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GHRI Nutrition Program · Week 1 — Diabetes Awareness
Week 1: Eating Well With Diabetes — a simple, affordable menu built from everyday pantry foods, with a grocery list that matches and one dish to cook together.
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Good food is part of good health. This week is for our community members living with diabetes, and for anyone who cooks for them — seven days of breakfasts, lunches and dinners built from foods you can find at a pantry or a low-cost store. No special products. No expensive ingredients. Just real food, planned well.
The bowl in the photo uses the same building blocks as this week's menu — green vegetables, grilled chicken, and a whole grain. When you plate your own meals, give the vegetables the biggest share, keep the protein modest, and give the grain its quarter.
Breakfast: Oatmeal made with rolled oats and water or milk, topped with half a sliced banana and a spoon of peanut butter.
Lunch: Black bean and corn soup (canned black beans, frozen corn, canned tomatoes, onion) with a small whole wheat roll.
Dinner: Baked or pan-cooked chicken breast, brown rice, and frozen green beans with garlic.
Snack: One small apple.
Beans at lunch do double duty — fiber slows the rise in blood sugar after the meal, and they keep you full until dinner.
Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs with a slice of whole wheat toast and sliced tomato.
Lunch: Tuna salad (canned tuna, a little mayonnaise or plain yogurt, chopped celery or onion) in a whole wheat tortilla wrap with carrot sticks.
Dinner: Red lentil and vegetable stew (dry red lentils, carrots, onion, canned tomatoes, frozen spinach stirred in at the end) over a small portion of brown rice.
Snack: Small handful of peanuts (about 1 ounce / a small palmful).
Lentils cook fast — no soaking — and cost very little per serving. A good pantry anchor for the whole week.
Breakfast: Plain yogurt with rolled oats stirred in and half an orange, sliced.
Lunch: Leftover lentil stew from Day 2, with a cabbage slaw (shredded cabbage, carrot, vinegar, a little oil).
Dinner: Bean and vegetable quesadillas — whole wheat tortillas, mashed kidney beans, frozen mixed peppers or corn, a little cheese — with a side salad of cabbage and carrots.
Snack: Celery or carrot sticks with two tablespoons of hummus.
Leftovers are part of the plan, not a shortcut to feel bad about. Cooking once and eating twice saves money and time.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with a chopped apple cooked in and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Lunch: Chickpea “no-tuna” salad sandwich (canned chickpeas mashed with a fork, a little mayonnaise or yogurt, onion, mustard) on whole wheat bread with cucumber or tomato slices if available.
Dinner: Turkey or chicken chili — ground turkey or chicken, canned kidney beans, canned tomatoes, onion, frozen corn, chili powder — served on its own (the beans are the starch).
Snack: One small orange.
Make the hummus today from the second can of chickpeas if you prefer homemade: blend or mash chickpeas with lemon juice or vinegar, garlic, and a little oil.
Breakfast: Peanut butter on whole wheat toast with a small banana.
Lunch: Leftover chili from Day 4, with a side of frozen green beans.
Dinner: Egg and vegetable fried brown rice — leftover brown rice, eggs, frozen mixed vegetables, onion, a little soy sauce. Add a handful of frozen peas if you have them.
Snack: Plain yogurt, small pot.
Fried rice is the classic clean-out-the-fridge meal. Almost any leftover vegetable can go in, which means less food wasted.
Breakfast: Two-egg vegetable omelet (onion, frozen peppers or spinach) with whole wheat toast.
Lunch: Black bean burrito bowl — black beans over a small scoop of brown rice, with salsa (canned tomatoes work), shredded cabbage, and a spoon of yogurt.
Dinner: Simple baked fish (any low-cost white fish, fresh or frozen) or baked chicken thighs — with roasted carrots and cabbage wedges.
Snack: One small apple with a spoon of peanut butter.
Cabbage and carrots are among the cheapest fresh vegetables, they last for weeks in the fridge, and they fill the “half the plate” vegetable role well.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with a spoon of peanut butter and a few slices of banana.
Lunch: Big pantry soup — whatever is left: a can of beans, frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, onion, and any leftover rice, simmered together.
Dinner: Chicken and vegetable tray bake (chicken pieces, carrots, onion, cabbage) with a small portion of brown rice or a whole wheat roll.
Snack: Small handful of peanuts or one small orange.
Sunday soup is the week's clean-up meal. It turns small leftovers into a full pot — nothing wasted, and Monday starts with an empty, ready fridge.