You can also SAVE your favorite recipes, create your own meal plans and shopping lists. It also should take individual food preferences, culture and lifestyles into account. Below will find 150+ free weekly meal plans. Regardless of personal preference, diabetic meal plans should be based on a system that the person (or meal preparer) understands. Some dietitians and diabetes educators stress working with exchanges others will teach patients how to estimate percentages of carbohydrates, fats and protein in a meal and then tailor portions to fit their overall meal plan. Let these templates help take the work out of meal planning so that you can enjoy your time before, during, and. These meal planning templates include free printables, healthy, paleo, vegetarian, and even meal planning on a budget. Most processed foods will have a number of different exchanges, so keeping track of them is more difficult. Free family meal planning templates that you can use to help plan your grocery list, weekly and monthly meals. Others, however, find it can be difficult to find specialty foods and ethnic foods on a standard exchange list. Some diabetics find the exchange system convenient and workable.
Focus on whole foods instead of highly processed foods as much as possible. Include fewer added sugars and refined grains, such as white bread, rice, and pasta with less than 2 grams of fiber per serving. Its free to use if you have a Google account Simply click the download button at the bottom of this post to make your own free copy, then go to either the Google Sheets website or the Google Sheets app on a smartphone to access later. Discover convenient meal plan templates including weekly meal plan, monthly meal plan, and daily meal plan pages. By referring to a list of exchanges, the person can develop their own menu. A good meal plan will also: Include more nonstarchy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and green beans. This digital meal planner is available through Google Sheets. There are also “free foods” which contain 20 calories or fewer, which includes mainly condiments, seasonings and flavorings.Ī person’s meal plan using diabetic exchanges will specify that he or she can have specific numbers of exchanges.įor example, a typical lunch may allow two bread, two meat, one fat, two vegetable, and one fruit portion.
The meal plans featured on this page use the diabetic exchange system, which is a food system developed with the American Diabetes Assocation to make diabetic meal planning easier.Ī diabetic exchange is a specific portion of food selected from one of six food groups: milk, vegetables, fruit, bread, meat, and fat.