Meal ideas for family of 3?

[askeelsepttype2]

Why do so many of the recipes on this site call for potatoes, rice and Pasta as ingredients ? These are three of the things I've been advised not to eat because of the high sugar content. I do understand that it is the total carb/calorie count that is important but with a medium potato equal to 9 spoons of sugar I can't help but question this.
I am searching for things I can eat. My last BG was 13.7 (113) and as I have been sticking to a low carb diet I am very confused why it is so high. I only started finger prick tests today and am about to do my pre-dinner test.
I am trying to plan meals for the whole family but cannot find anything we can all eat. I would welcome any advice or tips on meal planning. My family consists of 3 adults. Me diabetic, my son has fatty liver disease and my husband who has no dietary limitations.

 

[Leadinglights]

Why do so many of the recipes on this site call for potatoes, rice and Pasta as ingredients ? These are three of the things I've been advised not to eat because of the high sugar content. I do understand that it is the total carb/calorie count that is important but with a medium potato equal to 9 spoons of sugar I can't help but question this.
I am searching for things I can eat. My last BG was 13.7 (113) and as I have been sticking to a low carb diet I am very confused why it is so high. I only started finger prick tests today and am about to do my pre-dinner test.
I am trying to plan meals for the whole family but cannot find anything we can all eat. I would welcome any advice or tips on meal planning. My family consists of 3 adults. Me diabetic, my son has fatty liver disease and my husband who has no dietary limitations.

I think that the recipes are perhaps too high in carbs for many who are trying to reduce blood glucose by diet only and are not just for people who are Type 2 so rather generic.
You may find recipes in this link helpful and may fit in better with family meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
There are substitutions for potatoes like butternut squash, swede, celeriac, for rice some people have cauliflower rice, for pasta either courgette, or use edamame bean or black bean pasta.
Some people use Konjac noodles or rice but I found them unpleasant I'm afraid.
Of course you can just have extra veg or salad instead.
Mention of the Caldesi recipe books in another thread have good recipes, or search for low carb or keto recipes on the internet.

 

[askeelsepttype2]

I am taking Dapagliflozin and Sitagliptin but I need to loose weight too. Thanks for website information. All meals are cooked from scratch so I'm always looking for recipes that won't cost the earth.

 

[Lucyr]

Why do so many of the recipes on this site call for potatoes, rice and Pasta as ingredients ? These are three of the things I've been advised not to eat because of the high sugar content.

Just because you don’t eat them doesn’t mean no diabetic can eat them

 

[Inka]

Why do so many of the recipes on this site call for potatoes, rice and Pasta as ingredients ? These are three of the things I've been advised not to eat because of the high sugar content. I do understand that it is the total carb/calorie count that is important but with a medium potato equal to 9 spoons of sugar I can't help but question this.
I am searching for things I can eat. My last BG was 13.7 (113) and as I have been sticking to a low carb diet I am very confused why it is so high. I only started finger prick tests today and am about to do my pre-dinner test.
I am trying to plan meals for the whole family but cannot find anything we can all eat. I would welcome any advice or tips on meal planning. My family consists of 3 adults. Me diabetic, my son has fatty liver disease and my husband who has no dietary limitations.

People with diabetes eat a variety of diets so it’s important to have recipes offering that variety. I know it’s a popular thing on some magazine programmes but I dislike the current trend of equating every food to teaspoons of sugar. It’s incorrect and confusing. Potatoes don’t contain sugar, they contain carbs. Pasta doesn’t contain sugar either. It’s more sensible to focus on the amount of carbs in meals/per day.

Many recipes can be adapted or have the carbs as an accompaniment, eg chicken curry plus rice. In the latter case, simply reduce your portion of rice or substitute it with cauliflower rice. Roast chicken plus veg plus potatoes - again reduce or omit the potatoes.

I just looked at the first page of Recipes and easily picked out some low carb meals. You can collect them on the website and make your own ‘book’ to choose from.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

My last BG was 13.7 (113) and as I have been sticking to a low carb diet I am very confused why it is so high. I only started finger prick tests today and am about to do my pre-dinner test.

Sorry that you aren’t seeing the reductions in your HbA1c that you’d like @askeelsepttype2

Approximately how many grams of total carbohydrate a day (not just ‘sugars’) are you aiming for? Some folks on the forum seem more sensitive to carbohydrate than others.

As you’ve only recently been diagnosed, and since your lower carb way of eating isn’t having the effect you might expect, I wonder how your diagnosis came about, and whether there’s a chance you may have a rarer form of diabetes? Sometimes T2 can be assumed largely on the basis of age, but it is perfectly possible for people to develop autoimmune or monogenic forms of diabetes well into later life. It may be worth asking to get your cPeptide checked, to see how much insulin your body is still able to produce?

 

[askeelsepttype2]

I am now doing finger prick tests daily and the lowest it has ever been is 9.7. I have been on Sitagliptin for over a month now and Dapagliflozin for a year.(I cannot tolerate Metformin). I stick to a low carb diet and have lost 15kg. It concerns me that with medication and diet my blood sugar is still too high. I have signed up for Xpert Diabetes classes which start in Jan 2004. Am I overlooking something? Is there anything else I should be doing or not be doing?

