When you look at a date, it doesn’t look too appealing; they are brown in colour with a sticky texture. But if you have ever eaten a date, you know they taste delicious. Although they are sweet, one may think they may not be appropriate for someone with diabetes, but because dates are combined with a high supply of fibre, with 6 dates (which is approximately one serving) having almost 3 grams of fibre, dates (in moderation) can be diabetic, friendly option.

Ingredients (makes 12)

• 2 cups hot water
• 1 ½ cups pitted dates
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 1 tbs Natvia*
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups almond meal
• 1 tsp baking soda

Method

Serves 12

1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Prepare a baking tin sprayed with coconut oil.
3. Mix together dates, water, and vanilla, in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl mix cocoa powder, almond meal, and baking soda.
5. In a blender mix everything together.
6. Pour the mixture into the tin, spread out evenly and bake for 25-30 minutes. Turn oven off, but leave tin to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (Per Serve)**

Calories 88 calories
Fat 8.20g
Carbs 22.0g
Protein 2.20g
Nutrition Tip/Fact: Dates

*Natvia; a stevia sweetener has no impact on blood sugar levels. Natvia can help people living with diabetes to eliminate excess sugar from their diet, whilst still enjoying a little guilt free sweetness in their daily lives (http://www.natvia.com/faqs/)

**nutrition per serve is just an approximation

Ingredients

Nutritional Breakdown:

Low-Carb Plain Muffin

(Makes 12)

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup Stevia or natvia* is option to add for taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 185 degrees C
2. Spread melted butter across a 12 serve muffin tin.
3. In a bowl mix all dry ingredients together (almond meal, baking powder, sweetner)
4. In same bowl, add eggs and water.
5. Spread evenly in muffin tins until muffin tins are 2/3 full.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Nutrition (Per Serve)**

Calories 195
Carbs 4.0
Protein 6.20g
*Natvia; a stevia sweetener has no impact on blood sugar levels. Natvia can help people living with diabetes to eliminate excess sugar from their diet, whilst still enjoying a little guilt free sweetness in their daily lives (http://www.natvia.com/faqs/)

**nutrition per serve is just an approximation

 

Image from www.genaw.com

 

Simple Strawberry Smoothie (serves 2)

Ingredients

• 10-12 medium strawberries
• 2 cup almond milk
• 1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
• 6-10 ice cubes

Method:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Nutrition (per serve)*

Calories: 180
Fat: 12.0
Carbs:14.0
Protein: 16.0g

**nutrition per serve is just an approximation

Tip: Strawberries are low GI fruits. This means they contain slow-release carbohydrate. a sharp rise in your blood sugar levels is unlikely. This is essential for optimising and controlling diabetes control.

 

 

Vegetarian Stuffed Capsicum (makes 3)

Nutrition Tip
“Capsicum may stimulate insulin production which results in lower blood glucose.” (1)This would suggest a possibility that capsicum can play a role in preventing or lowering the severity of the onset of type 2 diabetes and its potential complications.

(1) Loizzo MR, Tundis R, Menichini F, Statti GA, Menichini F. Influence of ripening stage on health benefits properties of Capsicum annuum var. acuminatum L.: in vitro studies. Journal of medicinal food. 2008; 11:184
Ingredients
• 3 capsicum (any colour), halved with seeds removed
• 60ml olive oil
• 150g ricotta cheese
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 cup basil leaves, shredded
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Once capsicum has been cut in halve and seeded, spread over the capsicum with half the oil.
3. Place capsicums on baking tray.
4. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Add in half the basil.
5. Use this mix to fill the capsicums.
6. Sprinkle reaming oil over capsicums with mix.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. When ready to serve, garnish with remaining basil
Nutrition (per serve)*
Calories: 250
Saturated Fat: 22.0
Carbs:8.0
Protein: 6.0g
**nutrition per serve is just an approximation

Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons chia seed
2 tablespoons of slithered almonds or walnuts
½ cup of water

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 280
Fat: 13g
Protein: 18g
Carbs: 22g

Nutrition Tip:

Spinach is low in carbohydrates. On average, it contains approximately 0.80 grams of carbohydrate per serve/per cup. This is an ideal choice for someone with diabetes, as it has less effect on your blood glucose levels compared to other, higher carbohydrate vegetables. choice on a diabetes diet. Carbohydrate-containing foods cause your blood glucose levels to rise.

*Nutrition count is just an approximation. Different protein powder choices and brand variations. can affect nutrition guide.

 

Ingredients:
 2 cup almond flour
 8 TBSP coconut oil,
 8 TBSP agave syrup,
 2 TBSP kosher salt
 Slithered almonds
 Method:
 1. Preheat the oven to 300-320 degrees F.
 2. In a bowl, add the almond flour coconut oil, agave syrup, salt and almonds. Mix well.
 3. Prepare your cookie sheet with coconut oil.
 3. Roll mixture into 24 balls and place them on the cookie sheet.
 4. With the back of a smooth, flatten the ball mixtures.
 5. Put in oven and bake for approx.. 10-15 minutes, unti the cookies start to golden in colour.
 6. Turn oven off, but leave cookies to sit for approx. 10 minutes.
 Nutritional Information*:
 Calories: 100
 Fat: 10g
 Protein: 2g
 Carbs: 12g
 Nutrition Tip:
Agave syrup comes from the agave plant. Agave syrup is commonly used by individuasl who have diabetes as an alternative sweetener. “Agave syrup it's made of up to 90% fructose rather than sucrose, so it's much lower on the glycemic index (GI) and thus doesn't pack the same immediate punch to blood glucose levels as table sugar.” (1) Agave syrup has a lower glycemic index compared to most other sweeteners, such as honey, which means it affects our rising blood sugars at a much slower, less dramatic pace.

1. 2005 – 2016 Healthline Media

*Nutrition count is just an approximation. Different protein powder choices and brand variations. can affect nutrition guide.

Ingredients
•2 cups almond meal
•1 tsp baking soda
•1/2 tsp salt
•2/3 cup margarine
•1/4 cup stevia
•2 eggs
•2 tbsp almond milk
•4 tbsp vanilla extract
•1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 370 degrees F.
2. Spray baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a bowl, mix together the almond meal, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, using a blender or cooking mix, slowly beat the margarine for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
6. Mix for another 2 minutes.
7. Add the flour mixture and mix for another minute, to combine.
8. Add in the dark chocolate chips.
9. Using a spoon, place the mix by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking pan.
10. Bake for approx.. 15 minutes, until cookies turn lightly brown.

Nutritional Facts
Calories 80
Fat 5g
Carbohydrate 12g
Sugar 8g
*Nutrition count is just an approximation. Different protein powder choices and brand variations. can affect nutrition guide.
Almond meal is a great alternative as it is a low-carb, lower GI option compared to most baking flours, which won’t affect blood glucose levels with dramatic spikes; too high or too quickly.
With every cup of almond meal which contains about 20 grams of carbohydrates, almost 12g is fibre, gives us about 10g of overall carbs.