Hard to kill

Pumpkin Seeds

If you crave foods high in sugar and fat, your snack substitute will need to deliver taste and crunch to be satisfying. Consider pumpkin seeds, a healthy treat that’s high in iron and unsaturated fats, the kind that are good for your heart. As with any snack, the key is portion control. If you limit yourself to 2 tablespoons, you will be eating less than 5 grams of carbohydrates.


Mixed Nuts

Nuts can be high in calories so you can’t eat too many, but the good news is that just 2 ounces a day can move you toward a more healthy diet if you have diabetes. Canadian researchers divided 117 people with type 2 diabetes into three groups: one third ate muffins, another third ate mixed nuts and muffins, and the remaining third ate just the mixed nuts. After three months, the group given only the mixed nuts showed the most improvement in blood sugar levels. The researchers recommend substituting nuts for carbs for the best results.


Chia Seeds

Ch-ch-ch-Chia! Most people are aware of the popular gift Chia Pets, not chia seeds, jokes Susan Weiner, RD, MS, CDE, CDN, a diabetes educator in New York City. But if you want a healthy topping to sprinkle on foods, get to know these seeds. Chia seeds, which do come from the chia plant, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can lower your triglycerides and raise your good HDL cholesterol level (goals of many people with diabetes). These seeds also are rich in fiber — 10 grams per ounce — and fiber can make you feel fuller. Sprinkle chia seeds on healthy diet choices like cereal, oatmeal, and low- or no-fat yogurt and ice cream.


Lentils

Lentils, a type of legume, are another food you should add to your healthy diet to help you control your blood sugar levels. Lentils are loaded with soluble fiber, which digests slowly to keep your blood sugar from spiking. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people with diabetes who consumed 50 grams of fiber a day, especially soluble fiber, were much better at controlling their blood sugar than those who ate less fiber. Lentils also have been shown to increase your energy and improve your mood.

Sardines

Like salmon, sardines are rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and protein, plus they offer a few advantages over some other fatty fish in a diabetes diet: They’re cheap, have lower mercury levels than larger fish such as tuna, and come fresh or canned — if you never developed a taste for the canned variety, try grilling fresh sardines for their brighter flavor. You can also flake a cooked or canned filet into healthy bean soups, stews, pasta sauces, and salads for a change in flavor.


Edamame

Unless you frequent sushi restaurants, you may not know about edamame (ed-a-ma-me), another superfood for people with type 2 diabetes. Edamame are green soybeans, and they are growing in popularity — so much so that they’re now sold in the freezer departments of supermarkets and warehouse stores like Costco. Just boil them for three to five minutes and serve. They provide many healthy benefits for your diabetes diet: They’re an excellent source of protein, minerals (including potassium, magnesium, and calcium), and those all-important omega-3 fatty acids.


Beets

Beets are another healthy food you might have shied away from as a kid, but they have a sweetness that the adult palate can appreciate. They’re also high in lipoic acid, one of the many antioxidants that are believed to help prevent your cells from damage caused by aging. Some studies show that lipoic acid is also helpful in healing nerve damage that causes pain and numbness in the hands and feet of people with diabetes. Other research suggests that beets may help lower your blood cholesterol. Roast beets in the oven the way you would a sweet potato and serve as a side dish or add to a healthy salad. Another idea to add some spark to your diet is to shred the beets and add to pancake batter or bread mixes.