The festive season is nearly upon us! But never fear, we’ve asked Leanne Kiezer, the dietician at Pick n Pay, for some helpful tips for healthier eating during the holidays. It can be really tempting to throw good meal choices out the window when the temptations of the festive season roll round, but unfortunately your diabetes doesn’t take a holiday… Here are a few helpful suggestions for eating healthy without feeling like you’re missing out on all the treats!
Make healthier choices when eating out
Eating out does not have to sabotage your focus on healthy eating. Use these tips to keep you on track:
Build healthier meals
You can reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt in a recipe without compromising on taste by using healthy substitutes:
Fat: For baked goods, use half the butter, margarine or oil suggested in the recipe and replace the other half with apple sauce or mashed banana.
Sugar: In most recipes, you can reduce sugar by a third to a half. Add spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg or flavourings like vanilla and almond essence to enhance sweetness.
Sodium: Reduce salt by one-half in baked goods that don’t require yeast. For foods that do require yeast, don’t reduce the amount of salt as it is necessary for leavening.
Healthy substitutes
Healthy substitutes not only reduce the amount of fat, energy and sodium in your recipes, but can also boost the nutritional content.
Get more great advice on healthy eating by visiting Pick n Pay’s Health Corner, calling Leanne on 0800 11 22 88 or emailing healthhotline@pnp.co.za.
What to read next?
How to interpret food labels for diabetics: How do you know if a product is going to be good or bad for your blood sugar? Once you understand what to look for on food labels, you’ll be able to choose the right products to help control your blood sugar.
Eat healthy for diabetes: The one article you need to read about diabetes and diet.
Free Healthy Food Guide: how to eat healthy with diabetes or to lose weight: This Healthy Food Guide shows you exactly which foods to choose (and which to avoid), as well as sharing which portions to eat.
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You recommend baked beans for breakfasr, but this is full of sugar.
Hi Peter!
I asked Leanne from Pick n Pay and she said:
While baked beans do contain some added sugar, this is a relatively small amount (less than 1 teaspoon per 100 g on average). A serving of baked beans is usually 1 ladle, or 60 g, amounting to half a teaspoon of sugar in a serving. The benefits of baked beans include offering a source of protein and fibre, nutrients which help control blood glucose.