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Living with gestational diabetes isn’t fun, but I have found ways to make it more manageable. In the past, if I didn’t have a plan in place I ended up making poor food choices. Poor choices lead to not feeling good. Yuck. Now I make sure to have a meal plan. Keep reading to find my gestational diabetes sample meal plan.
Every person that has gestational diabetes is supposed to meet with a dietitian to talk about how much protein, fats, and carbohydrates they should eat at each meal. My dietitian was useless, but hopefully, that isn’t the case for everybody.
Of course, every person is going to be a bit different depending on their metabolism and activity level. Even day to day, the number of carbohydrates I can eat while keeping my blood sugar under control can vary. If I am sick or feeling particularly lazy, I have to reduce the carbs that I eat or my sugar will be high. Days that I am more active, I will need to eat more carbohydrates.
In addition to watching my blood sugar, I try to avoid artificial sweeteners and caffeine as much as possible. These are suggestions from my doctor, what your doctor says may be different.
When planning what I am going to eat for the week, I use a really handy meal planning notepad that I got from World Market.
Gestational Diabetes Sample Meal Plan Options
*Please note, I am not a doctor or dietician. These are just meals I ate when I had gestational diabetes. Please speak with a medical professional before making any dietary changes*
Breakfast Menu Options
Two Eggs, Bacon, and One Slice Toast
Cottage Cheese with Mandarin Oranges
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
Avocado Toast
Veggie Omelets with Cheese
Lunch Menu Options
Salad Topped With Chicken and Parmesan Cheese
Turkey Sandwich With Cheese, Tomato, and Pickle (make sure to heat turkey first)
Chicken Salad, Triscuit Thins, and Grape Tomatoes
Pan Cooked Vegetables and Chicken
Tuna Salad Sandwich
Leftovers
Dinner Menu Options
Baked Chicken With Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus
Chicken In Mustard Sauce Served With Brussels Sprouts
Steak Served With Broccolini and Mushrooms
Salmon Topped With An Orange-Jicama Salad
Taco Salad
Super Porktastic Bacon Topped Spinach and Mushroom Meatloaf
Big O Bacon Burgers
Blackened Cajun Mahi Mahi
Gestational Diabetes Snack Options
String Cheese
Fresh Mozzarella Balls and Grape Tomatoes
Baby Carrots and Hummus
Diabetic Diet Beverage Options
San Pellegrino Sparkling Water | Love these for when I want to grab something to go. Love that they have a top.
Perrier Lime Slim Cans | These are perfect for keeping in the fridge since they are small and take up less space.
Bubbly | Not my favorite but it comes in a ton of flavors and it is more affordable than other options.
Waterloo | My favorites are the lime and grapefruit. I purchase mine from Target or Whole Foods.
Spindrift | If you are looking for more flavor, Spindrift might be your best bet. They do use a squeeze of real juice so they do have some carbs.
LaCroix | This is the old school flavored water. You can find this pretty much everywhere.
Infused Water (my favorite is cucumber and mint)
Regular Coffee (in moderation)
Finding New Meal Ideas
I try and find a new recipe to incorporate into my routine every week. I have a few places that I go to when trying to find new recipes to try. My favorite place to find recipes is Pinterest. If you are looking for healthy recipes, check out my healthy eats board.
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Experts tell you not to eat cold cuts and beef jerky during pregnancy because of the listeria risk. Are there lunch and snack options that don't require you to eat cold meats? (The ones I usually go for are avocado toast or cottage cheese — which are on your breakfast list.)
My doctor never mentioned not eating beef jerky during pregnancy. Cold cuts are fine when you heat the sandwich, if you are concerned about listeria.
Is there a specific number of carbs you are allowed to have on a normally-active/ basically sedentary day?
The amount of carbs you should eat will vary based on each person. However, I aimed at eating around 175 carbs a day. As for meals, you can usually get away with more carbs at the meal you are the most active after. For me, I had more carbs at lunch because I took an afternoon walk. Of course, this is just what worked for me. You will want to listen to whatever your doctor or dietician recommends.
my daughter was just diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, I need more sample meals please, that are easy enough to make
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