Delicious Dinners to Beat Diabetes

Delicious Dinners to Beat Diabetes

Almost four million people in Britain have diabetes as a result of lazy lifestyles and diets. Eating sugary and starchy meals increases your blood sugar levels greatly.

These elevated levels of your blood sugar levels are bad for your body as your pancreas is then creating more insulin to lower your blood sugar levels. However, the insulin makes your body store excess calories as fat which means if you continue to eat lots of sugary or starchy foods, your pancreas will start to struggle to keep up and create even more insulin meaning more excess calories are being stored as fat.

Over time your body will either become resistant to the insulin being produced or your pancreas will just stop the production of it, leading to type 2 diabetes.

It is important to look after yourself properly through diet and exercise when trying to bring your insulin levels down. To do this, you should try to avoid foods like potatoes, pasta, rice and noodles as well as sweets, biscuits and cakes for the period of time you are lowering your insulin levels.

We have found some delicious recipes to help you satisfy your hunger for a longer time, in order to lower your blood sugar levels and keep healthy.

Spicy Salmon Fillets -298 calories

You will need:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 1 tbsp of oil
• A pinch of salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder
• 1 fresh green chilli
• Half a lemon
• ½ an onion
• ½ a pepper

Method:

1. Pour the oil on the salmon fillets and sprinkle the salt, pepper and add the chilli powder (you can add more if you like it spicier).
2. Squeeze the lemon juice over the salmon and mix together the salmon, spices and lemon juice
3. Pop the salmon on a foil lined baking tray and cut up the onions and peppers and sprinkle them around and on top of the salmon.
4. Chop up the green chilli and sprinkle that on top of the salmon as well.
5. Cover the salmon in foil and put into the oven for about 20-25 mins
6. Serve it up with your favourite veggies and enjoy!

Egg White Spinach Omelette–365 calories

This is a great option for breakfast to keep you feeling fuller for longer and is a great alternative to cereal or toast.

You will need:

• 2 eggs
• 3 handfuls of Spinach
• ½ an onion
• Grated Cheese
• 6 cherry tomatoes- halved
• Olive Oil

Method:

1. Separate the whites from the egg yolks and set aside
2. Dice the onion and chop the spinach roughly
3. Sauté the onion and spinach together in a medium-large sized frying pan until the onion is soft and the spinach has wilted
4. Add a sprinkling of cheese into the egg whites and mix them a little
5. Pour the egg white and cheese mixture into the frying pan with the spinach and onion
6. Arrange the tomatoes on the omelette in the frying pan.
7. Place the frying pan in the oven for about 7-10 minuets
8. Enjoy and serve alongside some fresh fruit for a healthy and hearty breakfast!

Courgetti– 459 calories

You will need:

• 4 whole baby plum tomatoes
• 4 halved baby plum tomatoes
• Olive oil
• ½ clove garlic (crushed)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 large, spiralised courgette
• 2 tbsp pesto
• 1 tbsp pine nuts (toasted)

Method:

1. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tsp of oil, garlic and balsamic vinegar and add the seasoning of your choice.
2. Tip the mixture into a frying pan and cook them for 5 minuets until the whole tomatoes start to burst and make sure they are coated in the balsamic vinegar
3. Boil a kettle and pour over the courgette noodles and blanch for 30 seconds.
4. Drain the noodles well and mix and season well with the pesto.
5. Add the tomatoes and serve the courgetti with toasted pine nuts.

Cauliflower Pizza– 269 calories (per serving=half a pizza)

You will need:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower (roughly chopped)
• 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning
• Black pepper
• Salt
• ½ cup crushed tomatoes
• Garlic powder
• 2 tbsp finely chopped basil

Method:

1. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles course breadcrumbs
2. Transfer the cauliflower to a large microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave it for 3 ½ minuets
3. Uncover, stir, re-cover and microwave for another 3 ½ minuets or until the cauliflower is hot and soft
4. Strain the cauliflower and thoroughly drain it until there is as little moisture as possible
5. Put the cauliflower to the bowl and add in the egg whites, ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, the Parmesan cheese, and various seasonings and mix thoroughly
6. Evenly divide the cauliflower mixture into two circles on a parchment lined baking sheet, so they are each about ¼ inch thick and about 7inches in diameter
7. Bake until they have browned in a pre-heated oven for about 35 minuets
8. While the base is baking, combine the crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and mix well.
9. Spread the seasoned tomatoes over the bases, leaving about ½ inch around the boarder and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and chopped basil
10. Bake in the oven for about 5-7 minuets or until the cheese has melted.

Red Lentil, Chickpea and Chilli Soup– 222 calories (per serving)

You will need:

• 850ml vegetable stock or water
• 400g canned tomatoes
• 200g chickpeas
• 140g red split lentils
• 1 red onion (chopped)
• Large pinch of chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Small bunch of coriander (roughly chopped)
• 2 tsp cumin seeds

Method:

1.      Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes together until they start to jump around the pan

2.      Add the oil and onion and cook for 5 mins

3.      Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes then bring to the boil

4.      Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have softened

5.      Pop the soup into a food processor and whiz up until it is a rough puree, pour it back into the pan and add the chickpeas

6.      Heat it gently, season well and stir in the coriander- enjoy!