Diabetes Recipes:
Vegetarian Chicken Soup
Artichokes with Dipping Sauce
Spaghetti Squash
Polenta Stuffed Mushrooms
“To become vegetarian is to step into the stream, which leads to nirvana.“
Buddha
It’s time to spring into Vegetarianism. The vegetarian diet consists of plant-based foods and avoids animal flesh. Close to 9.7 million Americans call themselves vegetarians, but there are varying degrees of vegetarianism.
Vegans eat nothing originating from animal sources, not even honey from the bee. Lacto-Ovo vegetarians allow milk and dairy in their diets, as well as products obtained from animals, without slaughter. Lacto vegetarians restrict themselves to milk and milk products, avoiding eggs.
The macrobiotic (“the art of longevity”) diet is based on a holistic approach to balance and life. Its Asian influences are partial to brown rice and sea vegetables. The pendulum swings widely to encompass various degrees of additions to the vegetarian diet to where, at its widest angle, people call themselves vegetarian because they don’t eat red meat. Why vegetarianism, you may be wondering. Health, ecological, humanitarian, religious reasons, and even a dollop of hip trendiness are good arguments to switch over.
Whole and organic food sources are widely available all over the country. The choice is ours when it comes to diet. The one most crucial factor to remember when dealing with diabetes is balance. A complete diet, including protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, radiates a rhythm of good health. The vegetarian route can be exciting, empowering, and a step towards excellent health.
You will soon feel subtle changes after embarking on the non-meat mode. Advocates of the vegetarian diet claim a certain internal lightness and cleanliness, higher energy levels, fewer sleep requirements, normalized weight, less constipation, fewer digestive problems, and reduced stress. Diet is not a magic wand, but eating the right kinds of foods can help us reach our healthiest potential.
When do you try a vegetarian diet when you feel ready for a change? To test the plant-based diet of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and possibly dairy, do so gradually and alert your doctor and nutritionist or dietitian.
Tips to make the switch
Analyze your present diet and become aware of the changes you want to make. Do so gradually. No violent shocks to your digestive system, BGs, or mind, please. Learn to access your body’s vast information systems, the inner sonar that will help guide you to a beautiful fresh peach instead of a Snickers bar. Knowledge, technology, science, and medicine are crucial to use and respect in pursuing a healthy life, but subconscious signals from our internal sonar relay valuable information, too. Keep in touch. Learn how to prepare one or two vegetarian dishes very well. Gradually, you’ll add to your repertoire with confidence and flair.
Start by making one day a week “vegetarian for a day.” Find a good health food shop in your neighborhood and hang out there. Browse the aisles to familiarize yourself with new items to try, like mung beans, quinoa, and tempeh. Begin stocking your pantry with grains, legumes, spices, and seasonings to access a quick vegetarian meal easily. Give up red meat, chicken, and fish if that feels right.
Build up gradually to a comfortable vegetarian diet that is right for you and your diabetes management. Don’t purge too radically. Use those cans, jars, and foods stored in your cupboards and freezer as you ease your way towards nirvana.
My path to vegetarianism came from accidental baptism at a butcher shop in southern Italy. I arrived in the small village of Positano on the Amalfi Coast in 1968. As it happened, the butcher shop was only open one day a week. Moving slowly down the mountain with my toddler by my side, it was 2 in the afternoon when I arrived at the “maccelleria,” with visions of thick steak and succulent veal chops in mind.
I was stunned to discover kidneys, livers, brains, sweetbreads, and hearts instead. I quickly learned that the local fishermen came into shore early each morning, bearing a cache of sardines, tiny clams, and other sweet, fresh fish whose names I didn’t know. They pulled their boats up on the beach to empty the ample nets for those waiting to buy the sea treasures. I was happy to join the crowd. Once the fish were sold, the swarthy fishermen sat on the beach, legs and arms outstretched, to weave repairs in their nets with their fingers and toes. Their incredible dexterity and rhythm looked like some ancient mystical dance moving to the wind and rolling sea music.
These fishermen taught me to cook fish with local ingredients: garlic, tomatoes, olives, and fresh herbs. My family’s diet became fish, soft cheeses made from goat’s and sheep’s milk and sweet pillows of creamy Buffalo milk mozzarella, an abundance of fresh sun-kissed vegetables and herbs, figs, olives, and almonds plucked from trees in the courtyard. The daily walking up and down the mountain provided exercise that I was unaware of was exercise. If the HbA1c had been around in those days, I would have tested 4.8 every time!
But as an American, I thought about tearing into a big juicy steak one day. Steak day arrived after two years of fish and vegetables. I got to eat a big, juicy, succulent “bistecca Fiorentina.” It tasted great. For days afterward, however, as my digestive system screamed and threatened mercilessly, I realized I was much happier with the simple, fresh, seasonal whole foods diet. And that’s how I became, and remain, a vegetarian.
Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet
Albert Einstein
Let’s talk about your vegetarian journey to nirvana. One question or warning you might hear concerning vegetarianism concerns Vitamin B 12 studies, which show that a restricted diet of vegetable foods may only cause anemia. However, a diet based on whole grains and beans will supply vitamin B12 in adequate amounts.
Or the protein caution. So, “where’s the protein in a vegetarian diet?” the Doubting Thomas crowd asks. A combination of grains, rice, bread, corn, and legumes (beans) contains complete protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Always stay away from rigid: a singular, stern, restricted diet ideology can be faltering, even dangerous to good diabetes care. Stay healthy. Be complete. Be flexible. Keep the balance.