Meals

[sheepshanks]

Quick question, wife is T2, and although I can find dinners/suppers that suit, I am having difficulty with the lunch time usual sandwich, currently varying through cold and canned meat, eggs, tuna, cheese, bacon.
My problem comes from her Dr. saying she cannot eat potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pasta, rice or bread. This would tend to rule out the sandwich lunches Tuna, cheese, egg, cold meat, bacon etc.
Suggestions would be most welcome, thank you.

 

[AloeSvea]

hi @sheepshanks. Your wife is very lucky to have you so onboard with lower carb meals!

Something to bear in mind is that many many doctors are not knowledgeable about nutrition, or as knowledgable as you are.

I do believe you and your wife should load up on knowing about different ways of eating yourselves to write your own shopping lists and menus, as it can get confusing getting out of context food advice from medical professionals. I've heard some utterly illogical food advice from lots of doctors over the years, and my feeling is the best docs re type two are docs that stick to what they are expert in - diagnosis and medications and referring you to the right specialists. (Your doc included carrots and parnips as no-go foods?! Wow! Harsh for someone recently changing their diet due to Type two...) And being in this forum is a great place to start (or even end up at permanently).

Dairy and eggs are low-carb and high in healthy protein amongst other wonderful things, and if you and your wife are dairy tolerant (you will know if you are not!), then they can be wonderful parts of a healthy diet for folks in such a household. Ditto meat and meats.

But yeah - the potatoes, pasta, rice and bread will raise her blood glucose for sure. There are a bunch of low carb and Keto breads for sale now to choose from, so sandwiches are not out - but I doubt you will be wanting to eat almond flour based bread if you can eat wheat bread quite happily! Almond flour based breads cam be part of a lower carb/low carb diet with the goal of keeping blood glucose in check via what you eat, and don't eat.

I eat pasta and rice substitutes made from konjac root, but that too is an acquired taste. I doubt you will be wanting to eat those products. And you will have to see how your wife feels about it. All of these foods.

Over time what goes on your shopping list and home-menus will be obvious! Especially once you try out different ways of eating perhaps, with lowering blood glucose (and high own body insulin) in mind. I mean - mediterranealn, low carb healthy fat (LCHF), paleo, keto, vegetarian, vegan... just off the top of my head.

 

[Outlier]

Avocados are light and easy for lunches. Mayonnaise makes many foods into feasts, as long as you use low-carb low-sugar types such as Hellman's or make your own. I often have leftover meat and a hardboiled egg with mayo. I make a lot of soup from leftovers too - always different, dead easy. A lot of carb eating is habit, and you really don't miss it once you start to avoid it.

We all react differently to different foods - root veggies are far too sugary for me - so testing bloods to see what happens is all part of understanding our condition.

 

[filly]

Quick question, wife is T2, and although I can find dinners/suppers that suit, I am having difficulty with the lunch time usual sandwich, currently varying through cold and canned meat, eggs, tuna, cheese, bacon.
My problem comes from her Dr. saying she cannot eat potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pasta, rice or bread. This would tend to rule out the sandwich lunches Tuna, cheese, egg, cold meat, bacon etc.
Suggestions would be most welcome, thank you.

I tend to have what would be in a sandwich minus the bread. I rather just think eat, rather than a whole meal. So for lunch have had a cup of tea and cottage cheese and tomato. As long as I feel full. I eat quite a lot of smoked salmon. Ham but no too much. Chicken. Salad eggs. My flat gets very hot in the summer so foods that don't always need cooking. More about eating than having what other think you should eat.

 

[KennyA]

Quick question, wife is T2, and although I can find dinners/suppers that suit, I am having difficulty with the lunch time usual sandwich, currently varying through cold and canned meat, eggs, tuna, cheese, bacon.
My problem comes from her Dr. saying she cannot eat potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pasta, rice or bread. This would tend to rule out the sandwich lunches Tuna, cheese, egg, cold meat, bacon etc.
Suggestions would be most welcome, thank you.

As well as the helpful suggestions above, there are also many firms these days that do a low-carb "bread" - which can come in form of a loaf, or rolls or wraps for example. The rolls come in at about 2g each. It's more expensive than bread, but it will do to make a sandwich.

I order rolls, "not cross buns" (c4g), and wraps (c.6g) from a firm called SRSLY. They freeze and they'll keep about three weeks in the fridge. I need to try some of the other brands available as it is years since I last tested anything else.

