Constructing A Diabetic Diet on The Cheap

Having Type 1 diabetes means that, not only does my pancreas hate me, but that I have to eat a little differently from most people. Being poor means that I have to shop differently than most people. How, then, do I unify these two situations? How have I learned to deal with my condition and yet still be healthy and also stay within my budget? Well, read on!

Every time I go to the supermarket I have to be selective in what I buy, for three reasons. First, what I eat translates directly to how much insulin I have to use. Since I have to pay for insulin, what kind of food I buy directly affects how much money I spend on medication. I want to spend as little money on medication as possible, so I have to watch what I buy. Carbohydrates(complex sugars) are the main thing that I take into consideration when buying food. The less carbs the better. Secondly, I have to consider what I can afford. Some foods might be healthier (i.e. require less insulin) than others, but if they are really expensive, I haven’t really saved any money. Third, I have to buy stuff that I like and that will fill me up. Sure, eggs and veggies are good for me, but my entire diet cannot consist of just those. I have to have a well-rounded diet.

So, what then do I eat? Here are some of the foods in my diet.

• Rice. My parents were gracious enough to give me a rice cooker, and rice is a staple in my diet. It is rather high in carbohydrates, but it is so versatile as a food that I prefer it over other high-carb foods such as pasta, potatoes and bread.
• Eggs. I go through at least a dozen eggs a week. I go to Target or Cub and buy eggs by the two-and-a-half-dozen. Eggs are great because I can fry them, scramble them, mix them with cheese or salsa, and eat them raw over rice. Eggs have next to no carbs, so I can throw down as many as I want. A five-egg omelet for breakfast is not uncommon.
• Bread. I buy one type of bread - Country Hearth Cracked Wheat. At 15g of carbs per slice, it is the healthiest bread I could find. On top of that, it is cheap and tastes pretty good.
• Cereal. I buy boring cereal like Cheerios, Rice Chex, Honey Bunches of Oats, or SpecialK. Once you start eating these cereals exclusively, the they start to taste really good and even make other cereals that have sugar taste way too sweet. I am a fan of granola, but granola typically has over 40g of carbs per serving, while the cereals mentioned about have less than 23g per serving.
• Milk. I buy whole milk because I don’t enjoy my milk tasting like water. Whole milk doesn’t have any more carbs than 2% or skim(gross), and like all milk can be used for pouring over cereal and mixing with eggs.
• Canned Soup. Chicken noodle soup (or some variant) is always stocked in my cupboard. It only has 9g of carbs per can, so I usually have a bowl of soup for lunch. Also, chicken noodle soup is so healthy that it is routinely eaten by sick people. I’m not sick, so it should be really good for me!
• Cottage Cheese. At a mere 5g carbs in a serving, this is another healthy food that fills me up.
• Yogurt. I buy Dannon plain yogurt, because boring, plain yogurt has half the carbs (about 12) per serving of any flavored yogurt. Five packets of Splenda make 32oz. plain yogurt deliciously yummy.
• Carrots, bananas, and apples. I eat all of these plain, to get my servings of fruits and vegetables. I buy carrots by the bag, and just pull one out and start crunching on it when I want some veggie goodness. Bananas are awesome because not only can I eat them plain, but I can cut them up in cereal or slice them for a peanut-butter-banana-sandwich.
• Crystal Light. I used to drink this stuff all the time, until I found out that not only was the generic Target equivalent cheaper, but also tasted way better. I make it by the gallon in empty milk jugs, and sometimes drink over a half-gallon of it a day.


Other things I buy to eat: Canned tuna, orange juice, soy sauce, shredded cheese, sliced cheese (mozzarella), butter, peanut butter, sugar-free jelly, instant ramen(high in carbs but tasty), macaroni, fresh shiitake mushrooms(not cheap but very tasty), canned peas and green beans, peanuts, bacon.

That is pretty my whole grocery list, which equals out to about $150 a month for food. I eat well, stay healthy, and save money, all at the same time! You’ll notice that apart from the bacon, i eat very little meat. This has nothing to do with me not liking meat and everything to do with a) the price of meat and b) the fact that more greenhouse gasses are emitted by the met industry from the raising, slaughtering, producing, and transporting of meat than from all the cars in the US combined.


_DZ