3 Recipes for Gestational Diabetes in Pregnant Women

Gestational diabetes is a condition that can occur quite frequently in pregnant women. Today we'll be looking at some great recipes which can help.

Women with gestational diabetes should take special care with their diet. A proper diet will allow you to satisfy your cravings and, at the same time, keep insulin levels at bay. In today’s article, we’ll be looking at 3 great recipes for gestational diabetes – read on and enjoy!

When a woman is pregnant, she can usually suffer from several different complications. One of them is a decrease in glucose tolerance. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to have some recipes at hand to help with the onset of gestational diabetes.

If very high glucose levels are detected, then it’s likely that the future mother could suffer from this ailment. Diabetes is a disease that causes hyperglycemia – high glucose levels in the blood.

It’s something that’s quite common in pregnant women. Their bodies don’t store glucose correctly in the cells and, as a result, they don’t circulate properly in the blood.

Possible causes of diabetes

This condition can be caused by the following factors:

• The pancreas may not be producing enough insulin (a hormone that allows glucose to work properly)
• Cells that store glucose aren’t responding to the insulin.

A pregnant woman may suffer from one or both of these conditions.

Gestational diabetes only develops during pregnancy. In fact, it’s considered the most common condition during the gestation period.

During the nine months of pregnancy, many hormonal, physical, and metabolic changes take place in the woman. The hormones in the placenta usually block insulin in the mother’s body, and this produces a resistance to it.

As a result, blood glucose can increase up to three times the insulin levels to try to compensate. If this isn’t handled with the seriousness that it deserves and levels aren’t balanced, then gestational diabetes is highly likely to appear.

This type of diabetes doesn’t show any symptoms, and that’s why doctors recommend a test between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation to rule it out. If it isn’t treated in time, it can cause serious complications for both mother and baby in the short and long term.

Dietary advice for women with gestational diabetes

To maintain stable blood sugar levels, these are the recommendations you should follow:

• Keep a balanced diet. If food is distributed efficiently throughout the body, then the sugar levels will remain stable.
• Breakfast is paramount. A good protein intake with this meal will help keep insulin levels in an acceptable range.
• Avoid foods and drinks with a high sugar content.
• Include foods that are rich in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, wholemeal bread, and legumes.
• Exercise. This helps to process the glucose in your body correctly.

Delicious recipes for women with gestational diabetes

Here are some healthy tasty recipes for women with gestational diabetes.

1. Tangerine and chocolate muffins

Ingredients

• 1 mandarine
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of sweetener
• 8 oz of wholemeal flour
• 8 fl oz of sunflower oil
• 4 ounces of sugar-free black chocolate
• A pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of yeast

Directions

• Blend the chocolate until it’s a fine powder.
• Mix the eggs, the mandarine, and the sweetener. Then add the oil, flour, salt and yeast.
• Divide the dough into two. To one of those halves, add the chocolate.
• Grease the cupcake molds, add the mixture, and sprinkle some flour on top. Remove the excess.
• Heat the oven to 350°F (if you use a higher temperature then the sweetener will become bitter).
• Put the muffins in the oven and lower the temperature to 340°F and cook for 10 minutes or until you can see that they’re ready.

2. Spanish omelet

Ingredients

• 5 small potatoes cut and peeled
• 1 sliced ​​zucchini
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 ½ cups of green or red peppers cut into strips
• 5 sliced ​​medium-sized mushrooms
• 3 beaten eggs
• 5 egg whites
• A ½ cup of vegetable oil
• Pepper and salt or herbs to taste
• 1 oz of grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon of low-fat parmesan cheese.

Directions

• Firstly, boil the potatoes in water until they’re soft.
• Then sauté the onions until golden brown in a frying pan.
• After that, add the zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers.
• Mix the eggs, egg whites, and mozzarella cheese and add them to the sautéed vegetables, including the potatoes.
• Heat the oven to 375°F
• Then grease an oven dish and sprinkle with flour before adding the mixture.
• Smooth the mixture down and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top. Bake until ready.

3. Red snapper

Ingredients

• 6 red snapper fillets
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove of chopped garlic
• ½ a cup of red chopped paprika
• 1 large chopped tomato
• 2 tablespoons chopped pitted olives
• A ½ cup of carrots, cut lengthways
• 2 tablespoons low-fat ricotta cheese
• ½ a cup of dry white wine

Directions

• Firstly, heat a large pan and add the onion, red paprika, carrots, and garlic. Stir for 10 minutes.
• Then add the wine and let it boil, stirring gradually.
• Place the fillets in the middle of the pan and then cover and let them cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the tomato, the olives, and finally cover it with the cheese.
• Cover and let it cook for 3 minutes or until the fish looks firm but juicy.
• Serve with the vegetables that were cooked in the pan.

In conclusion, these are some of the most useful recipes for women with gestational diabetes. Of course, there are many other recipes out there, and it’ll just be a matter of experimenting, as well as adopting medical recommendations. This will be fundamental for the well-being of both mother and baby.