Carbohydrate Foods
One Serving = 15 grams total carbohydrate
Starch/Starchy Vegetables
Guidelines: choose mostly whole grain versions for better blood sugar
control
Acorn Squash- ½ cup
Bagel- ¼ (1 oz, visualize ½ Lender’s Bagel)
Barley- ½ cup
Beans- ½ cup
Bread- 1 slice (recommend 100% whole wheat) *Aim for >3 g fiber
Bulgar- ½ cup
Bun- ½ (hamburger or hot dog)
Cereal (unsweetened)- ¾ cup *Aim for >5 g fiber
Cereal (cooked)- ½ cup
Couscous- 1/3 cup
Corn- ½ cup
Crackers (6-8)
English Muffin- ½
Hummus- 1/3 cup
Lentils- ½ cup
Pasta (aim for whole wheat)- 1/3 cup
Pita (6 inch)- ½ (whole wheat)
Peas (green, black-eyed, split) – ½ cup
Popcorn- 3 cups (air-popped)
Potato (baked)- 1 small (try with skin for extra fiber)
(mashed)- ½ cup
Pumpkin- ½ cup
Pretzel- 1 oz or 15 mini twists
Quinoa- 1/3 cup
Rice- 1/3 cup (choose brown)
Roll- 1 small or 1 oz
Tortilla- 1 (whole wheat)
Wheat Germ- 3 Tbsp
Yam- 1 small (try with skin for extra fiber)
Carbohydrate Foods
One Serving = 15 grams total carbohydrate
Fruits
Avoid fruit juice and dried fruit. Choose canned fruit only in its own juice
. Strive for at least 2 servings per day.
Apple- 1 small
Applesauce (unsweetened)- ½ cup
Apricot- 1 small
Banana (4 oz) - ½
Blackberry (3.75 oz) - ¾ cup
Blueberry (3.75 oz)- ¾ cup
Cantaloupe (5.5 oz)- 1 cup (pieces or balls)
Cherries - 12
Cranberries (6 oz) – 1 ½ cups
Dates- 2 each
Figs – 1 ½ each
Grapefruit- ½ or 1 cup sections
Grapes- 17 small
Guava (4 oz)- 1 or 1 cup
Honeydew (6 oz)- 1 cup cubes/balls
Kiwi (4 oz)- 1 large
Mandarins (6 oz)- 1 large
Mango- ½
Nectarines (4 oz) – 1 medium
Oranges (7 oz)- 1 medium
Papaya – ½ medium
Peaches (6 oz) – 1 medium
Pears (4 oz) – 1 small
Pineapple (5.5 oz)- 1 cup, diced
Plums (4 oz) – 1 large
Prune (1 oz) - 4 medium
Raspberries- 1 cup
Strawberries- 1 ½ cups
Tangerine- (4 oz)- 1 medium
Watermelon (5 ½ oz)- 1 cup, cubed
Carbohydrate Foods
One Serving = 15 grams total carbohydrate
Milk/Milk Products
Avoid whole and 2% milk to limit saturated fat.
Milk- 1 cup serving (8 oz)- for skim, soy, and 1% milk
Yogurt (8 oz) – 1 cup of plain or artificially sweetened
(i.e. Dannon Light or Yoglait Light)
Vegetables
One serving equals 5 grams of total carbohydrate
½ cup cooked
½ cup vegetable juice
1 cup raw
Remember to fill half your lunch and dinner plate with vegetables. Use
vegetables as snacks. It will help make you feel full and increase
your fiber consumption.
Low Carb Vegetables
Sprouts (bean, alfalfa, etc.), Greens – lettuces, spinach, chard, etc.,
Hearty Greens - collards, mustard greens, kale, etc,. Radicchio and endive
count as greens, Bok Choy, Celery, Radishes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage,
(or sauerkraut), Mushrooms, Jicama, Cucumber, Peppers (all kinds), Summer
Squash (including zuchini), Scallions or green onions, Asparagus, Bamboo
Shoots, Leeks, Brussels Sprouts, Snow Peas (pods), Green Beans, and Wax
Beans, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Artichoke Hearts, Fennel, Onions, Okra Spaghetti
Squash, Celery, Carrots, Turnip, Water Chestnuts,
Protein
0 grams of total carbohydrate per serving
Beef- 1 oz
Cheese- Low-fat or non-fat – 1 oz
Cottage Cheese- Low fat or non-fat- ¼ cup
Egg – 1
Egg whites- 3 whites
Egg substitute- ½ cup
Fish- 1 oz
Lamb- 1 oz
Luncheon Meat- 1 to 1 ½ oz
Peanut Butter- 1 T
Pork- 1 oz
Poultry- 1 oz
Tofu- 3 oz
Tuna- ¼ cup
Veal – 1 oz
Note: To cut down on saturated fat intake, limit your egg yolks to no more
than 3 per week and limit red meat consumption. Saturated fat raises LDL
cholesterol (bad) and is linked to heart disease.
Aim for 1 oz at snacks and breakfast
and 3-4 oz protein at lunch and dinner
Fats
0 grams of carbohydrate per serving
Note: Limit saturated fat servings. Choose mostly monounsaturated fats
to improve cholesterol level.
*Aim for one serving per meal
Monounsaturated (Excellent)
Almonds- 6 medium
Avocado- 1/8 medium
Cashews- 6 medium
Canola Oil- 1 tsp
Olives- 10 small or 5 large
Olive Oil- 1 tsp
Peanuts- 20 small or 10 large
Peanut Oil- 1 tsp
Pecans- 4 halves
Sesame seeds- 1 Tbsp
Seeds (Pumpkin, Sunflower)- 1 Tbsp
Walnuts- 4 halves
Polyunsaturated (Good)
Corn Oil- 1 tsp
Safflower Oil– 1 tsp
Salad Dressing- 1 Tbsp or Reduced variety- 2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds- 1 Tbsp
Sesame Oil- 1 tsp
Sunflower Oil- 1 tsp
Saturated/Trans (Bad, Limit)
Bacon- 1 slice
Butter- 1 tsp
Coconut- 1 Tbsp
Cream Cheese- 1 Tbsp
Half n Half- 1 tsp
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil- 1 tsp
Lard/Shortening
Mayonnaise- 1 Tbsp
Sour Cream – 2 Tbsp
Tropical Oils (Palm, Coconut)- 1 tsp
It is best to choose plant sterol ester margarines to lower LDL cholesterol
(Benecol, Smart Balance).
