The next level of the
Diabetes Food Pyramid contains vegetables. Vegetables give you vitamins, minerals, and fiber, with very few calories.
- Lettuce
- Broccoli
- Vegetable juice
- Peppers
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Salsa
- Chilies
- Greens.
Vegetable Serving Sizes
If you have more than one serving at a meal, you can choose a few different types of vegetables or have two or three servings of one vegetable.
Suggestions for Including Vegetables in Your Diet
Here are some healthy ways to eat vegetables as part of your diet for gestational
diabetes:
- Eat raw and cooked vegetables with little or no fat, sauces, or dressings.
- Try low-fat or fat-free salad dressing on raw vegetables or salads.
- Steam vegetables using a small amount of water or low-fat broth.
- Mix in some chopped onion or garlic.
- Use a little vinegar or some lemon or lime juice.
- Add a small piece of lean ham or smoked turkey instead of fat to vegetables when cooking.
- Sprinkle with herbs and spices. These flavorings add almost no fat or calories.
- If you do use a small amount of fat, use canola oil, olive oil, or soft margarines (liquid or tub types) instead of fat from meat, butter, or shortening.
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