South Indian Meal Plan for Diabetes

Diabetes Meal Plans

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East India
South India
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Meal Plan for Diabetes Patients, Featuring South Indian Dishes

Morning
Afternoon
Night

Early Morning (6:00 AM)

• 1 teaspoon fenugreek Seeds (methi): overnight soaked or powder
• 1 glass lukewarm water

Breakfast (8:00 AM)

• 2 small idlis / 1 ragi dosa / 1 cup godhuma rava (broken wheat / dalia) upma
• 1 boiled egg
• 1 cup coffee / tea made with skim milk and without sugar

Note: Can include coriander/tomato chutney

Mid Morning Snack (11:00 AM)

• 1 medium size fresh fruit (Refer the list below)
• 1 glass buttermilk

Note: Avoid salt / sugar in buttermilk

 

Lunch (1:00 PM)

• 1 cup mixed vegetable salad
• 2 small wheat / millet roti’s + ½ cup cooked parboiled (ukda) rice / 1+ ½ cup brown rice / parboiled rice
• 1 cup cooked vegetable
• 1 cup sambhar / sprouts curry
• 1 cup skim curd without salt and sugar

Note: Use less oil. Prefer tomato instead of coconut for making curries. Can sprinkle fresh coconut over vegetables

Afternoon Snack (4:00PM)

• Handful of roasted chana / soaked almonds / walnuts / roasted makhana (lotus seed)
• 1 cup coffee / tea made with skim milk / green tea without sugar

Note: If hungry in between, include a glass of unsalted buttermilk / 1 cup boiled sprouts

Dinner (8:00 PM)

• 1 cup brown rice / godhuma rava pulao
• 1 cup leafy vegetable curry
• 1 boiled egg / 2 piece stir fried / grilled fish / skinless chicken breast / 4-5 pieces of paneer

Bed Time- If Hungry (10:00PM)

• 1 glass skim milk without sugar

Note: Can add a pinch of cinnamon powder / turmeric powder in milk

Avoid
Moderate
HEALTHY REPLACEMENT

Types of Sugar : refined sugar, honey, date syrup, jaggery powder

Maida based items : bread, noodles, pasta, pav, naan, khari, toast, biscuits, cookies and cakes

Home-made wheat/ millet roti / chapati / broken wheat khichadi/ brown rice / quinoa / rolled oats

Sugary Beverages : colas, aerated drinks, fruit juices and sharbets

Buttermilk / vegetable soup / sattu powder mixed in water

Sweet Treats : chocolates, mithai’s , sugar based kheer, payasam and pastries

Whole fruit like : sweet lime (mosambi), orange, apple, papaya 5-6 cubes, peach, guava, muskmelon 5-6 pc, pear, strawberries,

Fried Snacks: chips, samosa, fried chicken and deep fried bhajiyas

Roasted / soaked nuts and seeds almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds

Roasted chana/ makhanas, whole wheat/ bajra/ jowar / barley (jau) puffs /sprouts.

Plain white rice

Rice items : kurmura & poha

Unpolished rice + lots of cooked vegetable + raw salad + dal / dahi

Recommendations for Fruits and Vegetables:

RESTRICT
EAT MORE OFTEN

Root Vegetables : potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam (suran), taro (arbi), carrots 

Leafy vegetables, cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum, lady finger (bhindi), french beans, cluster beans (gavar) and tomatoes

Sweet tasting fruits : banana, custard apple (sitaphal), sapota (chikoo) , grapes, pineapple, watermelon, litchi and mango

1-2 whole fruits/ day : apple, orange, sweet lime (mosambi), semi ripe guava, peach, pear, 6-7 small cubes of papaya and strawberries

AVOID : FRUIT JUICES

Additional Tips:

  • Include small frequent meals instead of few larger meals.
  • Have one fruit at a time.
  • Avoid deep-frying of foods and use healthy cooking methods like grilling / poaching/ boiling/ steaming/ roasting.
  • Use limited amounts of cooking oils and prefer kachhi ghani or cold pressed oils based on your region. You can use oils like mustard oils, groundnut oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil and sesame oil.
  • Avoid red meat like mutton and beef, and processed meats like sausages and hot dog.
  • Restrict total fat (oil + ghee) consumption to ½ liter per person per month.
  • Include raw salads and cooked vegetables with every meal.
  • Prefer to remove fat from milk.
  • Minimize salt consumption and restrict it to less than one teaspoon per day.
  • Exercise 30-45 minutes at least five days a week.
Adapted from:
  1. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes. Diabetes Care 2022; 45(Suppl.1): S60-S82.
  2. Indian Council of Medical Research. ICMR guidelines for management of type 2 diabetes. 2018. Available at: https://main.icmr.nic.in/sites/default/files/guidelines/ICMR_GuidelinesType2diabetes2018_0.pdf . Accessed 13 Sept 2022.
  3. Clinical Dietetics Manual; Indian Dietetic Association. 2nded. Seth V and Desai N. Elite Publishing House; 2018