Patient/caregiver was educated on measures to plan for ADA diet recommendation as follows:
- Observe compliance with using a measuring cup to check your portion sizes. Using a measuring cup can be more precise with your calorie count than a random estimate.
- Using cooking sprays versus oil, butter, or margarine can lower the fat consumption for cooking. Also, using a nonstick pan can help reduce adding additional oil during cooking.
- Rely more on extra-virgin olive oil, extra-virgin avocado oil, and macadamia nut oil for cooking, over less healthier oils such as, vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and cotton seed oil. Olive oil, avocado oil, and macadamia nut oil are less processed, low on unhealthy saturated & trans fats, and high on heart friendly fats.
- Avoid fried foods and rely more on baking, steaming, broiling, or grilling. Choose lean meats that are baked or grilled, instead of meat that is fried.
- Always carry your healthy snack with you. Choose eating a fresh fruit, such as, an apple or peach, against a candy bar. You can rely more on low fat cheese sticks, beef/turkey sticks, canned fruit, vegetable chunks, soy patties, or whole wheat crackers.
