Food is often the biggest obstacle for women with diabetes. You're busy, but you also need to gain control of your blood sugar to help elevate your energy and mood. What you need are blood sugar balanced meals made from a short list of basic ingredients!
So, Trying to figure out what's for dinner can be tough. To break free from cooking the same things over and over again, you need easy tips on what ingredients to have on hand and how to combine them into balanced meals.
I love having an easy plan for dinner after a busy day, Thank you! – Olivia K.
To help manage the blood sugar balancing act, I find myself relying more and more on something called an "Easy Balanced Meal Plan," a dinnertime solution I recommend to all my clients.
This easy balanced meal plan consists of a limited selection of interchangeable foods that complement each other. Simple go-to's that you always have in your fridge and pantry, ready to put a meal together.
A Balanced Meal Plan is Perfect For You If:
You don’t have time to cook complicated meals, but you want to feed yourself well. This is basically all of my clients! You need something straightforward that can be executed without much time or effort.
You have basic cooking skills, even if you’re not exactly Julia Child. Can you chop? Can you boil water? You’re good to go!
You don’t have a ton of time for shopping, but you can run to the store in 20 minutes, or you can hit "reorder" on your cart (who else loves delivery services like Fresh Direct and Instacart?)
You want to eat real food – you know you feel better, and your blood sugar behaves when you make yourself something fresh instead of living on Sushi takeout and pizza delivery.
What if you had a few basic ingredients in the fridge and pantry that can easily be combined into balanced meals? Well, you can!
Here are the 12 Basic Ingredients You Can Use to Create Easy Blood Sugar Balanced Meals:
Proteins:
1. Salmon (wild caught)
2. Ground Beef (grass-fed organic sourced)
3. Eggs
4. Chicken (organic, hormone-free)
Fiber-rich starchy carbohydrates:
5. Black rice/Quinoa
6. Potatoes
7. Cauliflower rice
8. Beans
Vegetables/fruits - non-starchy carbohydrates:
9. Greens - a variety of spinach, kale, spring mix, arugula, etc.
10. Cruciferous vegetables
11. Berries
Healthy Fat:
12. Avocado (read more about good fats vs. bad fats, here)
Try to make a plan to keep these twelve ingredients on hand to chop/sauté/roast/grill into more delicious blood sugar balanced meals throughout the week. And, check out these best foods for balanced blood sugar and hormones!
This Cauliflower Rice Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe Fits This Plan Perfectly!
This version of the recipe includes ground beef as a protein source, but it's easy to swap out and use chicken, tempeh, tofu, or plant-based options like garbanzo beans.
Cauliflower Rice Vegetable Stir Fry w/Ground Beef
[Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Ketogenic, Low Glycemic]
Makes 4 servings - 35 minutes prep and cooking time
Ingredients
2 tbsps. Avocado Oil
1 Red Bell Pepper ((use any color bell pepper))
1 cup Mushrooms
1 Sweet Onion ((diced))
1 cup Broccoli
2 Garlic Cloves
12 ounces Frozen Cauliflower Rice
2 cups Kale Leaves ((chopped))
1 tbsp Dried Thyme
1 tbsp Dried Parsley
1 tbsp Coconut Aminos ((or low sodium soy sauce))
1 Sea Salt & Black Pepper
1 Avocado ((sliced))
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
Directions
Cut vegetables and toss in a bowl. Chop kale, put in a separate bowl. In a large skillet. add the oil, onions, garlic and the cut vegetables, except kale and cauliflower.
Cook on medium heat until the onions look a little translucent. About 5-6 minutes. Add in ground beef. Cook for about 7- 8 more minutes. Stir every so often though. Then add in cauliflower rice, coconut aminos and any additional spices.
Finally, stir in kale and mix all together for 1-2 minutes on low heat. Serve and top with sliced avocado, salt and pepper.
Note* If you cannot find mirin, make a substitute by mixing a little sugar with rice wine vinegar.
Nutritional Information per serving:
Calories 491
Protein 23g
Sugar 8g
Fiber 6g
Carbs 17g
Fat 38g
When you combine a complex carb w/fiber, healthy fat, and a protein source you create delicious blood sugar balanced meals. As a busy woman managing diabetes, you deserve to lose the overwhelm and enjoy healthy delicious food.
Dinners with little effort and lots of flavors will make your blood sugar happy too!
With Balanced Meals Made Easy, you get 5-nights of delicious recipes using 12 basic ingredients. Download more recipes just like the one shared above that use these 12 simple ingredients!
Don't forget to Pin this post...
