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Eating healthy with diabetes begins with smart shopping. It’s easier to eat healthy when you have healthy foods in your fridge and pantry.
Healthy shopping 101
- Plan ahead. Create a list of foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks that fit in the healthy plate. Plan your meals for the week.
- Shop the outside aisles first. Fresh foods like fruits, veggies, dairy, meat, and fish are often located on the outside aisles of the grocery store.
- Shop the center aisles for steel cut oats, natural nut butter, olive oil, whole grains, nuts, and canned beans.
- Don’t shop hungry. Bring a snack if needed.
- Choose "real" foods. Less processed foods like 100% whole-grain items with few additives are healthier. Avoid foods with a long list of unfamiliar-sounding ingredients.
- Visit a farmer’s market near you. It’s a great place for finding healthy, local, fresh foods.
Sample healthy shopping list
Keep this list of healthy choices handy when it’s time to go shopping.
Vegetables
Choose fresh, frozen, or canned options without added salt, fat, or sugar.
Non-Starchy
- Amaranth or Chinese spinach
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Beans (green, wax, Italian)
- Bean sprouts
- Beets
- Brussels sprouts
- Broccoli
- Cabbage (green, bok choy, Chinese)
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
- Jicama
- Mushrooms
- Okra
- Onions
- Peppers
- Radishes
- Salad greens (chicory, endive, escarole, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
- Spaghetti squash
- Sprouts
- Sugar snap peas
- Swiss chard
- Tomatoes
- Water chestnuts
- Zucchini
Starchy
- Corn
- Peas
- Potatoes
- Pumpkin
- Sweet potatoes
- Winter squash
Fruits
Choose fresh, frozen, or canned fruits without added sugar. With diabetes, it’s important to opt for fruits with a low glycemic load — they won’t spike your blood sugar as quickly as fruits with a high glycemic load (like bananas or watermelon).
- Apples
- Apricots
- Berries
- Cherries
- Kiwis
- Oranges
- Peaches
- Pears
- Plantains
- Plums
- Strawberries
Healthy fats
- Avocado
- Natural nut butter
- Nuts
- Olive oil
Grains and cereals
- Air-popped popcorn (low or no salt)
- Brown or wild rice
- Corn tortillas
- Grits
- Steel cut oats
- Wheat bran cereal
- Whole-grain bread
- Whole-grain crackers
Dairy and dairy alternatives
Choose low-fat or nonfat options when possible.
- Milk
- Plain yogurt
- Unsweetened almond or soy milk
Protein
- Beans
- Cheese
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lentils
- Skinless chicken
- Tofu
- Low-fat Veggie burgers or black bean burgers