Hi my name is Andiswa and I am a Type 1 diabetic.
I was diagnosed with diabetes in June 2011 and am using Humulin 30/70 Biosynthethic Human Insulin. I inject myself twice a day,in the morning before I eat and in the evening before I eat.
Being diagnosed with diabetes has not been easy for me at all for the past year as I am still a student and can’t afford some of the foods. My mother is unemployed and it is very hard for me to get money to buy food.
I sometimes have to buy cheap products that are not healthy so that they can last me to the end of the month so to receive money to buy food which is sometimes not enough.
I try to follow a healthy diet but its very hard if you don’t have healthy foods.
I would like to know if anyone has a list of recipes and diets that I can use that are not too expensive for me but will be healthy and easy to make, for breakfast, lunch and dinner and also healthy snack choices that I can choose from. It would really mean a lot to me if I can get these recipes and a diet I can use.
Thank You!
– Andiswa
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Hi Andiswa
I’ve been a type 1 diabetic for 5 years. I found that looking after myself in terms of meal choices was a challenge at first, but when you get a few ideas around recipes, things improve in 2 ways: Firstly, you’re in control of your budget, and secondly, eventually you will know what effect the particular meal has on your blood glucose levels and it’s quite liberating! (knowledge = power etc etc 🙂 )
So, for me the “staple” meals are:
Breakfast
Pic n Pay no-name oats, with milk and some pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top (no sugar, but 1 spoon is probably fine)
or
PnP no-name all bran with milk and an apple or banana.
Snacks – buy fruit and / or nuts from those dispensers at PnP. Ration the nuts and they will go a long way!
Lunch
Sandwiches using seed bread. It’s about R10 a loaf if I recall, but it leaves you fuller for longer and is way, way better than processed white bread!
or
Leftover supper (see below)
Supper
Suppers are where you get to experiment. I personally love beans (baked, white, mixed, you name it), so I would have those pretty often. When cooking mince, we would add brown lentils (pre-cooked) to make more and therefore it lasts longer. Eat with pasta or brown rice, and you will be fine…
We used a cookbook from a range called “eating for sustained energy” which I found to be fantastic. Hope this helps!