Non-starchy Vegetables

Eat more! You don’t often hear that when you have diabetes, but non-starchy vegetables are one food group where you can satisfy your appetite. Vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals – and with so few calories and carbohydrate, everyone can enjoy more!

There are two main types of vegetables – Starchy and non-starchy. For this section, we are going to focus only on the non-starchy vegetables. Starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn, and peas are included in the Grains and Starches section because they contain more carbohydrate.

What are the best choices?

The best choices are fresh, frozen and canned vegetables and vegetable juices without added sodium, fat or sugar.

General tips:

• If using canned or frozen vegetables, look for ones that say low sodium or no salt added on the label.
• As a general rule, frozen or canned vegetables in sauces are higher in both fat and sodium.
• If using canned vegetables with sodium, drain the vegetables and rinse with water then warm in fresh water. This will cut back on how much sodium is left on the vegetables.

For good health, try to eat at least 3-5 servings of vegetables a day. This is a minimum and more is better! A serving of vegetables is:

• ½ cup of cooked vegetables or vegetable juice
• 1 cup of raw vegetables

Tips for Carb Counters
Generally, non-starchy vegetables have about 5 grams of carbohydrate in ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw. Most of the carbohydrate is fiber so unless you eat more than 1 cup of cooked or 2 cups of raw at a time, you may not need to count the carbohydrates from the non-starchy vegetables.

Tips for the Plate Method
Enjoy the colorful variety of vegetables to brighten your plate. With half of your plate filled with vegetables, your options are endless for delicious combinations. If you are still hungry after the plate on your food is gone, try having a salad with a low-calorie dressing to satisfy your appetite and get an extra serving or two of vegetables in at the same time.

Grains and Starchy Vegetables

There is no end in sight to the debate as to whether grains help you lose weight, or if they promote weight gain. Even more importantly, do they help or hinder blood glucose management? One thing is for sure. If you are going to eat grain foods, pick the ones that are the most nutritious. Choose whole grains. Whole grains are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. Reading labels is essential for this food group to make sure you are making the best choices.

Every time you choose to eat a starchy food, make it count! Leave the processed white flour-based products, especially the ones with added sugar, on the shelves or use them only for special occasion treats.

What is a whole grain?

A whole grain is the entire grain — which includes the bran, germ and endosperm (starchy part). The most popular grain in the US is wheat so that will be our example. To make 100% whole wheat flour, the entire wheat grain is ground up. “Refined” flours like white and enriched wheat flour include only part of the grain – the starchy part, and are not whole grain. They are missing many of the nutrients found in whole wheat flour. Examples of whole grain wheat products include 100% whole wheat bread, pasta, tortilla, and crackers. But don’t stop there! There are many whole grains to choose from.

Best Choices
Finding whole grain foods can be a challenge. Some foods only contain a small amount of whole grain but will say it contains whole grain on the front of the package. For all cereals and grains, read the ingredient list and look for the following sources of whole grains as the first ingredient:

• Bulgur (cracked wheat)
• Whole wheat flour
• Whole oats/oatmeal
• Whole grain corn/corn meal
• Popcorn
• Brown rice
• Whole rye
• Whole grain barley
• Wild rice
• Buckwheat
• buckwheat flour
• Triticale
• Millet
• Quinoa
• Sorghum

Most rolls, breads, cereals, and crackers labeled as “made with” or “containing” whole grain do not have whole grain as the first ingredient. Read labels carefully to find the most nutritious grain products.

For cereals, pick ones with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving and less than 6 grams of sugar.

Best Choices of Starchy Vegetables
Starchy vegetables are great sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber . The best choices do not have added fats, sugar or sodium. Try a variety such as:

• Parsnip
• Plantain
• Potato
• Pumpkin
• Acorn squash
• Butternut squash
• Green Peas
• Corn

Best Choices of Dried Beans, Peas and Lentils
Try to include dried beans into several meals per week. They are a great source of protein and are loaded with fiber, vitamins and minerals.

• Dried beans such as black, lima, and pinto
• Lentils
• Dried peas such as black-eyed and split
• Fat-free refried beans
• Vegetarian baked beans

Tips for Carb Counters
Starchy foods are one of the main sources of carbohydrate in our diet — along with milk, fruits, and sweets. For most grains and starches, 1/2 cup or 1 oz contains 15 g of carbohydrate. A few exceptions are 1 cup of winter squash and pumpkin and 1/3 cup of rice has about 15 grams.

For the Plate Method
About 1/4 of your plate should come from starchy foods. Remember, only the depth of a deck of cards! This is usually about 3/4 to 1 cup of a starchy food.

For using the Glycemic Index
The general rule of thumb when using the GI to select foods is that the closer to nature, or less processed a food, the lower the GI. For example, whole rolled oats have a lower GI than instant oatmeal. Dried beans, lentils and starchy vegetables all have lower GI values. Potatoes are an exception but a small serving can still fit into your meal plan.

Diabetes Food Pyramid

The Diabetes Food Pyramid is another meal planning option that some people use. It is less popular compared to both carbohydrate counting and the plate method for diabetes management.

The Diabetes Food Pyramid divides food into six groups. These groups or sections on the pyramid vary in size. The largest group – grains, beans, and starchy vegetables – is on the bottom. This means that you should eat more servings of grains, beans, and starchy vegetables than of any of the other foods. The smallest group – fats, sweets, and alcohol – is at the top of the pyramid. This tells you to eat very few servings from these food groups.

The Diabetes Pyramid gives a range of servings. If you follow the minimum number of servings in each group, you would eat about 1600 calories and if you eat at the upper end of the range, it would be about 2800 calories. Most women, would eat at the lower end of the range and many men would eat in the middle to high end of the range if they are very active. The exact number of servings you need depends on your diabetes goals, calorie and nutrition needs, your lifestyle, and the foods you like to eat. Divide the number of servings you should eat among the meals and snacks you eat each day.

The Diabetes Food Pyramid is a little different than the USDA Food Guide Pyramid because it groups foods based on their carbohydrate and protein content instead of their classification as a food. To have about the same carbohydrate content in each serving, the portion sizes are a little different too. For example: you will find potatoes and other starchy vegetables in the grains, beans and starchy vegetables group instead of the vegetables group. Cheese is in the meat group instead of the milk group. A serving of pasta or rice is 1/3 cup in the Diabetes Food Pyramid and ½ cup in the USDA pyramid. Fruit juice is ½ cup in the Diabetes Food Pyramid and ¾ cup in the USDA pyramid. This difference is to make the carbohydrate about the same in all the servings listed.

Following is a description of each group and the recommended range of servings of each group.