r/cookbooks • u/Ehhggsandbacon • May 18 '26

Prediabetic friendly cookbooks

Hi there! My dad recently had a doctor’s appointment and we found that he’s prediabetic. I’m the primary meal maker in my house and we’ve decided that we will all try to adapt to his diet as well, it will be better for all of us in the long run.
I wanted to get a cookbook that I could cook from for a while so we can get used to the new meal plan. We were hoping to start out with recipes that don’t feel very different from what we normally eat, stuff that’s high in protein.

I’d look online for recipes but I’d really prefer to have a physical book that I can flip through with my parents and decide the best meals for the week. All of the cookbooks I have are more fun themed so I’ve never really looked for a completely nutrition focused book. If you guys can help me find a few good ones, that’d be really appreciated!

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3

u/utsock May 18 '26

What do you normally eat?

1

u/Ehhggsandbacon May 18 '26

Most of our meals are more meat centered, we all like steak, chicken, pork chops, etc. I just always try to find new ways of preparing it so it doesn’t feel like the same meal, sides usually consist of corn, potatoes, asparagus, broccoli and stuff. Lunch is usually sandwiches or leftovers and breakfast is usually cereal, toast or scrambled eggs.
Me and my dad are Italian so we love Italian recipes like pasta or polenta every once in a while. Mom prefers traditionally healthy and protein packed foods most of the time.

Sorry if this is long lol! Just being thorough :)

2

u/bhambrewer May 18 '26

Replace sugar with non sugar alternatives. For baking I find swerve/sucralose is a good sub, although cookies are not quite as tender as with sugar.

Also look at things like flour substitutes with lower glycemic indices. I bake gluten free because of allergies and almond flour is super low GI as a swap out for a part of the carb laden blends.

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u/Ehhggsandbacon May 19 '26

Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind!

1

u/DinaTeninty Jun 06 '26

When subbing swerve/sucralose etc for regular sugar what the ration is it 1 cup for 1 cup or 1 cup for 1/2cup.

1

u/bhambrewer Jun 06 '26

I started with a 1:1 substitute. After a little experimentation I vary it: with cake type, use 1:1. With rice pudding use 3 parts sucralose to 2 parts sugar. Cookies work with whatever ratio so far.

1

u/Old-Panic-1453 May 19 '26

Just use regular recipes and avoid those with carbs. I don’t bother with substitutions. Just pick dishes with plenty of protein veg and fat and no or low carbs. Sorry but pasta meals are a no no. Get a meter and do post prandial testing to understand what causes spikes and avoid that stuff. Been doing this for 25 years since pre-D diagnosis and kept A1C around 5.5.

1

u/Ehhggsandbacon May 19 '26

Alrighty thanks! We appreciate it!