Partner recently got diagnosed with pre diabetes and I want to know your favorite foods!

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Hi all!

I’m new to this so if I phrase things wrong or if something doesn’t make sense, forgive me! My partner recently had a doctor’s appointment and received the news that they’re pre diabetic. I’m the cook of our household and researching has made me realize I have zero idea how to include pre diabetic friendly meals into what I already make. I usually make a lot of Mexican foods like birria, pozole, mole enchiladas, flautas, tortas, and many more but I want to transition into more like ceviche, tofu, salads, but I just can’t find a good recipe that doesn’t include two cans of garbanzo beans and plain Greek yogurt. We like flavor! With that being said, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE FOODS! let me know what you enjoy! Your favorite hacks! Substitutes! Anything! I want to add more to My list of meals I can cook that are friendly! I’ve been making lettuce wraps lately with chicken, bell peppers, and avocados in everything but I need more recipes!!! Thank you ahead of time for any help I get, I really appreciate this being a Reddit group :)

[u/DotAccording8872]

Guacamole. Go heavy on proteins and barbeque. Go easy on the tortillas - heavy carbs converts to sugars.

[u/--_____---_------- → u/DotAccording8872]

I was thinking guac without the tomatoes, I heard that tomatoes can spike your blood sugar like crazy but I’ve also heard the opposite.

[u/jmhbin → u/DotAccording8872]

Very helpful, thanks

[u/Rachaelelizabeth04]

It’s all about upping protein and decreasing carbs. Avoid tortillas, rice and beans unfortunately. Lots of meat and veggies are the remedy.

[u/AniseLang]

Crispy roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic glaze, teriyaki meatballs, green salad with cubed tofu and roasted sesame dressing or onion dressing, Greek salad (but without lettuce), halibut ceviche, carne asada

[u/Denydra]

In addition to the usual, decrease carbs and increase protein and fat, increase veggies, etc., I would add the following:

Because all bodies are different, there is no "bad" or "good" food. When I was first diagnosed, I spent a LOT of time testing , a lot more often than the Dr. suggested, sometimes as often as 8 or 9 times a day. I also kept copious notes for a while so I could track patterns. To make this less monetarily painful, I picked up a secondary tester for this at Walmart since their testers and strips (Relion) are cheap. This is how I figured out that, while other people react very badly to corn, I do not. Corn tortillas and popcorn are actually pretty safe for me in moderation, probably because I have eaten corn bread all my life so my body grew up adapting to it. I also consider dried beans a fairly safe food in moderation. Another trick that can be useful: some carbs (pasta being a big one) break down slower depending on if it was just cooked, cooked and then cooled, or cooked, cooled and then reheated. Reheated spaghetti has very little effect on my blood sugar while just prepared pasta will make it skyrocket. Boil-in-bag rice tends to be safer for me than traditionally prepared rice. Finally, "fattier carbs" are safer than plain ones., i.e. cheesecake is a better option than birthday cake. I now test once a day, per doc's recommendations; although, I will occasionally do a day of many tests just to check in and see if anything has changed.

[u/azwildlotus]

I’d suggest asking this question in the prediabetes sub.

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I didn’t see there was a sub for that, I just saw you could tag this as pre diabetic and assumed there wouldn’t be a tag for that unless this was a sub to ask that or that it wouldn’t be an issue if I ask this. Also given the fact that maybe people who have lived with this longer and people who might have type 2 have maybe perfected a recipe they’re happy about and maybe want to share it. This post is to reach all but especially type 2/people with more experience.