 

[sheepshanks]

Thank you all for the suggestions, much appreciated. Will try various combinations of foods. Though have never liked the taste or texture of Cottage cheese or Mayo. Blame Salad cream for that!
What we find most confusing is the conflicting advice given on various websites and by nutritionists. When first diagnosed my wife was advised to eat wholemeal bread, brown rice, now it seems this advice was not really correct. Diabetes Canada food lists appear not to have been updated for 11 years and I'm sure things have changed since then.
We do eat home made soup in the winter, but when it's 30 degrees c, no thank you. Winter, when it is 30 or more below, much needed.
Having said all this, I do believe that a major part of the good lady's problem is lack of exercise, but with swollen, painful feet I understand why she does not walk too far or very speedily. Though when there is a few feet of snow on the ground for a few months even I do not want to be trudging around too much.
Thanks again folks

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @sheepshanks and welcome to the forum.
There are 2 main reasons why meals for Type 2 Diabetes control/remission are tricky.
1. Back in the 1980's the low fat fad caught on and doctors started advising all their patients (including diabetics) to eat lots of fruit and whole grains, but little fat. Not so many years ago this forum was fairly intolerant of a low Carbohydrate way of eating for Type 2, in contrast to now when the majority of people posting at least cut down on carbs. So the medical profession and nutritionists just have not yet caught up.
2. We Type 2 diabetics tend to be a varied bunch. Different genes, gut biome, Insulin Resistance etc., so what may be fine for one may not be good for another. The only way to know whether our bodies can deal well with what we eat and how much of it is to test our meals with either a BG meter (finger prick tests) or a Continuous Glucose Meter (CGM).

Here's a link to a blog entry which explains the basics, written by one of our members:

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...

josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

That is measuring blood Glucose readings in UK units mmol/L, I don't know which units you use in Canada, in order to convert them to US units (mg/dL) you just need to multiply them by 18. There is more about this here:

Blood Sugar Glucose Converter for Diabetes

Convert blood sugar/glucose from mmol/L (UK standard) to mg/dl (US standard) and vice versa using our blood sugar converter.

www.diabetes.co.uk

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Quick question, wife is T2, and although I can find dinners/suppers that suit, I am having difficulty with the lunch time usual sandwich, currently varying through cold and canned meat, eggs, tuna, cheese, bacon.
My problem comes from her Dr. saying she cannot eat potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pasta, rice or bread. This would tend to rule out the sandwich lunches Tuna, cheese, egg, cold meat, bacon etc.
Suggestions would be most welcome, thank you.

I was going to suggest swapping out the bread for low carb wraps, but I just checked Walmart.ca and they charge an arm and a leg for just four of them, so that may be a no-go. Still, cheese roll-ups with ham and butter? Eggs with whatever, like salmon, bacon and chives, that sort of thing. For full disclosure, just squirted mayo into a can of tuna, added in some pepper and just scooped it out. Hello, lunch. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes/lunch might help some too.

You mention your wife isn't very mobile, but so are a lot of people... Some are wheelchair bound, can't do much with inflamed joints, what have you... But a saying that sings around the site: "You can't out-run a bad diet". The food really is key, exercise is just a nice bonus. It helps, sure, but it's not 100% mandatory. I could barely walk when diagnosed, and it wasn't until I got my blood sugars back into the normal range that I regained mobility, so... It wasn't a requirement for my blood sugars to come down, the same might be true for your Mrs. And yes, so many sites and books, so many opinions... Which is why I used a meter to check what worked for me, and low carb did the trick. You might be interested in Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code, he's a nephrologist linked to the Uni of Toronto, if I remember correctly.

All in all, we're all different. But a meter won't try to sell you a fad diet or some weird dogma. It just lets you know whether the meal you had -or in this case, your wife- was alright. Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. If the difference is 2.0 mmol/l or less, the meal was excellent and she could process it just fine. Just experiment a bit and see what works for her specifically, not for faceless masses online.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[Lizzie2]

Quick question, wife is T2, and although I can find dinners/suppers that suit, I am having difficulty with the lunch time usual sandwich, currently varying through cold and canned meat, eggs, tuna, cheese, bacon.
My problem comes from her Dr. saying she cannot eat potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pasta, rice or bread. This would tend to rule out the sandwich lunches Tuna, cheese, egg, cold meat, bacon etc.
Suggestions would be most welcome, thank you.

I developed steroid induced T2 some years ago. The advice I got from the diabetes nurse really wasn’t that great - ‘don’t eat more than one banana a day and avoid pineapple’.
Fortunately I discovered a really good book about reversing your T2 diabetes by Dr David Cavan - you will find it mentioned on this site. I also bought myself a blood glucose monitor and did exactly as he said - basically you ‘eat to your meter’ until you know which foods affect your blood sugar - then you avoid them.
Within three months I was no longer T2 plus I knew exactly which foods spiked my blood sugar - for me it was anything involving grain of any sort and also vegetables that grow below ground. . I can’t recommend his book highly enough, he has a cook book out too but I didn’t love it, I prefer the Michael Moseley recipe books.

