Planning A South Indian Diabetic Friendly Diet

Indians with diabetes have a harder time dealing with the illness because of our cuisine. Many of our staple foods like rice and potatoes are high in starch.

But you can personalize your South Indian meals and make diabetes friendly food choices.

Tips to manage your diabetic diet

Eat a snack when you wake up

Drink two glasses of water before a meal

Have small meals every two hours

Eat dinner early

Carry a small snack at all times

When you wake up…

Have a couple of digestive biscuits

A cup of coffee or tea without sugar

A glass of warm water with lime and ginger is healthy

At breakfast, have…

Steamed idlis with chutney

Soft dosa cooked with minimum oil

Upma made with cracked wheat, quinoa or poha

Pongal made with brown rice

Ragi dosas and idiyappams

For a mid morning snack have…

A glass of buttermilk

Avoid tender coconut water or juices(high sugar content)

Low sugar content fruit

Handful of unsalted nuts

Diabetes friendly lunch options

Brown rice, diabetes rice, quinoa, broken millets

Kootu with water based vegetables

Porials with vegetables like carrot, beans, cabbage etc

Greens blended with dhal or plain

Sambhar with non tuber vegetables

Evening tea can include…

A cup of tea or coffee with no sugar

Digestive biscuits

A small healthy snack like upma or adai

Healthy dinner options

Have a clear vegetable soup before dinner

Make a bowl of salad

Wheat chappathis with dhal and vegetables

Adai made with dhal, and chutney

Oats porridge with vegetables

Good snack options (when you just need to binge)

Vegetable salads

Fruit salads (with fruits low in sugar)

Steamed or boiled vegetables

Steamed dhal vadas

Microwave papads with vegetables on top

Tips for meat eaters

Grill your meat instead of deep frying

Make it into a curry instead of dry frying

Have more lean meats like chicken and fish

Add vegetables to the meat dish

What you should avoid

Deep fried foods

Coconut based curries and chutneys

Curries with excess oil like kara kuzhambu

Biriyanis and pulaus that have excess oil and rice