No-sugar anti-inflammatory meal plan for diabetes -Health

Research shows that people with type 2 diabetes have higher levels of inflammation in their bodies than people without diabetes. These chronic inflammatory signals can make it difficult to keep your blood sugar levels stable and contribute to complications down the road.

Eating the right balance of healthy fats, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates is key to a good diabetes meal plan, but cutting out added sugar and focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet may lead to better results. And while the anti-inflammatory diet may sound like just another fad, it’s actually, like the Mediterranean diet, an easy (and delicious!) diet to follow.

Read more: Top 10 Anti-Inflammatory Foods for Diabetes

In this 7-day, no-sugar, anti-inflammatory meal plan, we focus on anti-inflammatory foods like fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, nuts, and healthy fats, and cut out refined sugars, fried foods, red meat, and added sugars. —Foods that are perfectly fine to enjoy, but can contribute to inflammation when we eat too much.

We set the calorie level at 1,500 calories, but also included variations to 1,200 and 2,000 calories per day depending on your needs.

List of Best No-Added Sugar Anti-Inflammatory Foods

• Berry
• apple
• Stone fruits: cherries, peaches, apricots, plums
• grapes
• Citrus: orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime
• Pomegranate
• tomato
• olive oil
• Green vegetables: spinach, kale, chard
• Nuts and nut butters: Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios
• Fatty fish: salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines
• Unsweetened milk, kefir, yogurt
• beans
• Lentils
• Whole grains
• Avocados
• the seed

How to Eat – Prep Your Meals for the Week:

1. Make red lentil soup with saffron for lunch 2 to 5 days.

Day 1

Breakfast (272 calories)

AM Snack (139 calories)

• 1 Clementine
• 8 halves of walnuts

Lunch (338 calories)

PM Snack (291 calories)

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted almonds

Dinner (455 calories)

Daily Total: 1,485 calories, 65 g protein, 112 g carbohydrates, 25 g fiber, 92 g fat, 1,659 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Skip the PM snack.

2,000 calories to make it: Add 1 large pear to breakfast, up to 6 tablespoons. PM snacks include almonds and a full English muffin for breakfast, a whole pita for lunch and a whole sweet potato for dinner.

Day 2

Breakfast (310 calories)

• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 3 tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp. Pomegranate seeds

AM Snack (305 calories)

• 1 medium apple
• 2 tbsp. Natural peanut butter

Lunch (376 calories)

PM Snack (150 calories)

Dinner (378 calories)

Daily Total: 1,518 calories, 107 g protein, 140 g carbohydrates, 29 g fiber, 61 g fat, 1,811 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Skip the AM snack.

2,000 calories to make it: Add 1 1/2 cups of yogurt and 1 cup of raspberries at breakfast, increasing to 3 tablespoons. Add peanut butter for AM snack and 1 1/2 cups of edamame for PM snack, 1 large banana for lunch.

Day 3

Breakfast (265 calories)

AM Snack (200 calories)

• 1 medium apple
• 1 tbsp. Natural peanut butter

Lunch (376 calories)

PM Snack (206 calories)

• 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted almonds

Dinner (447 calories)

Daily Total: 1,493 calories, 78 g protein, 148 g carbohydrates, 30 g fiber, 69 g fat, 1599 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Skip the peanut butter in the AM snack and skip the PM snack.

2,000 calories to make it: Add 3 tbsp. Add peanut butter to the AM snack, 2 slices of baguette at lunch, and 1 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt and 1 cup of raspberries at breakfast.

Day 4

Breakfast (310 calories)

• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 3 tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp. Pomegranate seeds

AM Snack (241 calories)

• 1 Clementine
• 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted almonds

Lunch (376 calories)

PM Snack (189 calories)

• 1 cup blackberries
• 8 halves of walnuts

Dinner (388 calories)

Daily Total: 1,504 calories, 77 g protein, 150 g carbohydrates, 25 g fiber, 73 g fat, 1,392 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Omit almonds for AM snack and walnuts for PM snack.

2,000 calories to make it: Increase to 1 1/2 cups yogurt, 1 cup raspberries and 4 Tbsp. Chopped walnuts for breakfast, 1/2 cup almonds for AM snack, 1 1/2 cups blueberries for PM snack and 2 slices of baguette for lunch.

Day 5

Breakfast (358 calories)

AM Snack (82 calories)

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup raspberries

Lunch (376 calories)

PM Snack (94 calories)

• 1/4 cup blackberries
• 6 walnut halves

Dinner (599 calories)

Daily Total: 1,508 calories, 78 g protein, 139 g carbohydrates, 26 g fiber, 74 g fat, 1583 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Skip the AM and PM snacks, skip the baguette at lunch.

2,000 calories to make it: Add 2 clementines for breakfast, 1 cup yogurt and 1 cup raspberries for AM snack, 2 slices baguette for lunch, 1 cup blackberries and 1/2 cup walnuts for PM snack.

Day 6

Breakfast (310 calories)

• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 3 tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp. Pomegranate seeds

AM Snack (101 calories)

Lunch (456 calories)

PM Snack (227 calories)

• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted almonds

Dinner (398 calories)

Daily Total: 1,493 calories, 76 g protein, 129 g carbohydrates, 30 g fiber, 80 g fat, 1241 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Skip the peanut butter at lunch and almonds in the PM snack.

2,000 calories to make it: Increase to 1 1/2 cups yogurt, 1 cup raspberries and 4 Tbsp. Add 3/4 cup edamame in the pods to chopped walnuts, AM snack, and increase to 3 Tbsp. Peanut butter for lunch.

Day 7

Breakfast (338 calories)

AM Snack (140 calories)

• 1 medium orange
• 6 walnut halves

Lunch (361 calories)

PM Snack (291 calories)

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted almonds

Dinner (375 calories)

Daily Total: 1,505 calories, 69 g protein, 135 g carbohydrates, 29 g fiber, 82 g fat, 1,209 mg sodium

1,200 calories to make it: Skip the PM snack.

2,000 calories to make it: Add 1 slice of sprouted-wheat toast with 1 tbsp. Increase to natural peanut butter for breakfast, 20 walnuts in the AM snack, 1 large banana at lunch, and 1 whole avocado at dinner.