Georgia Magazine - November 2020 - 34

GEORGIA Cooks

By H.M. Cauley

Diabetic-friendly
cooking

iving with diabetes is stressful enough, and myths about diet
complicate it further. Corey Tolbert, a registered and licensed
dietitian at Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Fayetteville, says there
are many rumors, but the one she hears most involves what a diabetic diet
actually entails.
"I see a lot of patients get stressed because they think they're going to
have to fix an entirely different meal," Tolbert says. "It's really about balancing and evening out your meal, looking at portion size and seeing what
foods you're pairing."
Another notion Tolbert works to dispel is that a diabetic diet can never
include carbohydrates-bread, rice, pasta, crackers, fruit, milk and starchy
vegetables such as lima beans, corn and peas.
"It's not that patients can't have those foods, but they can't have just
carbohydrates," she says. "So planning a meal is important."
Alison Berg is a registered, licensed dietitian, nutritionist and associate professor at the University of Georgia's College of Family and Consumer
Sciences in Athens. She works as the university's Extension service nutrition and health specialist to educate the general public, not just diabetics,
about better food choices.
"Often a person diagnosed with diabetes may hear, 'Don't eat any sugars, breads or pastas!' But that doesn't need to be the message," Berg says.
"Sometimes diabetes can be managed through a healthy diet and exercise."
Berg suggests altering diets with substitutes that are also tasty: brown
rice rather than white, naturally sweet fruit instead of candy and smaller
pasta portions topped with bigger helpings of non-starchy vegetables. The
current hot choice is cooking with cauliflower instead of potatoes.
"We're even seeing pizzas with cauliflower crusts!" Berg says.
Someone used to eating only white rice might find that brown rice
requires a bit of taste transition.
"Brown rice is a little chewier, a little nuttier," Berg says. "Whole-grain
pasta is great. Just don't expect the cauliflower pizza crust to be pillowy
soft. Go into it knowing you're making a healthy swap for higher fiber and
fewer calories. Even with bread, buns and rolls, sometimes it's just [about]
making a better choice."
With the holidays rapidly approaching, limiting carbs and sugar can
present a serious challenge.
"These are the toughest times for all of us, with lots of sugary, sweet
and fattening things around," Berg says. "People with diabetes do have to
be more vigilant. Read labels and look at ingredients, then go for the items
that give the biggest bang out of your caloric buck."
H.M. Cauley is a freelance writer from Atlanta.

Georgia Magazine

November 2020

Farmers Market Omelet

'It's really about
balancing and evening
out your meal, looking
at portion size and seeing
what foods you're
pairing. ... So planning a
meal is important.'
-Corey Tolbert, registered dietitian,
licensed dietitian

Georgia Magazine - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - November 2020