My husband has just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and need ideas on meals etc

You can feed him a basic healthy diet. Google NHS UK ' the eat well plate' which will give you guidance on a healthy diet. Don't feed him special diabetic foods. They are a waste of money as you have to restrict them too as they cause laxative effects. I bought a cookery book for diabetes which I found on a well known site that sells books. It is not hard and quite enjoyable. Try to avoid jars and packets of sauces as they tend to be high in fats, sugars and salt. Go back to cooking without processed foods.

Join diabetes uk you can get recipes from them also you get a magazine that comes out every 2 months and membership to diabetes uk is £18 a year

You will get used to it. It really is just healthy eating. Nothing banned just moderation. Are you in UK?

I've found that following a Low GI (glycemic index - the rate at which sugars and carbs are used in your body) is the best way forward - try to use whole meal everything, like whole meal pasta, whole meal bread etc.  Keep meals simple until you understand it all.  Usually it's finding things to eat if you're starving - I use plain nuts, oatcakes with nut butters, pickled veg like onions, gherkins, salad veg.  If I really crave something sweet then I eat a couple of dates or figs.  Don't panic, you'll figure it out and if you eat along side him you'll lose weight as well!

Hi Angela,

When I was first diagnosed about 18months ago my reaction was to go into panic mode. No need over time you learn what the type of food is OK. The thing to remember is that we are all different so what suits one may not suit another.

The biggest thing that helped me was to take my BS readings regularly and to keep a food diary. I would compare the BS readings to my diary so that I learnt over time which foods suited me.

All the suggestions by other contributors are absolutely right and the suggestions excellent.

One final thing to remember is that it takes time to get levels down but if you stick with it things will improve.

Good luck.

G

I assume just being diagnosed he is on oral medications.   That being the case I would start on very low carbs and be very careful of fruits.   Gradually introduce different foods/carbs and see how they affect his BGLs.   Everyone is different, I found I could not eat bananas at all, other fruits I also had to be careful with.   Biscuits, cakes and even some breads also caused great problems.   If on insulin like me, then it's just a matter of eating what you like (using a little common sense of course), just count the carbs and inject insulin accordingly.   There is such a thing as a no carb, high fat diet, good luck with that I tried it but decided I would rather be dead than live on that crap.   Somewhere inbetween is a good compromise for me:   I try to limit the carbs but still enjoy my food..