Food as Medicine: A Blueprint for Diabetes-Friendly Meals

By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD 

If you have a diabetes diagnosis, you’ve probably received several tips on balancing blood sugar. While there are many effective ways to manage diabetes, including with medications, one of the most well-known methods focuses on how you build your plate at meals. 

A blood sugar-friendly plate using the “Food as Medicine” philosophy goes beyond just “eating your veggies” or cutting back on sweets. Instead, there’s a specific formula that you can customize to your liking to create meals that support blood sugar control and still taste great. Keep reading to learn how to build balanced meals with an easy, three-step method grounded in the idea that good food can be powerful medicine for diabetes. 

1 – Fill half of your plate with vegetables. 

The majority of your plate should be vegetables but not just any kind of veggies. Choose non-starchy options that are lower in carbohydrates and higher in fiber than potatoes, corn, and winter squash. Since fiber helps slow down digestions, these choices won’t cause as much of an increase in blood sugar levels. This part of the plate provides a good opportunity to incorporate healthy fats, such as olive oil for roasting vegetables or dressing salads. 

Here are some examples of non-starchy vegetables and ways to use them: 

  • Asparagus – toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for 10 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees F for a simple side! 

  • Broccoli – steam for a few minutes before adding a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle of garlic salt. 

  • Cauliflower – roast florets with olive oil, salt, and thyme for 20 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees F, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving. 

  • Kale – add it to soups, massage it with oil and lemon juice to use as a base for a salad, or try it in a frittata. 

  • Mushrooms – cook in a skillet with olive oil and garlic to serve on top of chicken or pasta. 

  • Sugar snap peas – enjoy them raw with hummus or added to a stir-fry with whole grain noodles and chicken. 

2 – Choose nutritious carbohydrates for a quarter of the plate. 

If you want some starchy vegetables too, here’s the place to put them! For a diabetes-friendly eating plan, about a quarter of your plate should include carbohydrate-rich foods like potatoes or squash, whole grains, fruit, or beans. These foods will contribute the most to rising blood sugar levels, so it’s best to choose options that also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds. Of course, enjoying pasta, white tortillas, and other refined carbs on occasion can still work within a balanced diabetes plate too. 

3 – Fill the other quarter with lean protein. 

A diabetes-friendly meal isn’t complete without protein, especially lean options like chicken, turkey, fish, and lean cuts of beef and pork. Similar to fiber and fat, protein is digested slowly and helps blunt the effect of carbohydrates on blood sugar. 

Here is an example for a Food as Medicine-inspired diabetes meal plan that includes protein at each meal to round out the plate: 

  • Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with peppers and onions, avocado, a cup of mixed berries 

  • Lunch: Chicken breast strips on romaine salad with chickpeas, carrots, pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, lemon olive oil dressing 

  • Dinner: Salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli with parmesan cheese 

Note from Healthy For Life Meals: Want a blood sugar-friendly plate but need help making it? Let us do the heavy lifting for you! Our menus are built on the Food as Medicine approach, with nutritionally balanced meals featuring plenty of veggies, fiber-rich carbs, and lean proteins. Every ingredient is chosen with care to help you eat for better health and support long-term blood sugar management.  Check out our menus today and get $10 off your first order with discount code: TryHFLM.

Stef Keegan