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Adjusting the Meal Plan (October 2012)

Our One Day Meal Plan may not exactly fit your individual needs, so we’ve provided some ideas for how to adjust carbohydrates and calories below.

For Less Carbohydrate…

Your healthcare provider may ask you to limit carbohydrates more than our meal plan suggests. This means you should cut back on the carbohydrate foods that you eat throughout the day. To keep your calorie intake about the same, substitute sources of lean protein or healthy fats in their place. Here’s an example:

To lower carbohydrate intake to closer to 30% of the calories, make the following adjustments to our original meal plan:

• At breakfast, have just ¾ cup of Brown Rice Congee with Stir-Fried Herbs and add 2 scrambled egg whites.
• At lunch, omit the orange, but have a little more Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup (about 1 ¼ cups).
• For your afternoon snack, omit the peach and top your rice crackers with ¼ cup of avocado slices.
• At dinner, increase your portion of Beef Teriyaki to 2/3 cup and omit the brown rice.
• For your evening snack, omit the mango and have 2 tablespoons of walnuts instead.

To Adjust Calories…

Depending on whether you are trying to lose, gain, or maintain your weight, you may have different calorie needs as well. Here are some ideas for adjusting the calories in our One Day Meal Plan.

To cut about 200 calories:

• Have 2 scrambled egg whites at breakfast instead of a full scrambled egg. (This saves about 40 calories.)
• At lunch, omit the peanuts in your Asian salad. (This saves about 105 calories.)
• At dinner, cut your rice serving in half to ¼ cup. (This saves about 55 calories.)

To add about 200 calories:

• Increase your portion of Brown Rice Congee with Stir-Fried Herbs to 1 1/3 cups. (This adds about 50 calories.)
• At lunch, add another tablespoon of peanuts to your salad. (This adds about 50 calories.)
• Add 1/4 cup sliced avocado to your afternoon snack and spread the avocado over your rice crackers. (This adds about 60 calories.)
• Increase your portion of edamame at your evening snack to 3/4 cup.(This adds about 40 calories.)

*Note: Our meal plans are developed based on the American Diabetes Association’s general nutrition guidelines. However, nutritional needs can vary from person to person. Your healthcare team can help you set up a meal plan that works for you and will help you meet your health goals.