Today I prepared these delicious muffins from the 3rd edition of Diabetes Meals for Good Health Cookbook (1). Written by Karen Graham, RD and Mansur Shomali, MD this book is a great guide for anyone wanting to adopt a healthy diet. Both authors are diabetes experts. It includes nine types of meal plans that range from just 1,200 calories all the way up to 2,220 calories! There is certainly a plan for everyone, but it’s important to note that these are balanced plans slightly low in carbs.
Please see your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet. The recipes in this book are balanced and healthy, but they may not be suitable for everyone.
This book includes much more than meal plans and recipes. I especially like the first section, “Ten Changes for Good Health”:
- Eat Breakfast to increase energy and get in your nutrition earlier everyday.
- Eat Proper Portions with vegetables and/or fruits as the largest part of your meals.
- Eat a Variety of Foods of different types and colors to consume a variety of nutrients.
- Eat Less Saturated Fat as well as less processed food.
- Drink More Water, 6-8 glasses per day to help break down stored fat.
- Limit Sweet Drinks and Sugars, which includes fruit juices.
- Limit Salt and Alcohol which may require that you eat out less due to sodium content.
- Read Labels for Home Cooking so you can choose options with less sugar, fat, and salt.
- Walk for Health, building up to 30 minutes per day, which can be split up into shorter 10 minute walks if needed.
- Take Care of Yourself by getting adequate sleep and recognizing your progress even if it’s slow.
This book contains 100 recipes and 6 weeks of meal plans. The meal plans include excellent instructions on how to customize for the calorie level you personally need. There are 15 breakfast meals, 15 lunch meals, 40 dinner meals, and snack suggestions. Each meal category has options for large and small meals. Snacks have four categories: low-calorie, small, medium, and large. The pages are color coded so it’s simple to find what you’re looking for.
The Bran Muffins pictured are to be served with low sugar Greek yogurt or cheese to up the protein value. Every recipe includes values for:
- Calories
- Carbohydrate
- Fiber
- Net Carbs
- Protein
- Total fat
- Saturated fat
- Cholesterol
- Sodium
Each recipe also has clear instructions, suggested options, health tips, and a beautiful, full page photograph.
There is a handy Eat This – Not That section as well. It’s not your typical photograph of a donut versus oatmeal. This really gets down into the details, giving you all the nutrients for each option. Some of it is quite shocking! The comparison below is abbreviated as the book gives you the amount of carbs, fiber, fat, and sodium as well!
- 1.5 cups of store bought granola with 0.75 cups 2% milk: 710 calories
- 1.5 cups frosted flakes with 0.75 cups 1% milk: 279 calories
- 1.5 cups corn flakes with 0.75 cups skim milk: 208 calories
- 1.5 cups bran flakes with 0.75 cups skim milk: 209 calories
You might think that the third option is best, because there is one less calorie. However, the book gives the amount of fiber, which is far superior with bran flakes. It also lists the net carbs of each meal. Since this book is designed for diabetics, that would be a very important consideration.
In my case, since I am an avid exerciser, I choose to eat higher protein meals. While I think we can all learn from this book, its focus is on diabetes. You will want to modify your diet based on your priorities.
There are two other things to consider. If you’d like to try a couple recipes before buying the book, head over to Amazon and make the chili con carne or a breakfast smoothie. Also, you could consider waiting for the fourth edition, scheduled to be out in October 2023.
I hope you’ll write in the comments and recommend more cookbooks! This is the last healthy cookbook that I own. I’ll have to visit my library for new recipe ideas. Let’s keep trying new things to maintain our healthy weight!
(1). Karen Graham, RD and Mansur Shomali, MD. Diabetes Meals for Good Health Cookbook: Complete Meal Plans and 100 Recipes, Robert Rose Pub. Third edition (May 15, 2020).
Maintain Weight Loss 