mostly “diabetic friendly”

The foods I look to, to be “diabetic friendly, mostly:”

BEANS, GRAINS & PEAS
- Black Beans (low sodium)
  - Hummus
  - Refried Beans
- Black Eyed Peas
- Chickpeas-Garbanzo Beans (low sodium)
  - Hummus
- Green Beans
- Green Peas
  - Garden
  - Split
- Lentils
- Quiona
- Pinto Beans (low sodium) LIDL
  - Refried Beans (homemade)
- Sesame Seeds
BREAD, CEREAL & PASTA
- Blue Corn (Taco Shells, Tortilla Chips)
- Polenta WAL
- Rye (seeded) WEG
- Sourdough
  - Loaf & English Muffins PUBLIX
  - Loaf LIDL
- Sprouted Grain Bread
  - “Knock Your Sprouts Off” ALDI’s
  - “Ezekiel 4:9” WEG
DAIRY
- Cheese
  - White American WEG
- Milk 2% LIDL, FL, WAL
- Yogurt (Greek, Plain) HT
DRINKS & JUICES
- Coffee
  - Breakfast Blend WAL
  - Hazelnut, Starbucks – WAL
- Cranberry WAL
- Flavor Packets
  - Pomegranate – Lemonade GV WAL
  - Tea w/ Lemon GV WAL
- Orange Juice LIDL, IGA
- Tea
  - Constant Comment (Bigelow) HT
  - Earl Gray (Bigelow)
  - Raspberry Royale (Bigelow) WEG
  - Scottish Breakfast (Taylors)
FLAVORINGS, HERBS & SPICES
- Cayenne (ground)
- Cinnamon (ground, stick)
- Cumin (ground, whole)
- Dulse
- Fenugreek (ground)
- Garlic (ground, raw)
- Horseradish (creamed)
- Indian Long Pepper AMZ
- Mustard (ground, brown, yellow)
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Soy Sauce
- Spicy Chili Crisp WAL
- Sweeteners
  - Agave Nectar WEG, AMZ
  - Coconut Sugar WAL
  - Equal WAL
  - Stevia (liquid, powder)
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Turmeric (ground)
- Vinegar
  - Apple Cider
  - Balsamic
  - Red Wine
  - Rice Wine
- Wasabi/Soy Powder AMZ
FRUIT
- Apples
  - Gala (fried) WAL
- Avocado
  - Guacamole
  - Sliced
- Blackberries LIDL
- Blueberries
- Cranberries (homemade sauce w/sweetener instead of sugar – use in plain Greek yogurt)
- Dates
- Grapes
  - Raisins
- Lemons
- Limes
- Olives
  - Black
  - Castelvetrano
  - Green
  - Kalamata
- Oranges
- Peaches CHAPP
- Pineapple (canned) $T
- Plums
  - Prunes SPROUTS
  - Raw
- Raspberries LIDL
- Strawberries
MEAT
- Beef
  - Ground (80%/20%)
  - Polska Beef Kielbasa LIDL
  - Steak
- Chicken
  - Rotisserie (whole) HT
  - Tenders/Thighs
- Fish & Seafood
  - Clams (chopped – canned) WAL
  - Cod HT
    - Filet
  - Scallops
    - Bay
  - Shrimp
    - Frozen HT, PUBLIX
  - Tilapia
    - Baked
  - Tuna (canned) WAL
- Lamb
  - Round Bone PUBLIX
- Pork
  - Chops LEES
  - Sausage
  - Souse (Pender’s) PATE’S
NUTS
- Almonds
- Cashews FL
- Peanuts
  - Peanut Butter WAL
- Pumpkin Seeds FL
- Walnuts PUBLIX
OILS
- Avocado
- Coconut
- Olive WAL
- Walnut
VEGETABLES
- Asparagus (steamed)
- Beets (pickled)
- Broccoli (raw, steamed)
- Carrots (raw, steamed)
- Cauliflower (raw, steamed)
- Celery WAL, FL
- Cilantro (green leafy) WAL
- Corn
  - On the Cob WAL, PATE’S, FL
  - Whole Kernel (low sodium)
- Cucumber (raw, pickled)fv
  - English
- Eggplant
- Konjac
  - Zero Pasta HT
- Lettuce
  - Romaine
- Mushrooms (stems)
- Okra PATE’S
  - Fried
  - Soup
- Onion
  - Sweet
  - White/Yellow
- Pepper
  - Aji Dulce (mild with flavor) COMP
  - Jalapeno (hot with flavor)
  - Poblano (mild heat with flavor)
  - Sweet Bell (color of is G/Y/O/R – from left to right they become more mature and sweeter) FL, WAL
- Spinach
  - Creamed (frozen) FL
  - Raw (salad)
- Squash
  - White Patty Pan
  - Yellow
  - Zucchini
- Stir Fry Veggies (bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts) WAL
- Tomatoes
  - Diced (low sodium – chutney, salsa, spaghetti sauce) LIDL
  - Diced w/ Green Chilis (low sodium) LIDL

