasing the size of our dish.
According to studies, they can help maintain healthy blood sugar and blood pressure levels, thus protecting from many diabetes-related complications. They don’t have a strong flavor; some even say they are flavorless, so we can add them to both, sweet and salty dishes.
3. Baked Sweet Potato Fries
The Glucose Chef who runs an online diabetes cooking show explains how to make sweet potato fries which are not only diabetes-friendly but also delicious. Sweet potato skin is full of fiber and potassium which help regulate blood glucose.
He also uses many other low-glycemic ingredients like avocado, peppers, lime, onions, apple cider vinegar, almond oil, ginger, garlic, turmeric, etc.
His goal is to show that the condition doesn’t have to deprive us of favorite foods but to make us learn how to cook healthier with whole foods and raw ingredients. He uses a lot of spices and herbs that make meals full of flavor.
We need to keep in mind to use ingredients that are low in sugar and sodium. So, instead of the typical French fries, prepare a much healthier version with sweet potatoes. Here’s how to make them.
Diabetes-Friendly Baked Sweet Potatoes Fries – Recipe
Ingredients for the Sweet Potato Fries:
- 3 medium sweet potatoes;
- 2 dinner spoons Za’atar;
- 1 tablespoon of almond oil.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Cut the sweet potatoes into slices and place them on a baking pan and cooling rack, putting the rack over the pan. Put them in the oven and bake for half an hour. Now, it’s time to make the avocado sauce.
Ingredients for the Avocado Sauce:
- ¼ red onion;
- 1 Hass avocado;
- ½ a lime;
- 1 medium garlic clove;
- ¼ teaspoon of Himalayan salt;
- ½ a medium ginger root;
- ¼ teaspoon of Zhoug;
- ¼ teaspoon of turmeric;
- ¼ teaspoon of lemongrass;
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar;
- 1 teaspoon of almond oil.
Instructions:
Chop the onion and add it to a bowl. Then dice the garlic and ginger and add them to the bowl together with the spices. Mix well. Cut the avocado into cubes and add it to the mixture in the bowl.
Blend the mixture in a food processor, and store the sauce in a ziplock bag, and set it aside. The final part is to make the garnish mix.
Ingredients for the Garnish Mix:
- ¼ red bell pepper;
- 10 chives;
- 7 black olives;
- ½ shallot.
Instructions:
Dice the olives into small pieces and add them to a bowl. Then, dice the shallot, red bell pepper, and chives, and add them to the olives. Stir it all together.
Final Step
Let the sweet potato fries cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a clean bowl. Then, add a tablespoon of roasted almond oil and mix it. Next, add a dinner spoon of za’atar and mix again.
Repeat the almond oil and za’atar step once again and give it another mix. Put the fries into a serving bowl and top it up with the garnish mix. Then, cut the corner off of the ziplock bag, and zig-zag the avocado sauce. Enjoy!
