Diabetic Recipes
Portion Control: A Guide to Maintaining Health
American waistlines are ever growing due to inactivity and increased food consumption which is leading to a number of health issues, such as Type 2 Diabetes. Part of this increasing problem is "portion distortion" -- many Americans don’t know what a standard serving size is.
Yolanda Gonzalez, RN, CDE, a nurse and Certified Diabetes Educator with the Diabetes Education Center at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, says eating healthy isn’t enough … taking control of the portions of food you consume is key in managing a healthy lifestyle and keeping diabetes under control.
When cooking, it is important to measure your food but often there are times we do not have access to a scale or measuring utensils. Gonzalez says there are a number of tips to “recognize” normal serving sizes, such as a serving of poultry, meat or fish is 3 ounces or about the size of a small deck of cards or the palm of your hand … whereas, a serving of leafy-green vegetables like spinach is 1 cup or about the size of a tennis ball.
Diabetic Cooking, a cookbook designed for those with diabetes, offers a number of easy-to-serve recipes that will allow you to stay on track and maintain a healthy life.
Greek Lemon Chicken Yields: 4 servings (1 breast per serving)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 ounces each) 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 lemon, cut in wedgesBaby spinach leaves
Place chicken breasts in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag and add all ingredients except lemon wedges and spinach. Seal bag and shake to coat chicken completely. Refrigerate chicken at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes. Turn chicken and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 7 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
Remove from heat and serve with lemon wedges and spinach.
Nutritional Information per Serving:Calories: 132 Total Fat: 2 grams (g) Calories from Fat: 11% Saturated Fat: >1 g Carbohydrate: 3 g Fiber: 1g Protein: 27 g Cholesterol: 66 milligrams (mg) Sodium: 74 mg