Healthy meal ideas and guidance for managing diabetes, losing weight and keeping the heart healthy.

Managing portion sizes and carefully planning healthful meals are key to successful diabetes management. Diabetes Meals for Good Health guides the reader in choosing meals and snacks, reducing portions, and controlling carbohydrates, with the goal of bringing down blood sugars and losing unneeded extra pounds.

Karen Graham provides all the tools needed, offering detailed information on choosing the correct personal meal plan. The low-fat, high-fiber meals include lots of grain, fruits and vegetables. The meal plans range from 1,200 to 2,200 calories per day. The goal of managing both diabetes and weight can be achieved while eating favorite foods in moderation.

Easy-to-follow plans are broken down into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack meals. As a bonus, life-size color photographs provide an easy way of ensuring correct portion sizes.

Each recipe contains a nutritional breakdown according to the portion size as well as Exchange Lists for Meal Planning© and the caloric breakdown.

A small sampling of the meal ideas:

• Breakfast meals include egg and toast; pancakes and bacon; muffin and yogurt; raisin toast and cheese
• Lunch meals feature toasted cheese and tomato sandwich; French onion soup; cold plate with soup
• Delicious dinner meals include baked chicken and potato; spaghetti and meat sauce; roast turkey dinner; Chinese stir fry; roti with curried filling.

Best of all, the terrific recipes can enjoyed by everyone, not just by those managing diabetes.

Karen Graham, RD, CDE is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and nutrition counsellor with over 30 years of specialization in the management and treatment of diabetes She lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she works as a Public Health Dietician

Karen Graham's profile page

The dishes all use commonly available ingredients, are low in fat, sugar and slat, and many can be frozen.

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