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Keeping a good stock of low carb diabetic items in the pantry is the key to making stress free low carb meals.
Even if you only have a few fresh vegetables on hand, your pantry supply means you can always grab a can of coconut milk, or canned tomatoes, and a few spices, and whip up a sauce of some kind.
Stocking Your Pantry
Store all of your flours, nuts, and any other opened packages in glass jars or containers to keep them fresher for longer. It’s also a nice way to keep your pantry organized, too.
This list is not an extensive pantry list but gives you an idea on the types of things to keep handy. And, we’ll share a few tips on finding some of the best items at the store.
Oils/fats
Different oils have different health properties so keep a variety of healthy oils and fats on hand to use.
- Avocado oil
- Virgin olive oil – most popular
- Macadamia nut oil
- Sesame oil – great for adding flavor to a stir fry
- Butter
- Coconut oil
- Flaxseed oil – good for salad dressings, keep in the fridge.
Oils that come in clear plastic bottles are generally low grade crappy oils. Clear glass bottles are better. But the best quality oils will always come in dark glass bottles.
Condiments
You can make your own condiments, which is always going to be healthier. But let’s face it, most of us won’t and prefer easier options.
Condiments are useful to help us give food flavor. They might not always be 100% carb free, but used in moderation, they can really contribute to the tastiness of foods and keep things interesting.
Always read the labels to help you choose the best low carb condiments you can find.
Mayonnaise (real/ full fat) – look for organic types made from olive or sunflower oils and containing the lowest amounts of sugar and ingredients overall. For example, a low fat mayonnaise is not good – these will generally be higher in sugar and contain more additives and preservatives. And, a mayonnaise with 15 different ingredients is not a good option either.
Vinegars – balsamic, red wine, white wine, apple cider vinegar – all great for making salad dressings.
Salad Dressings (sugar-free) – these are hard to find and super easy to make at home anyways. But you can find some good salad dressings. Beware of low fat, no fat salad dressings. Most of the time these are rubbish.
Ketchup (low-carb) – the ‘traditional’ kind is high in sugar, so either make your own tomato sauce substitute, or get a low carb sugar free ketchup.
BBQ Sauce – again, be wary of the traditional high sugar varieties. But you can get sugar free, low carb BBQ sauce.
Mustard – great for salad dressings, adding to sauces for meals, or slopping on top of your steak or meat patty.
Hot Sauce
Tamari (wheat free soy sauce) or Soy Sauce
Curry Pastes – green curry, red curry, massaman curry
Canned/ Jarred Goods
Capers
Olives – black, green, kalamata – make great snacks.
Salsa – check the labels for additional ingredients and choose a salsa low in sugar/carbs.
Nut Butters (all-natural and unsweetened) – peanut, almond, cashew, hazelnut.
Sesame paste/ tahini
Tomato goods – canned tomatoes – no added sugar or salt, tomato paste, tomato puree, all-natural pasta sauce.
Canned fish – canned tuna, canned salmon, sardines.
Coconut milk or coconut cream
Pumpkin puree
Sundried tomatoes
Pickles
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Breads
Thanks to many great food companies, we can now find low carb breads to enjoy.
You can also make your own low carb breads, which is very easy.
When you join us as a VIP Member, you can access our Low Carb Breads Masterclass. Most of the breads take just 5 minutes prep in a food processor then put in the oven to bake!
So..when you depend on a food pantry ,you are not going to get much in the way of healthy pastas etc. How do you advise people who have regular pastas,white rice etc?
While this can certainly be a tough situation to navigate, I would recommend trying to use smaller portions of pastas and rice, and increase the portion of other lower carb items that are available to you (ie. proteins, chicken and tuna salad, nuts, canned vegetables). It may also be worthwhile to ask if there are any other resources the food pantry can connect you with – there may be a community outreach person or social worker that has other resources for accessing more fresh foods.
There are chickpea pastas out there. Also, spaghetti squash is a good alternative.
We have substituted cauliflower- finely chopped and toasted in a skillet or the oven for rice. There are keto noodles in the health food store but they are very expensive. Try making zoodles. Spiral sliced zucchini.
Love the creativity and ability to try new things!
