If you’ve recently been diagnosed with diabetes, you may wonder what food choices you should make. You’ll be happy to know that many foods can fit into a diabetes meal plan.

When planning your daily meals and snacks, it’s important to choose more healthful options, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, non-fat dairy products, beans, and lean meats.

Divide Portions and "Rate Your Plate"

When planning your meals, it may be helpful to "Rate Your Plate" as the American Diabetes Association^® states. A quick way to be sure you're consuming a variety of healthy foods is to draw an imaginary line through the center of your plate. Then draw a line to divide one of those sections into two.

• About one-fourth of your plate should be filled with grains or more starchy foods such as brown rice, pasta, or peas.
• One-fourth of your plate should also be filled with protein, such as lean meat, fish, poultry, or tofu.
• The last half of your plate should be filled with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, carrots, salad or green beans.

It's important for someone managing diabetes to consume regular meals, along with snacks between those meals, to help control blood glucose levels.

Counting Carbs

How many carbohydrates should these meals and snacks be comprised of? The recommended amount of carbohydrates at meals and snacks depends on your calorie and activity levels, and on any diabetes medications you might be taking. For example, a dinner might include 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrate, while a snack might contain 15 to 30 grams.