Dinner Ideas for Women with Gestational Diabetes

Dinner is the meal of the day when people like the most variety. You don’t want to eat
the same thing each night (pregnant or not). Here is the time to be creative. But a
cookbook or borrow one from the library to stock up on good ideas for dinner
combinations that fit in with your diabetic diet.

The dinner meal traditionally consists of a starch (whole grains, potatoes, and rice), a
vegetable, and a protein. You can be creative in how you combine these elements but
take the appropriate portions. Your dietician will give you guidelines on is considered a
proper portion of meat and other food groups. If you are having difficulty with this, you
may want to consider purchasing or borrowing a food scale until you learn how to judge a
portion size by sight.

Here is a selection of different dinner ideas that can be made:

* Cheese quiche, you can try making one without the crust to cut fat and calories
* Sloppy Joe sandwiches on whole wheat buns topped with shredded cheese (use a
lean or extra ground beef)
* Bell peppers stuffed with rice and ground beef and then baked in the oven
* Use a slow cooker to make a chili or beef stew full of veggies

There are numerous dinner combinations available by mixing up protein choices (fish,
steak, pork chops, and chicken) grains (brown rice, potatoes, pasta, and couscous), and
the various ways to cook vegetables (raw in a salad, steamed, grilled, or boiled).

If you are going out to eat for dinner, don’t be afraid to ask for your food done differently
than what the menu offers. Ask for substitutions and sauces on the side where
appropriate. Most restaurants are flexible and are willing to accommodate special dietary
requirements especially for pregnant women with diabetes.