Our meal plans are perfect for Type 1 or Type 2 diabetics who are having problems finding complete diabetic meal plans or are tired of finding recipes but having to plan meals around them. They are for people who wish they could find complete meal plans with exciting food and simple recipes and are looking to keep blood sugars more stable. They are wonderful for people who need to maintain or lose weight without feeling deprived. We do all the planning for you. Our complete Individual meal plans can be used whether you count carbs or follow a low Glycemic Index regimen. All of our Individual meal plans are designed to follow the currently published USDA guidelines for % Carbohydrate, Protein, Fat and Saturated Fat. All Individual meal plans criteria were designed in collaboration with and reviewed by a registered dietitian before publication. Our Individual meal plans all include portion sizes for 1400, 1800 and 2200 cal per day. Adjustment to other diet sizes is easy because calorie counts are listed for every meal item. Consult your doctor, certified diabetic educator or dietitian for your appropriate daily caloric intake. Since many experts encourage two snacks per day, the caloric value of our main meal portions reflects having two snacks. So do not skip them. If you do not have two snacks, you may want to consult your dietician about where to add the calories not consumed at snack time. We only publish main meal plans with an average Glycemic Index of 60 or less. All of our individual meals have the Available Carbs listed to aid in insulin dose calculations.
About the Author: In 1956, at the age of 10, Wayne's adolescent, small town New Hampshire eating habits took a dramatic turn. His then 1 year old brother was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. The family's new dietary regimen included toast with peanut butter, tuna salad sandwiches and pan sautéed proteins with no sauce. Now desserts were only for special occasions. This regimen continued for the next 12 years. Following a short stint in New York City, Wayne was transferred to Glens Falls, NY where he met the love of his life, Mary Turano. Mary learned from her mother how to cook traditional Italian foods and also traveled to France where she studied French cuisine. Wayne and Mary married in 1971 and moved back to New Hampshire. Shortly thereafter it happened. Wayne was diagnosed with what we now call Type 1 diabetes. With the fear of not being able to eat all of the recently found food he had so quickly become fond of, Wayne put on his engineering hat and set about calculating the food values of everything he wanted to eat. With no formal dietary or food preparation training, Wayne began creating wonderfully diverse menus. At a meeting of the American Diabetes Association chapter in Dallas, which Wayne hosted at his home, the attendees remarked how his meal plans should be put in a book so that others could benefit. Neither Wayne nor Mary knew how to go about writing a book. But that did not stop them. It started out small, with a few menus published in newsletter format, but soon grew to include two four-week basic meal plans, a book of eclectic recipes and menus, a four week Low-Sodium, Low Cholesterol plan and 2 volumes of diabetic cooking for one or two! When the kids were in high school, Mary went back to work as a French teacher and Wayne went back to work in a technical marketing position. Fast forward 22 years. Wayne had just retired. He continued to share the kitchen with Mary and even enrolled in classes taught by Mike Bulkowski, who was a sous chef for both Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck before branching out and opening his own restaurant. As a result of these classes, Wayne earned an AAC certificate (Accomplished Amateur Chef). Wayne wrote an entirely new piece of software to calculate the food values of recipes and individual meals. Because he has no formal dietary training, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator review all of his meal plan design criteria.