Diabetics have problems with insulin, a hormone that helps the body keep blood glucose at an acceptable level. Because of this, patients with diabetes have to guard against elevated amounts of glucose in the blood. Carbohydrates can cause a short-term increase in blood glucose concentrations, which means that if you have diabetes, you need to monitor your carbohydrate intake, which is commonly referred to as carb counting. Carb counting foods such as casseroles can be difficult due to the many ingredients in a casserole dish, but it is possible.
Step 1
Find the nutrition information for each food in the casserole recipe. Sometimes you can find this information on the food's packaging. In other cases, you may need to consult a database, such as the National Nutrient Database maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture. You should look up the serving size of each ingredient as well as the amount of carbohydrates contained in one serving of each component of the casserole.
Step 2
Determine the number of servings of each ingredient that is used in the casserole recipe. Because serving sizes are often given in grams, you may need to weigh out each ingredient using a scale, DiabetesNet notes. Dividing the grams of each ingredient used by the number of grams that constitute one serving of each ingredient, you can determine the number of servings of each ingredient used in the casserole.
Step 3
Multiply the number of servings of each ingredient by the carbohydrate content of one serving of each ingredient, to determine the amount of carbohydrates contained in each ingredient. Add these values to get the total carbohydrate content of the casserole.
Step 4
Divide the total carbohydrate content of the casserole by the number of servings. This will give you the number of carbohydrates contained in each serving of the casserole, DiabeticLivingOnline explains.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
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