Sweet Life 7 day meal plan for diabetes

Looking for a 7 day meal plan that’s healthy, affordable and delicious? Look no further!

If there’s one question we get on South Africans with Diabetes over and over again it’s: do you have a meal plan? Yes, we do!

We asked dieticians in public and private sector to help us put together a 7 day meal plan that is healthy, delicious and budget-friendly. This is a suggested meal plan, to give you ideas for 7 breakfasts, lunches and dinners that you can make your own.

But it is important to note that one meal plan doesn’t necessarily make sense because we all have such different diets. Some of us are vegetarian, eat a traditional menu, eat mainly Indian food or need to eat on a budget.

The below is a guide for when, what, and how much to eat to get the nutrition you need while keeping your blood sugar levels in your target range.

How we compiled this 7 Day Healthy Eating Meal Plan:

• We wanted to include more non-starchy vegetables like spinach, brocolli and green beans.
• We focused more on including whole foods instead of highly processed foods, as much as possible.
• We included fewer refined grains such as pasta, white bread.
• We wanted all the food to be easily available to most South Africans.

7 Day Healthy Eating Meal Plan for Diabetes

Here is the meal plan in more detail:

Download the Sweet Life 7 day meal plan for diabetes:

Understanding the plate model

The plate model is a simple, visual way to make sure you get enough nonstarchy vegetables and lean protein while limiting the amount of higher-carb foods you eat that have the highest impact on your blood sugar, CDC.

Here is a guide to using the plate model:

1. Fill half of the plate with a variety of vegetables.
   Spinach, carrots, lettuce, gem squash, carrots, peas, butternut, beetroot, cabbage, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, eggplant and baby marrow are all good choices.
2. Fill one of the quarter sections with whole grain, high fibre, low GI starches.
   Corn, rolled oats, high fibre breakfast cereals, bulgar wheat, “Stampkoring”, wild brown rice, sweet potato, baby potato, heavy seed/rye breads and whole grain crackers are all healthy choices.
3. Fill the last quarter of the plate with protein foods.
   Skinless chicken and turkey, fish and other seafood, lean cuts of beef and pork (sirloin, fillet or pork loin), tofu, soya, eggs and legumes (lentils, dry beans and chickpeas). Avoid processed meats (salami, vienna sausages and polony), which are high in saturated fat and salt

---

What to read next?

Free Diabetes Food Guide: Understand which food to choose, and how much to eat at each meal.

Let’s talk about diabetes support: How and where do you get your diabetes support? Do you feel supported? Let’s talk about it…

Let’s talk about diabetes stigma: Is diabetes stigma real? Is it worse for people with Type 2 diabetes? What do we do about it, and how do we make it better?