Meal planning for older adults with diabetes

Individuals with diabetes are told to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels.

Levels that are too high or too low can introduce a range of problems — from feeling tired or irritable to incurring organ damage or falling into a coma. But lifestyle changes, such as healthier eating, can go a long way toward staving off these concerns.

Dr. Scott Isaacs, president-elect of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and founder of Atlanta Endocrine Associates, recommends education and avoiding making too many dietary changes all at once.

“It can be a lot easier to make one simple change and stick with that,” he said. “Then build on more to develop a positive healthy lifestyle.”

Here are three expert-recommended strategies to help kick off your meal planning:

Start with the right resources

The internet is full of nutritional advice — some good, some not. The American Diabetes Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Diabetes Meal Planning Guide, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Diabetes Food Hub are all dietitian- or endocrinologist-approved resources. Experts like Isaacs recommend staying away from fad diets and those that prohibit occasional deviation.

Older adults with diabetes can sometimes face additional challenges to eating well including budget constraints, lack of energy to cook, and the logistics of shopping and meal planning for only one or two people. But experts said eating well is possible with the right strategies and support.

They suggest taking a class, meeting with a qualified dietitian, and studying recommended resources to learn strategies to minimize intake of sugary and high-carbohydrate foods — like white breads and pasta — while increasing lean proteins, healthy fats and fruits and vegetables.

Plan ahead

Meal planning requires time and intentionality. If you enjoy technology, Glucose Buddy, MyNetDiary, Fooducate, MyFitnessPal and mySugr are all apps recommended by Katherine Hines, inpatient diabetes educator for Piedmont Columbus Regional and a registered dietitian with 25 years of experience.

If you’d rather go with pen and paper, Hines suggests checking out cookbooks with recipes that use only a handful of ingredients and foods you like or are willing to try.

“Make sure the cookbook you choose gives the nutrition information and portion size of the recipes they provide,” Hines says. “Just because it says the word ‘healthy’ doesn’t mean it is.”

Next, write out your meal plans for the upcoming week. Once you have two to three weeks of meal plans and grocery lists, you’re set to use the same ones again and again, she said. Finally, learn how to shop on a budget and tailor meal planning, said Dr. Joanna Miragaya, an endocrinologist who works with patients at Wellstar Cherokee Health Park. She points patients to the American Diabetes Association’s meal planning resources page.

Make healthy swaps

Eating to manage diabetes doesn’t mean you’re sentenced to a lifetime of bland foods. Instead, experts recommend modifying your favorite comfort food recipes and making simple swaps when eating out to maximize your nutritional punch.

Instead of deep frying, Isaacs suggests using skinless chicken for an oven-baked version that satisfies a similar craving. Dip the meat in egg whites and milk followed by crushed, high-fiber cereal or panko breadcrumbs. Mist the coated chicken with olive oil spray, and bake at 400°F until crispy.

Do you love pasta? Try using zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash in place of regular pasta, Hines said. Cauliflower pizza crust can satisfy cravings without raising blood sugar. Miragaya suggests swapping lower-carb turnips for higher-carb yellow potatoes.

Do you need to make a casserole healthier? Swap white rice for brown and use whole grain pasta for added fiber and protein. Isaacs recommends fat-free canned “cream of” soups and low-fat dairy products over full-fat versions. Finally, add extra veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and squash.

For your favorite less-healthy foods, Hines has two rules: “Only indulge in these food or beverage choices on occasion,” and “keep your portion sizes small.”

Get a jump-start on diabetes-friendly meals with these two recipes from Miragaya, the endocrinologist:

Lentil, sweet potato and spinach stew

Ingredients

Instructions

Black-eyed pea salad

Ingredients

Instructions

Meal planning resources