A vegetarian diet can help keep diabetes under control

TODAY'S COLUMN focuses on how dia-betics can manage the disease with an inexpensive vegetarian diet, but the advice can benefit anyone interested in cooking healthful, creative meals on a budget.

Dear Jennifer:

I am a vegetarian, and I am diabetic. I cannot find recipes that are vegetarian and low in carbs. I use Gardenburger patties, "chicken," "crumbles," etc., and it costs a fortune. I feel depressed because my medicines for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol cost a lot, and so do my meals. Do you have any suggestions or books to recommend?

Thanks so much.

--C.W., Warrenton, Mo.

You're on the right track--lots of folks find a vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet helps them control blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure. But using meat substitutes, like the soy imitations of burgers, chicken and ground beef, can be pricey.

Instead, consider vegetarian dishes based on beans, which cost pennies per serving.

Experiment with less costly but more delicious international dishes like Italian white bean and kale soup; Cuban black beans and brown rice; Mexican spicy pinto-bean tacos with lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole; and fragrant Indian curried lentils.

Or, try broccoli with Thai peanut sauce; Middle Eastern falafel patties made from ground chickpeas with delicious seasonings; and American Indian bean and squash soup.

Other American vegetarian favorites include anything made with green peas; bean chili; Cajun red beans and rice. There's also hoppin' John, a flavorful Southern dish with black-eyed peas, and Tennessee corn pone, a combination of savory pinto beans and corn bread.

Beans, peas and lentils are delicious and easy on the wallet. You can buy a pound of dry beans for 99 cents; after cooking, they expand to 6 cups of beans.

Plus, beans are rich in fiber, protein and minerals. They also contain some carbohydrates, although they have a lower glycemic index than bread.

Don't get me wrong, soy-based substitutes like veggie burgers and sausages have their place, if you enjoy them and don't mind the price tag.

As for cookbooks, if you're counting carbohydrates and enjoy American foods, you may like the American Diabetes Association's cookbook "Month of Meals: Vegetarian Pleasures."

Also try the Vegetarian Resource Group's Web site, vrg.org, for sample menus. They recommend "The Whole Foods Diabetic Cookbook" and "Defeating Diabetes," both co-authored by dietitians.

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Research has shown that a vegan diet can help diabetics manage their condition.

A vegan diet may require significant changes in food choices. It excludes:

red meat, pork, poultry and fish

eggs

dairy, including cheese and milk

any other food derived from animals.

Date published: 3/4/2007

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