I try to cut the amount of pasta by adding diced or shredded vegetables to the sauce .
onions ,peppers,mushrooms,carrots tinned stewed tomatoes zucchini .cheap frozen veggies work as well as the end scraps from other meals ex the mushroom stems the ends of the zucchini shredded the carrot tips diced small etc.
Exactly CLaire, adding vegetables to the sauce is a great strategy, or even better using vegetables as a base instead of pasta can be perfect and much better for blood sugar levels!
interesting
How many carbs do you recommend per meal and snack for prediabetics. Body Weight is not a problem 110lbs)
Any reduction in carbohydrate should result in positive impact on your blood sugar. With that being said, we typically encourage between 80-120g carbs per day for people with diabetes. Check on this article for more info and the breakdown per meal and snacks.
Hi,
What is the glycemic load of Little Millets, barnyard millets, brown top millets, foxtail millets and Kodo millets?
Millet is not something we recommend on a low carbohydrate diet, because like most grains the carbohydrate count if far too high. Millet also happens to have a higher glycemic load, but keep in mind that using glycemic index/glycemic load can be misleading for diabetes control. My recommendation would be to focus on total carbohydrates and select those foods with less carbohydrates for best blood sugar control.
I am vegan. I wonder what you would substitute for beans? I use them to make burgers, chili, and a meatloaf. I also use lentils. What else should I substitute for meat? I also freaked out over not eating onions. THAT is going to take a lot of will power to give up.
I make organic while wheat bread and usually eat 1 slice a day. We are poor , and I can’t afford almond flour. Help!
You can eat beans in limited quantities, just be aware they are mostly carb, not protein, the same for lentils. You can also eat onions, they are a healthy food containing prebiotic components. Here is a list of vegetarian protein sources you will find helpful.
I’m prediabetic and also have gastroparesis, irritable bowel and GERD (5 esophageal dilations so far). I’ve been told to drastically limit vegetables and fruits. Carbs always make my stomach feel better. Any suggestions?
This sounds like a tough situation, Terri. Do you know why they told you to limit fruits and veggies? Was it possibly because of the fiber content? If so, you may find that there are certain vegetables you can tolerate such as carrots or string beans. It may also be easier to digest cooked vegetables versus raw. I would encourage you to trial small amounts of vegetables to see if there are certain ones or certain meals that you can tolerate.
As far as the carbs go… I would do my best to stay clear of these. Are you currently checking your blood sugar? You will likely observe a huge rise in blood sugar after a carb heavy meal. Make sure to eat lots of protein and healthy fat in the meantime, until you can find a good balance between your carbs and vegetable intake.
I am type 2 diabetic, but have added resistant starch to my diet. some times you just need a bit of Carbs.
Hi Terry, you can definitely have some carbs when you are on a low carb diet!
Hello!!! Have any of you heard of Scout & Cellar wines? I am a keto eater and love to still enjoy my wine and you can!! No added sugars at all!
Hi Kim,
Yes, I have heard of it but we still do not encourage frequent use of alcohol regardless of carb content.
My mother is diabetic, so I`m familiar with alot of this, but my husband has just been diagnosed, and he’s in deep denial. I`fm going to go through this with him, since i am predibetic. Really hard right now!
Diabetes is a shocking diagnosis for many! Continue to be supportive of your husband, and remind him that with the right treatment plan it can be managed. Another favorite food list of mine can be found over here.
Hi I’m a 54yrs old woman whose weight has always been around 51-52kg but since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about a year ago I’ve been loosing weight trying to control my blood sugar. I’m now weighing about 46kg which is a course for concern for me and also my doctor.
Can u pls advice what diet will help me put on some weight without spiking my blood sugar?
Check out this article for diet tips- the answer is healthy fat. You will get the most calories that have no effect on your blood sugar.
I was type 2, pancreas is not functioning so now I am Type 1. I am not sure what to eat and what to avoid or limit. I am only on insulin before each meal and at bedtime. Please help.
Hi Nancy, keep in mind that our website is specifically for patients with type 2 diabetes so not all the information you read is 100% applicable for your case. With that being said, there are still a lot of similarities between the two diagnoses, and the goal is ultimately the same: to maintain near normal blood glucose and A1c level. Diet can still play a huge role in your numbers as a Type 1, so it’s great that you’re interested in learning more about diet. We encourage a low carb diet, which includes all the foods mentioned is this post over here.