1,500-Calorie Diabetic Sample Meal Plan

Diet plays a very important role when it comes to managing diabetes. Your food choices, the amount of food you eat and the timing of your meals, all affect your blood sugar. A 1,500-calorie diet is a lower calorie diet that can help small women who exercise, small or medium-sized women who want to lose weight, and medium-sized women who don't exercise to better manage their blood sugars.

A healthy, 1,500-calorie meal plan for people with diabetes should include a variety of foods from all of the food groups. To keep calories under control and make sure you get all the nutrients you need, eat a set number of servings from each group each day. Evenly distributing your food choices between three meals and three snacks can help you control blood sugar.

A balanced 1,500-calorie meal plan includes six servings of starches, three servings of fruit, three servings of milk, four servings of non-starchy vegetables, six servings of meat and four servings of fat per day. One serving of starch equals one slice of bread or one-third cup cooked rice; one serving of fruit equals one small piece of fresh fruit or one-half-cup canned fruit; one serving of milk equals 1 cup of milk or 1 cup of light yogurt; one serving of non-starchy vegetable equals one-half-cup cooked or 1-cup raw; one serving of meat equals 1 ounce of cooked meat and one serving of fat equals 1 teaspoon of oil or butter.

A balanced breakfast consists of one serving of starch, fruit, milk, meat and fat. A sample meal might include one-half of a small bagel topped with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter and one-half of a banana sliced, served with 1 cup of nonfat milk and a hard-boiled egg.

Your mid-morning snack should include one serving of fruit. One small orange or 2 tablespoons of raisins are healthy options.

For lunch, include two servings of starch, two servings of meat, one serving of vegetable and one serving of fat. A healthy lunch idea for your 1,500-calorie meal plan might include an entree salad made with 2 cups of mixed greens topped with 2 ounces of chopped chicken and 2 tablespoons of low-fat salad dressing, and served with 2 cups of a broth-based soup such as vegetable or chicken noodle.

One serving of milk at your afternoon snack keeps energy up and blood sugar steady. Good options might include a sugar-free cappuccino made with 1 cup of nonfat milk or one container of light yogurt.

Dinner consists of three servings of meat, two servings of starch, three servings of vegetables, one serving of fruit and two servings of fat. A sample meal might include 3 ounces of grilled salmon with 1 cup of roasted red potatoes tossed with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 cup of steamed broccoli, 1 cup of mixed greens topped with 2 tablespoons of low-fat salad dressing and 1 1 /4 cups of fresh strawberries.

Finish your day with a healthy evening snack consisting of one serving of starch and one serving of milk. Sample snack options include three-quarter cup of unsweetened whole-grain cold cereal with 1 cup of nonfat milk or five whole wheat crackers with one container of light yogurt.