Vegetables for Healthy Eating with Diabetes

Vegetables give you vitamins, minerals, and fiber, with very few calories.

Examples of vegetables include

lettuce broccoli vegetable juice

peppers carrots green beans

salsa chilies greens

How much is a serving of vegetables?

If you have more than one serving at a meal, you can choose a few different types of vegetables or have two or three servings of one vegetable.

Print out this chart. Then fill in the blanks with how many servings of vegetables to have at meals and snacks.

1. How many servings of vegetables do you now eat each day? I eat _____ vegetable servings each day. 2. Check how many servings of vegetables to have each day in the section on How much should I eat each day. I will eat___________vegetable servings each day. To control your blood glucose, spread the servings you eat throughout the day. 3. I will eat this many servings of vegetables at Breakfast______ Snack ______ Lunch______ Snack ______ Dinner______ Snack ______ A diabetes teacher can help you with your meal plan.

What are healthy ways to eat vegetables?

• Eat raw and cooked vegetables with little or no fat, sauces, or dressings.
  
  
• Try low-fat or fat-free salad dressing on raw vegetables or salads.
  
  
• Steam vegetables using a small amount of water or low-fat broth.
  
  
• Mix in some chopped onion or garlic.
  
  
• Use a little vinegar or some lemon or lime juice.
  
  
• Add a small piece of lean ham or smoked turkey instead of fat to vegetables when cooking.
  
  
• Sprinkle with herbs and spices. These flavorings add almost no fat or calories.
  
  
• If you do use a small amount of fat, use canola oil, olive oil, or soft margarines (liquid or tub types) instead of fat from meat, butter, or shortening.

source: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/eating_ez/index.htm