Kitchen Must-Haves for People With Diabetes

Smaller portions, spread out over the day, are a crucial component of a healthy diabetic diet and managing blood sugar levels. Eliminate the guesswork with a digital food scale. I likethis one made by Greater Goods Nourish, because besides knowing exactly how much you're eating, the scale provides nutritional information on many foods, helping you track carb levels during meal prep.

You've probably got one or two go-to spices in your cabinet, right? Step up your spice game with a dedicated space for a real flavor arsenal: Researchers believesome spices, such as cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and cumin, may have benefits for diabetics, lowering blood sugar and reducing inflammation.Simply Organic's Ultimate Organic Starter Spice Gift Sethas all of these and more. If you need some inspiration on how to incorporate spices into your cooking, check out the bookSpiced: Unlock the Power of Spices to Transform Your Cookingfor ideas.

For maximum flavor with minimal fat, pick up an oil mister/sprayer like theEVO. Also rotate in a couple of the best oils for people with diabetes, like olive and avocado, which contains some of the most important fatty acids in our diets, like heart-healthy omega-3s, which mayreduce inflammationthroughout the body. Two to try:Zeytin Organic Olive Oil, andChosen Foods Avocado Oil.

Crave pasta and noodles, but don't want the high carbohydrate count? Get a spiralizer! A spiralizer does exactly what its name implies: It easily turns vegetables like zucchini and squash into perfect pasta pretenders. They cook quickly, and when you add your favorite sauces, voila: a low-carb, diabetes-friendly pasta dish!Briefton's 10-blade Spiralizercan get you started. New to spiralizing? TheGathering Dreams sitehas 21 easy spiralizer recipes, plus tips for beginners.

One simple way to lower your fat intake, which helps prevent the high cholesterol that puts you at greater risk for heart disease: Use less oil and butter by cooking and baking with nonstick pans. Don't skimp when shopping: Go for good-quality cookware that's free of toxins. One set that has everything you needGotham's Toxin-free Steel Ceramic Cookware/Bakeware set, with saucepans, larger pots, baking sheet, and muffin tins.

Another great way to cut fat from cooking: Add a food steamer to your diabetic kitchen toolkit. TheOster Double-Tiered steamerlets you separately steam two foods at a time. Add some fish or chicken and veggies, and you have a complete, super-healthy meal. Worried that steamed food is a little blah? It truly doesn't have to be! Check out the蒸:伟大的风味健康Cookingcookbookfor ideas.

Who wouldn't want to magically make excess fat from food disappear? You totally can: Skim and strain fat from soups and stocks. Chefs recommend lining a strainer with a thin clean kitchen towel or paper towel to strain out fat and grease (no having to chill soups and stocks first!).Fine Dining Lovershas the lowdown on how to do it, andSpring Chefoffers a set of premium stainless-steel strainers in various sizes to round out your diabetic kitchen tools.

When you're serving up dinner, do you end up with a plate of meat and potatoes, and a tiny serving of veggies? (Oops.) Nothing really beats a visual aid, andPrecise Portions Diabetic Portion Control Platesare specially designed with dividers, helping you serve up just the right balance of protein, vegetables and fruits, and other carbohydrates like whole grains.

Sure, cooking at home lets you make healthier, diabetes-friendly meals–if you're actually home. A great solution for busy lives: a programmable pressure cooker or slow cooker you can fill before leaving for work, set, and go. My favorite: TheInstant Pot(I like the Ultra 3), which works as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, sauté/searing pan, steamer, and warming pot—all in one! Need ideas on what to cook? Check out thesediabetes-friendly recipes for your Instant Pot or pressure cooker.

Healthy, homemade soups, fresh smoothies, and dips can all be part of a diabetes-friendly diet. But who wants to haul out a bulky blender to prepare some foods, then a food processor or chopper for others? The solution: A combination tool like theCuisinart BFP-650GM Velocity Ultra Trio Blender/Food Processor. It comes with multiple blades, separate blender and food processor attachments, and travel cups that make it easy to takehealthy smoothieson the go.