A couple of corrections to be made here:
1. For those who still dream of having eggplant parm, which I still love and used to eat over spaghetti, a slice of toasted whole-grain bread can be substituted for the pasta.
If you use whole-grain pasta, you don't have to substitute. And there are some pretty good whole grain pasta types out there. I like the Hodgeson Mills brand.
2. Canola oil is controversial, with some saying it is truly evil, while others say it is like mana from Heaven. I use sunflower or safflower oil instead of canola. Olive oil is good as well, and there are other great oils. Look in some of the threads about healthy oils. And all oils are high in caloric content. The reason healthier oils are healthier, is they help control choleserol levels in the blood, and may add other essential nutrients to the diet.
3. In our house, we often make multi-grain pancakes, usually a combination of whole-wheat, buckwheat, and oatmeal. We use Splenda sweetener and replace the oil with apple sauce. For a leavening agent, we use double-acting baking powder. There is salt in them, but only 1/2 tsp. per cup of the flour mixture. And the single egg can be substituted with a yolk free replacement product, such as Egg Beaters. This will produce very tasty and healthy pancakes, depending on what you top them with.
4. Healthy pizza can be made by a using whole-grain flour, such as rye, which has a light flavor, instead of using processed bread flour. Top with veggies and lean but spicy meats and use herbs for flavoring. Use sharply flavored cheeses as you don't need to use as much to get good flavor.
5. Legumes in general, beans, peas, lentils, etc. are foods a diabetic should eat. They are low in fat, high in protiens, nutrients and fiber. The starches are counteracted by the high fiber content that serves to slow the absorption of sugars into the bloodstream. Be careful what you flavor them with. I use Splenda and either mollases or maple/extract when making baked beans. If you are making a savory type of beans, such as bean soup, then limit the salt, but use enough for good flavor, or use salt substitutes, and use herbs and spices. And you would be amazed how much flavor is added by cooking them with a goo pork bone, with the fat removed of course, and adding some lean pork cubes to the mix.
Veggies such as beets, and carrots should be eaten in moderation as they contain a bunch of both simple and complex sugars (carbohydrates). Potatoes should be avoided. But you can eat sweet potatoes because of the high nutrition content and fiber. The same is true of most berries and fruits. Just don't over-indulge. Grapes and grape products (raisins and wines) are very high in sugars.
And watch the cereals. Many are suprizingly high in carbs, even though they may say they may claim to be healthy. They are often coated with, or made with either sugar, or high-fruictose corn syrup, and usually some added fat. So read the label.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