 

[Leadinglights]

I am now doing finger prick tests daily and the lowest it has ever been is 9.7. I have been on Sitagliptin for over a month now and Dapagliflozin for a year.(I cannot tolerate Metformin). I stick to a low carb diet and have lost 15kg. It concerns me that with medication and diet my blood sugar is still too high. I have signed up for Xpert Diabetes classes which start in Jan 2004. Am I overlooking something? Is there anything else I should be doing or not be doing?

If you are seeing those high blood glucose readings even with the medications you are taking I wonder if you are misinterpreting carbohydrate information and actually not having as low a carb diet as you think.
Perhaps if you post the sort of meals you are having people may spot some foods which could be a problem.

 

[rebrascora]

If you are seeing those high blood glucose readings even with the medications you are taking I wonder if you are misinterpreting carbohydrate information and actually not having as low a carb diet as you think.
Perhaps if you post the sort of meals you are having people may spot some foods which could be a problem.

This was my thought too..... or perhaps you are not a straightforward Type 2 or even Type 2 at all.

 

[rebrascora]

Reading back through your earlier posts, you had a sudden high HbA1c in 3 figures at diagnosis and had lost weight unintentionally. These are red flag indicators of Type 1 rather than Type 2, so I think you need to be putting pressure on your GP to refer you for Type 1 testing and it is a concern that you are on Dapagliflozin if there is a possibility that you might be a slow onset Type 1.

 

[askeelsepttype2]

If you are seeing those high blood glucose readings even with the medications you are taking I wonder if you are misinterpreting carbohydrate information and actually not having as low a carb diet as you think.
Perhaps if you post the sort of meals you are having people may spot some foods which could be a problem.

I have started to keep a diary of what I eat and blood glucose levels 2 hours after eating.
Breakfast: Porridge with blueberries and a coffee 13.2 Breakfast porridge with apple and a coffee 9.9
Lunch. Tuna wholemeal roll and a coffee 11.9 Lunch whole meal cheese sandwich and a coffee 11.4
Dinner Mushroom risotto glass of water 12.4 Dinner Chicken and green beans 9.7
I know cheese and bread can by high in carbohydrates.

 

[Martin.A]

I know cheese and bread can by high in carbohydrates.

Bread certainly, cheese - not so sure. The cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella we have in our fridge right now don't seem to be high carb according to the nutrition panels (I'm not a big cheese eater, which is why I had to look).

Risotto rice is pretty high though, if it's regular arborio rice.

 

[rebrascora]

I have started to keep a diary of what I eat and blood glucose levels 2 hours after eating.
Breakfast: Porridge with blueberries and a coffee 13.2 Breakfast porridge with apple and a coffee 9.9
Lunch. Tuna wholemeal roll and a coffee 11.9 Lunch whole meal cheese sandwich and a coffee 11.4
Dinner Mushroom risotto glass of water 12.4 Dinner Chicken and green beans 9.7
I know cheese and bread can by high in carbohydrates.

So possibly not all that low carb then judging by that menu. Do you weigh your porridge portion? Have you worked out how many carbs there are in it. We can help you with that if you tell us how much you have and which brand.

I wonder if perhaps you are unsure as to what carbs are or which foods are high in carbs. For instance, oats, which are used to make porridge are high in carbs because they are grains. I know porridge is touted as a good slow release breakfast and the NHS and DUK suggest it is suitable for diabetics, but the truth is that it is for some people and definitely not for others and with your levels being high it may be topping up your glucose levels and keeping them high. . Wheat, which is used to make flour for bread is high in carbs, so the bread part of your sandwich/roll is high carb. Cheese, meat, eggs, fish and mushrooms are all low carb so no problem with those. Rice is a grain so high carb and therefore rissotto, being a meal based on rice, is high carb.

Are you testing just before meals as well as 2 hours after as that will give you better information than just the after meal readings. It is the difference between the before meal and 2 hours after that you are interested in as that will tell you if your body coped with it OK or it was too much.

You might find that just changing your breakfast to something like creamy Greek style natural yoghurt and a few blueberries and maybe some chopped nuts or seeds if you like them would work much better for you and make a big difference, or even occasional bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms and a tomato or an omelette with whatever filling you fancy. These are lower carb options than your porridge.

 

[askeelsepttype2]

So possibly not all that low carb then judging by that menu. Do you weigh your porridge portion? Have you worked out how many carbs there are in it. We can help you with that if you tell us how much you have and which brand.

I wonder if perhaps you are unsure as to what carbs are or which foods are high in carbs. For instance, oats, which are used to make porridge are high in carbs because they are grains. I know porridge is touted as a good slow release breakfast and the NHS and DUK suggest it is suitable for diabetics, but the truth is that it is for some people and definitely not for others and with your levels being high it may be topping up your glucose levels and keeping them high. . Wheat, which is used to make flour for bread is high in carbs, so the bread part of your sandwich/roll is high carb. Cheese, meat, eggs, fish and mushrooms are all low carb so no problem with those. Rice is a grain so high carb and therefore rissotto, being a meal based on rice, is high carb.

