My 20 year old daughter, recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, is forever hungry (never satisfied), and because she was told there is no bad food and that needs a certain number of carbs at each meal, she chooses bread, french fries, chips, etc. Aren’t these choices empty? What are some better choices that will help her feel satisfied and are easy/quick? In addition, she also thinks chocolate and ice cream each day are okay, yet she feels yucky. This is still so new and very frustrating for all of us. Help!

You are so right — meal planning can be a very frustrating part of diabetes management, especially at first. Your daughter is partly right — there are no bad and good foods with respect to diabetes meal planning, but there are some wiser choices with regard to meal planning. Occasional sweets (in moderation) combined with healthier choices (i.e. namely whole grain pastas,starches, fresh fruits and vegetables, moderate amounts of protein and dairy products, etc.) should be the key to diabetes meal planning.

She should use the Food Guide Pyramid as your reference. The majority of your daughter’s intake should come from the bottom three groups (starches, fruits, and vegetables), but treats are allowed!

JMS