Indians with diabetes have a hard time dealing with the illness because of our cuisine. Many of our staple foods like rice and potatoes are high in starch. But you can personalize your South Indian meals and make diabetes friendly food choices.
Tips to manage your diabetic diet
Eat a snack when you wake up
Drink two glasses of water before a meal
Have small meals every two hours
Eat dinner early
Carry a small snack at all times
When you wake up…
Have a couple of digestive biscuits
A cup of coffee or tea without sugar
A glass of warm water with lime and ginger is healthy
At breakfast, have…
Steamed idlis with chutney
Soft dosa cooked with minimum oil
Upma made with cracked wheat, quinoa or poha
Pongal made with brown rice
Ragi dosas and idiyappams
For a mid morning snack have…
A glass of buttermilk
Avoid tender coconut water or juices(high sugar content)
Low sugar content fruit
Handful of unsalted nuts
Diabetes friendly lunch options
Brown rice, diabetes rice, quinoa, broken millets
Kootu with water based vegetables
Porials with vegetables like carrot, beans, cabbage etc
Greens blended with dhal or plain
Sambhar with non tuber vegetables
Evening tea can include…
A cup of tea or coffee with no sugar
Digestive biscuits
A small healthy snack like upma or adai
Healthy dinner options
Have a clear vegetable soup before dinner Make a bowl of salad
Wheat chappathis with dhal and vegetables
Adai made with dhal, and chutney
Oats porridge with vegetables
Good snack options (when you just need to binge)
Vegetable salads
Fruit salads (with fruits low in sugar)
Steamed or boiled vegetables
Steamed dhal vadas
Microwave papads with vegetables on top
Tips for meat eaters
Grill your meat instead of deep frying
Make it into a curry instead of dry frying
Have more lean meats like chicken and fish
Add vegetables to the meat dish
What you should avoid
Deep fried foods
Coconut based curries and chutneys
Curries with excess oil like kara kuzhambu
Biriyanis and pulaus that have excess oil and rice