Are you testing just before meals as well as 2 hours after as that will give you better information than just the after meal readings. It is the difference between the before meal and 2 hours after that you are interested in as that will tell you if your body coped with it OK or it was too much.

You might find that just changing your breakfast to something like creamy Greek style natural yoghurt and a few blueberries and maybe some chopped nuts or seeds if you like them would work much better for you and make a big difference, or even occasional bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms and a tomato or an omelette with whatever filling you fancy. These are lower carb options than your porridge.

The porridge is a recipe from this site using measured Flahavans Oats 19g Carbohydrate. The Risotto is a weightwatchers recipe at 75g . The bread is 17g per slice so that would be 34g not including the tuna. That makes a total of 128g for the day. Yes I do test before meals.

 

[Leadinglights]

The porridge is a recipe from this site using measured Flahavans Oats 19g Carbohydrate. The Risotto is a weightwatchers recipe at 75g . The bread is 17g per slice so that would be 34g not including the tuna. That makes a total of 128g for the day. Yes I do test before meals.

If the increase from your before meal reading is more than 2-3mmol/l then that indicates your meal is too high in carbs for your body to tolerate, so look at your before readings for those meals.
From the meals you post which apart from the chicken and beans are all high carb meals it is noticeable that the post meal reading is higher than you really want.
A single meal with 75g carb is really challenging your body, that is what I have in a day so add more mushrooms or veg to the risotto and less rice. Don't forget WW recipes are not necessarily low carb.
Maybe try and open sandwich with just 1 slice of bread and plenty of salad.

 

[askeelsepttype2]

Counting carbs is new to me as I am an old calorie counter. I now look at the carbs for everything I eat or drink and am horrified at the amounts in things like Branston Pickle, Lipton's Iced tea and cinnamon. These are things I would have used without considering the carbs. How do you manage on only 75g per day?

 

[Leadinglights]

Counting carbs is new to me as I am an old calorie counter. I now look at the carbs for everything I eat or drink and am horrified at the amounts in things like Branston Pickle, Lipton's Iced tea and cinnamon. These are things I would have used without considering the carbs. How do you manage on only 75g per day?

Breakfast usually greek yoghurt, berries and a very low carb granola (15-20g portion) or eggs with 1 small slice toast.
Lunch maybee home made soup, cheese, cooked meat, salad, couple of crackers, half apple.
Dinner, meat, fish, curry, chilli, omelette, with veg or salad (no potatoes, rice or normal pasta) small slice bread or half a roll. Desert high protein yoghurt, kvarg deserts, sugarfree jelly with berries and cream, berries and cream. Stewed fruit with cream. I work on the basis of less than 20g for breakfast and lunch and 25-30g for Dinner plus a bit for milk in drinks.
I'm not suggesting people need to go as low as that and I probably reduced my carbs too quickly as I did get issues with my eyes. But testing before and 2 hours after meals told me what I could tolerate and I was terrified of having to take metformin.
It is a regime I find is now just normal.

 

[Martin.A]

How do you manage on only 75g per day?

My diet doesn't go as low as that but I've still traded off carbs for more protein and fat, in particular unsaturated fat (the 'good' fat), to enable me to stay below 130g carbs per day or thereabouts.

 

[askeelsepttype2]

Breakfast usually greek yoghurt, berries and a very low carb granola (15-20g portion) or eggs with 1 small slice toast.
Lunch maybee home made soup, cheese, cooked meat, salad, couple of crackers, half apple.
Dinner, meat, fish, curry, chilli, omelette, with veg or salad (no potatoes, rice or normal pasta) small slice bread or half a roll. Desert high protein yoghurt, kvarg deserts, sugarfree jelly with berries and cream, berries and cream. Stewed fruit with cream. I work on the basis of less than 20g for breakfast and lunch and 25-30g for Dinner plus a bit for milk in drinks.
I'm not suggesting people need to go as low as that and I probably reduced my carbs too quickly as I did get issues with my eyes. But testing before and 2 hours after meals told me what I could tolerate and I was terrified of having to take metformin.
It is a regime I find is now just normal.

Thank you. There is a lot of useful food information that I can certainly put into practice.

 

[Inka]

The porridge is a recipe from this site using measured Flahavans Oats 19g Carbohydrate. The Risotto is a weightwatchers recipe at 75g . The bread is 17g per slice so that would be 34g not including the tuna. That makes a total of 128g for the day. Yes I do test before meals.

Some people can’t tolerate as many carbs as others, so the ‘up to 130g’ a day is general guidance which you’ll need to adjust for your own personal needs. If you’re eating 128g and your blood sugar is still high, then you’ll need to reduce the carb amounts.

Risotto is a bit deceptive, I find, because a normal sized portion is quite carb dense, as you can see from the carb count.

The good news is you have lots of places in your diet where you can reduce the carbs and hopefully improve your numbers.

P.S - there are zero or minimal carbs in cheese. Cheese, eggs, fish, meat, tofu, etc are all pretty much carb-free.