According to the American Diabetes Association 20 million Americans have diabetes. When a loved one is diagnosed with diabetes one of the things that you will want to know about is cooking for diabetic family members. While most dietitians and physicians will encourage the diabetic to eat what the normally eat just in moderation, counting carbohydrates may help them control their blood sugar level so that they feel better. The balance between the carbohydrates a person eats and insulin determines what your blood sugar level will be after eating. Carbohydrate counting can also assist you in planning your meals.

Foods that have carbohydrates

* Breads, cereals, and crackers

* Pasta, rice, and grains

* Starchy vegetables

* Milk, soy milk and yogurt

* Fruits and fruits juices

* Sweets such as cakes, cookies, and ice cream

Tips for planning meals

One of the best things that you can do to assist a family member who has diabetes is to make sure that they are eating meals at regular times every day and not skipping meals. To help regulate blood sugars you should eat consistent amounts of carbohydrates at each meal. Check your blood sugar regularly.

Keep track of your meals with a meal planner. This will tell you how many carbohydrate choices that you should be eating from meal to meal, be sure to include snacks. Men should eat 3-5 carbohydrate choices at each meal and 0-2 carbohydrate choices for each snack works well. Women should eat 2-4 carbohydrate choices at each meal and 0-2 carbohydrate choices for each snack works well. You should visit your dietician for appropriate carbohydrate intake to meet your individual needs.

A healthy daily meal plan includes: 2-4 servings of fruits, 3-5 servings of vegetables, 3 servings of whole grain, and 2-4 servings of milk or milk products. Eating foods that have fiber such as whole grains and having very few salty foods is healthier for you. Eat 4 to 8 ounces of lean meat or meat substitute each day. You should limit fats to 1-2 servings per meal and select healthy fats, such as olive or canola oil and nuts. Limit and avoid fats found in bacon, butter, cream, solid shortening, and high-fat meats.

Carbohydrate counting made simple

1. Identify the foods that contain carbohydrates-toast, milk, orange.

2. Know the number of carbohydrates contained in one carbohydrate choice or serving-each carb choice or serving contains 15 grams of carbohydrates.

3. Know the serving size for foods within each food group.

4. Count the number of car choices.

Sample Meal:

2 slices of toast with margarine-2 carb choices

1 egg, over-easy-0 carb choices

1 cup skim milk-1 carb choice

large orange-2 carb choices

That's a total of 5 carb choices.

When preparing recipes, simple changes, such as using egg whites instead of whole eggs or garlic powder instead of garlic salt, can make a big difference in the amount of fat, sodium, sugar and other nutrients in the foods you eat each day.

To reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol

So what healthy exchanges can you make without affecting the taste or texture of your food? Try substituting these foods if your recipes call for them, to make healthier meals and snacks.

· Bacon-substitute Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, or smoked turkey.

· Butter, margarine, shortening or oil in baked goods-substitute applesauce or prune puree for half of the called-for better, shortening or oil.

· Eggs-substitute two egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute for each whole egg.

· Evaporated milk-evaporated skim milk.

· Full-fat cream cheese-fat-free or low-fat cream cheese.

· Full-fat sour cream - fat-free plain yogurt or fat-free or low-fat sour cream.

· Ground beef-extra-lean or lean ground beef, chicken or turkey.

· Mayonnaise-reduced-calorie mayonnaise-type salad dressing or reduced-calorie, reduced-fat mayonnaise.

· Oil-based marinades-wine, balsamic vinegar, fruit juice or fat-free broth.

· Salad dressing-fat-free or reduced-calorie dressing or flavored vinegars.

Most recipes can tolerate a healthy renovation without it affecting the taste or texture of the food. So when you're cooking for diabetic family members use your time-honored family favorites, just make them healthier!