Plant-based meals are packed with nutrients and minerals that are great for keeping the body powered. Even if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan, using a plant-based meal once or twice a week could offer health benefits. But how does that work with the Diabetes Plate?
The Diabetes Plate is a simple way to eat a lower carb, balanced meal. Created by the American Diabetes Association’s nutrition team, this easy-to-follow way of meal planning and eating requires no measuring, weighing, or calculating. Using a 9-inch plate, fill half your plate with non-starchy veggies. Then split the other half with ¼ quality carbohydrate foods and ¼ lean protein foods.
Here are some easy how-to tips (with chef-inspired upgrades!) for using the Diabetes Plate for plant-centered eating.
How to Use the Diabetes Plate
Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables.
This is the easy part—and provides nutrient-richness, flavor, and color to your plate or bowl and are low in carbs. Pick green beans, orange peppers, purple eggplant, red cabbage, white mushrooms, yellow summer squash, and beyond. It can make breakfast, lunch, or dinner seem bigger, too.
Recipes ideas:
- Garlic bok choy
- Roasted carrots with dill or mint
- Simple roasted bell peppers
- Seasonal heirloom tomato salad
Fill one-quarter of your plate with plant-based protein foods.
Choose one of the many options of plant protein foods, including pulses (dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas, and lentils), nuts, seeds, or plant-based meat alternatives. Don’t forget other protein-packed foods made from plants, like tempeh or tofu (from soybeans), seitan (from wheat), and hummus (from chickpeas).
Recipe ideas:
- Pan-grilled tofu skewers with gingery marinade
- Black bean burger patty (contains carbs) with guacamole
- Seared Barbecue Tempeh Salad
- Falafel (chickpea fritters which contain carbs) with lemony-tahini sauce
Fill one-quarter of your plate with quality carbohydrate foods.
Round out meals by selecting from starchy vegetables, beans/legumes, fruits, and whole grains (whole grain breads, cereals, quinoa, brown rice, or whole grain pasta), You could also use yogurt, or milk in this section.
Pro tip: Pulses (like beans) are considered carbohydrate foods. For plant-based meals, count these foods as carb and protein.
Meal ideas:
- Quinoa pilaf
- Herb Potato salad with an herb mustard dressing
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Lemon-Dill Yogurt Sauce
- Butternut Squash Gratin
- Baked Cinnamon Stuffed Apples
Boost Flavor with Plant Based Ingredients
Try these four easy meal add-ons for making tasty plant-fueled meals.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: It is the oil most used in the Mediterranean-Style eating pattern and provides antioxidants. Keep a bottle in the kitchen and lightly drizzle onto whole grain breads, fresh tomatoes, steamed veggies, or nearly anything that needs a touch of richness.
- Pistachios: They are a high-protein nut, providing six grams of complete protein per one-ounce serving. Sprinkle them onto leafy or grain salads, add pistachios into homemade pesto, or finely chop and sprinkle onto meals for bonus protein, color, and crunch.
- Lemon or lime wedges: Citrus juices can help enhance iron absorption, which is especially important when not eating animal-based foods, and their acid balances taste. Try squirting lemon juice onto Mediterranean and American meals and lime juice onto Mexican and Asian meals.
- Nutritional yeast: These savory flakes offer a unique way to get vitamin B12 and a boost of plant protein. It makes a great dairy-free alternative to cheese! If it’s new to you, simply enjoy like you might sprinkle Parmesan cheese onto Italian dishes or toss with freshly popped popcorn.
Choose water or another zero-calorie drink.
Stay hydrated by drinking water of your zero-calorie favorites, like unsweetened tea or coffee, sparkling water, water infused with cucumber and mint, or tried-and-true water (it’s important for people with diabetes to stay hydrated).
Putting It All Together
Low Carb Plant-Powered Meals
To create a balanced meal, pick from your go-to lists of non-starchy veggies, plant proteins, and quality carbohydrate foods. Remember the meal add-ons, too. Think of it like a mix-and-match style where you can try a different combination each time. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Meal ideas:
- One and one-half cups of Eggplant and chickpea stew served with 1 cup of Grilled Summer Vegetables with Herb Dressing and 4 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast sprinkled on top of the veggies.
- Three Crumbled Tofu Lettuce Wrap served with ½ cup Greek Quinoa Salad and a side of Veggie Dip Cups.
- One serving of Seared Barbecue Tempeh Salad sprinkled with 4 Tbsp nutrition yeast and 1 ounce of almonds.
Combination Plant-Powered Meals
Use the Diabetes Plate to see how different foods in a meal can fit on your plate in healthy portions.
For example, let’s look at how a Szechuan seitan-broccoli stir-fry served in a bowl over brown rice fits on the Diabetes Plate. In this dish, broccoli is the non-starchy vegetable, seitan is the plant protein, and rice is the quality carbohydrate. Follow the guidelines of the Diabetes Plate by using two servings of
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