I make a lot of soups - mushroom, lentil, I eat salads and eat raw nuts, I have omelettes, you can make a wrap from an omelette too, I eat a gluten free diet and I don’t love GF bread so I hardly ever eat bread. I do a lot of walking though,

 

[sheepshanks]

Thanks again folks, all suggestions taken aboard.
For whatever reason the wife stopped measuring blood sugar levels a few years ago, so no real way of knowing what affects her levels most. So I try and prepare meals that avoid likely triggers.
Apart from the Metformin and other pills the Doc has also prescribed 15ml Admelog Solostar insulin but she has never used any of the injections, must be a dozen boxes in the fridge (expensively sitting!). Possibly a fear of injecting wrongly, or maybe a feeling that once started it is the beginning of a downward path.
We have yesterday been informed that we are being allocated a new family doctor, previously it was a walk in clinic physician, so hopefully this one will be able to help her make inroads to a better lifestyle.
Appreciate all your answers and suggestion, thank you,

 

[AloeSvea]

Hi again @sheepshanks. My experience is that medical professionals will be wonderful regarding your wife's medications and insulin path, but not, not, not re what is called 'a better lifestyle'. It's just not (usually) their area of expertise. But you are in the right place to explore that 'better lifestyle' in here.

An easy way to think of the exercise component's impact on weight and blood glucose, compared to the food and drink, is 20% physical activity, 80% what you are eating and drinking. And then there is the impact of individual differences. But I believe that to be a good figure to keep in mind when planning a better lifestyle.

Also re activity in snow - I lived in Sweden for a few years with type two, and I liked walking in snow (it's the ice you gotta watch out for - right?). Just need to be dressed properly for very low temperatures. But I am lame now, and my walking any distances time is over, but indoor machines are easily got for all walks of life? I don't like using them nearly as much as I enjoyed being out and about in the great outdoors (hey, I'm a Kiwi!), but they keep the muscles going, and your blood oxygenated, which is essential for heart health, not to mention aiding those cells deal with too much blood glucose (and insulin). My thoughts on the matter at least.

 

[DerrickOlley]

hi @sheepshanks. Your wife is very lucky to have you so onboard with lower carb meals!

Something to bear in mind is that many many doctors are not knowledgeable about nutrition, or as knowledgable as you are.

I do believe you and your wife should load up on knowing about different ways of eating yourselves to write your own shopping lists and menus, as it can get confusing getting out of context food advice from medical professionals. I've heard some utterly illogical food advice from lots of doctors over the years, and my feeling is the best docs re type two are docs that stick to what they are expert in - diagnosis and medications and referring you to the right specialists. Here. (Your doc included carrots and parnips as no-go foods?! Wow! Harsh for someone recently changing their diet due to Type two...) And being in this forum is a great place to start (or even end up at permanently).

Dairy and eggs are low-carb and high in healthy protein amongst other wonderful things, and if you and your wife are dairy tolerant (you will know if you are not!), then they can be wonderful parts of a healthy diet for folks in such a household. Ditto meat and meats.

But yeah - the potatoes, pasta, rice and bread will raise her blood glucose for sure. There are a bunch of low carb and Keto breads for sale now to choose from, so sandwiches are not out - but I doubt you will be wanting to eat almond flour based bread if you can eat wheat bread quite happily! Almond flour based breads cam be part of a lower carb/low carb diet with the goal of keeping blood glucose in check via what you eat, and don't eat.

I eat pasta and rice substitutes made from konjac root, but that too is an acquired taste. I doubt you will be wanting to eat those products. And you will have to see how your wife feels about it. All of these foods.

Over time what goes on your shopping list and home-menus will be obvious! Especially once you try out different ways of eating perhaps, with lowering blood glucose (and high own body insulin) in mind. I mean - mediterranealn, low carb healthy fat (LCHF), paleo, keto, vegetarian, vegan... just off the top of my head.

Great advice! I also replace bread and pasta with low-carb analogues! And I try to include other products in my menu, not limiting myself in consuming my favorite products!

 

[Resurgam]

In hot weather I like crisp lettuce leaves as wraps.
I got a waffle maker to make cheese waffles as bread substitutes there are many recipes for 'chaffles', both savoury and sweet, and I have seen 'baffles' made with minced beef.