Achieving a healthier weight along with daily exercise and taking medications if needed may help you control blood glucose. Eating the right amount of foods from each group can help you manage your calories and have a well-balanced diet. A 1,350-calorie meal plan is very low in calories and is not advised for everyone. Speak to a dietitian to determine if this is the right meal plan for you.
Food Plan
A 1,350 calorie diet is recommended if you want to lose weight or maintain weight and are not very active. A daily diabetic meal plan, based on the diabetes food pyramid, consists of six starches, three vegetables, two fruits, two milks or milk products, 4 to 6 oz. of meat or meat substitutes such as beans, and three fats, preferably healthy fats such as oils. Starches include grains, pasta, cereals and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn and lentils. One serving of starches can include either 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of cereal or 1/2 cup of peas. A 1/2-cup serving of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of salad mix is one serving of vegetables. Choose fresh fruit or frozen fruit over canned or fruit juices because it contains no added sugars. Whole fruit, such as a banana or apple, or 1/2 cup of juice, each equals one serving. Three ounces of meat is roughly the size of the palm of your hand.
Breakfast and Lunch Sample Menu
Eat small meals, including snacks, throughout the day to control your appetite and thwart cravings. For breakfast, you can have 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1 cup of milk and one small banana. This is one serving each of starch, milk and fruit and 274 calories. For lunch, have a grilled chicken salad, which includes 2 cups of salad greens, 1/4 cup of red bell pepper and 1/4 cup of sweet onions, with low-fat buttermilk dressing and 1 whole-wheat dinner roll topped with 1 tbsp. of butter. This amounts to three starches, two servings of non-starchy vegetables, 3 oz. of meat, one fat and 552 calories.
Dinner and Snacks Sample Menu
For dinner, try baked macaroni that includes extra-lean ground beef, low-sodium pasta sauce, whole wheat pasta and Parmesan cheese. It contains 300 calories and has two servings of starches, two servings of vegetables and 1 oz. of meat. When you need energy between meals, eat 1 fruit or 1 cup of yogurt, or a milk product, for snacks. One serving of grapes, about 17, has 70 calories and one small apple has about 60 calories. A serving of plain or artificial sweetened yogurt has about 100 to 150 calories.
Recommendations
Balance your meal with servings from protein and fat. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines suggests that 45 to 65 percent of your calories come from carbohydrates, 10 to 35 percent from protein and 20 to 35 percent from fat.