Chinese Stir Fry

Chicken|Pork|Shrimp
Onion
Bell Pepper (Sweet Y/O/R)
Carrots
Pineapple Chunks
Stir Fry Veggies
Sesame Seeds
Spicy Chili Crisp
Sweetener (Equal/Agave Nectar)
Toasted Sesame Oil
Wonton Strips

Mexican – Latin Themed Meal

Black Beans & Quinoa
- As an option to refried beans as a base for the Mexican themed meal, I found a recipe for “Black Beans & Quinoa.” This recipe takes about 25 minutes to prepare and includes the following: quinoa, black beans, cilantro (leafy), whole kernel corn, cumin (ground), chicken stock and S&P. This base is very flavorful and works well with salsa and guacamole. Just add some Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, or add the other items in a Blue Corn Taco shell. *You could also add chicken to this.
Guacamole
- Avocado
- Cilantro (green leafy)
- Cumin (ground or whole)
- Tomatillo (optional)
Refried Beans
- I pretty quickly realized that if you wanted to control the amount of sodium (salt) in your “refried beans” you would need to buy low sodium beans and make the refried beans yourself. This is super easy. Pintos are the classic bean, but I prefer Black Beans. *Puree 2/3s of a can of beans, and then mix the whole & pureed beans on the stove top, mashing some of the whole beans to get a “rough chop.” Avocado oil or even water work well, and a smidge of bacon grease might even provide extra flavor.
Salsa
- Bell Pepper (Sweet, Y/O/R)
- Cilantro (green leafy)
- Cumin (ground or whole seed)
- Sweet Onion
- Tomatoes (Diced Fire Roasted/Garlic)
- Green Chilies Diced (gv WAL)
Ground Beef & Diced Tomatoes w/ Chilies
- As an option to salsa, this is cooked. Brown ground beef, dice some onion, colorful bell pepper, jalapeno or poblano, diced tomatoes w/ green chilies, add cilantro and season with garlic powder and ground cumin.
Pollo Sofrito
- Shred some chicken tenders, dice some onion, colorful bell peppers, jalapeno or poblano, diced tomatoes w/ green chilies, add cilantro and season with garlic powder and ground cumin.

Adding other types of peppers (hot or other flavors – aji, jalapeno, poblano, Trinidad perfume, biquinho) to the salsa offer variety. The Aji Dulce is a mild pepper with some flavor. I’ve bought it at Compare Foods (a Hispanic grocery chain). Add some Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, or combine the other items in a Blue Corn Taco shell. Warm the shell first in the microwave.

Black Beans & Quinoa

A few ingredients and easy to follow steps to make this perfect every time. The quinoa cooks for 20 minutes and if done according to the recipe, it is tender and moist without being watery right at 20 minutes. If you use frozen corn, you have to give that about 5 extra minutes to heat through at the end, and the black beans and cilantro don’t need any extra cooking time. This is just a good base for salsa and guacamole.

I mentioned adding chicken to this, and you might buy a rotisserie chicken at Harris Teeter and shred part of it and mix it into the Black Beans & Quinoa. Recall that a whole rotisserie chicken, for about $8 is an excellent deal. You could make about 5 good meals out of this one chicken, and then use the carcass to make homemade chicken stock. Recall also that you save and freeze the following for making stock (beef, chicken, pork): onion, carrots & celery.

Whether you make your own stock, or buy it at the store, stock flavors beans and soups so much better than just water, and homemade stock usually adds even more flavor.

Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans

Hummus (made from ground chickpeas, black beans, navy or cannellini beans) can be the foundation for a vegetarian meal. Cut up various veggies for dipping in hummus: sweet, colorful bell pepper, onion, carrots, celery. I also like Smoked Oysters & olives with hummus, and maybe even raw diced okra.

Hummus
- Garbanzo Beans / Chickpeas (pureed)
- Tahani
- Garlic (raw, roasted or powdered)
- Cumin (ground & whole seeds)
- Lemon/Lime Juice
- Olive oil
- Water
- Salt (if needed)
Roasted Chickpea Snack
- Rinse canned chickpeas and dry
- Cumin (ground)
- Garlic (ground)