Art of a sweet life

Dietitian Bee See Wei at Sime Darby Specialist Centre in Subang Jaya has observed that many diabetics cut sugar from their diet completely. It doesn’t have to be this way. The three factors that underlie her approach to a diet for someone whose diabetes is under control are variety, balance and moderation.

Keep in mind these tips

• Plan your meals. If you know that you’re going to a meeting later on in the day, have a snack in between. Do not starve throughout the meeting and gorge on food later.
• Watch the portions. Use the Plate Concept — half of the plate should be filled with vegetables, a quarter with carbohydrates and the last quarter with proteins.
• Limit your intake of refined sugars such as carbonated drinks, teh tarik and cakes.
• Increase intake of soluble fibre like oats, dhal, nuts, seeds, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, flax seeds and prunes.
• Use mono-unsaturated fats such as canola oil, peanut oil and olive oil.
• Be smart when eating out. Choose grilled foods rather than those that are deep fried. If you opt for salad, skip the dressing.
• Vary the kind of food you eat. Eating brown rice every day can become boring. Alternate brown rice with chapatti, toasted bread or pasta.
• Learn to read food labels. Focus on the nutrition content per 100g rather than per serving, when comparing two products.

She suggests a typical meal-plan that consists of the following:

Morning
3 tbsp oats
2 slices wholemeal bread
Tea or coffee with low-fat milk. No sugar.

Mid-morning
3 pieces crackers
Plain water

Lunch
Soup noodle with extra vegetable and some protein (shredded chicken or fish)
Barley
Fruit

Tea
1 slice toasted bread
1 cup tea (preferably green tea) or coffee

Dinner
1 bowl brown rice
2 vegetables
1 protein (fish or chicken)

Supper
1 glass warm milk

Healthy recipes

These recipes are from the booklet provided by Nestle called Simply Delicious. The recipes use Nestle’s Nutren(R) Untuk Diabetik. This is a “formula dietary food for people who need to manage their blood sugar levels”.
Chicken Salad Sandwich
(Serves 6)

For ingredients A, you’ll need:
4 tbsp powdered low-fat milk
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise
3 tbsp chopped spring onion
½ tsp mustard sauce
Black pepper to taste
100g shredded chicken

You’ll also need:
6 slices wholemeal bread
Butter
Lettuce
Sliced cucumber

Method

1. Mix ingredients A together.
2.Spread butter on wholemeal bread. Arrange ingredients A, lettuce and sliced cucumber on the bread.
3. Trim the edges of the bread and cut into desired shape.

Mango Smoothie
(Serves 2)

You’ll need:
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ medium-sized mango, peeled & diced
1 cup ice cubes
4 scoops powdered low-fat milk

Method

1. Blend the first three ingredients until ice cubes are crushed.
2. Mix in powdered low-fat milk and blend till dissolved.
3. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

Tip: The addition of milk will make the mango smoothie sweeter. For some, the sweetness from the mango alone is sufficient.

Source: Aneeta Sundararaj