Where Do Healthy Fats Belong on My Food Plate?

If you're living with diabetes, you've probably seen the plate method.

Half the plate is usually filled with non-starchy vegetables. Another section is protein, and another is carbohydrate.

It's a simple way to begin thinking about a meal.

But when I look at that plate, something seems to be missing.

Where are the healthy fats?

This is especially important if you're trying to eat fewer carbohydrates. When we reduce carbohydrates, we shouldn't simply take food away and leave ourselves hungry. We still need satisfying meals that provide our bodies with what they need.

And healthy fats can be an important part of that.

The good news is:

Healthy fats don't need their own section of the plate.

They may already be part of your meal.

Where Are the Healthy Fats?

Think about a salad.

I enjoy a salad with blue cheese dressing. I might fill my bowl with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, mushrooms, peppers, and onion.

Most of that bowl is non-starchy vegetables.

Then I add the dressing I enjoy.

Where's the fat?

It's in the dressing.

Maybe you roast broccoli and cauliflower with olive or avocado oil.

There's some of your fat.

Maybe you have avocado with your eggs.

Maybe you sprinkle nuts or seeds over your salad.

Maybe salmon is your protein for dinner.

Or perhaps you make a mushroom-and-onion gravy using vegetables, broth, seasonings, and olive or avocado oil.

You don't need a separate pile of “fat” sitting on the side of the plate.

Healthy fat can be part of the foods you're already eating.

Why Is Fat Important When Eating Low-Carb?

Sometimes when people hear “low carb,” they think they need to remove the bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes and replace them with more meat.

But low carb doesn't have to mean eating huge portions of protein.

Our bodies need protein. It helps maintain our muscles and repair our bodies, among many other jobs.

But when we eat fewer carbohydrates,

fat can provide some of the energy that those carbohydrates used to provide.

Fat also helps our bodies use certain vitamins and can help make a meal more satisfying.

Think about the difference between plain chicken and steamed vegetables and chicken served with vegetables roasted in olive oil and seasonings.

Or a bowl of plain lettuce compared with a colorful salad topped with a dressing you enjoy.

The goal isn't simply to take carbohydrates away.

It's to build a meal that works without depending on large amounts of carbohydrate to fill the plate.

Can Fat Help Me Stay Full Longer?

Fat, protein, and fiber can all help make a meal satisfying.

Fat can also slow how quickly a meal leaves your stomach. You don't need to remember the medical terminology behind it.

What matters at the dinner table is much simpler:

Including some healthy fat with your vegetables and protein can help make the meal satisfying and may help you stay satisfied longer.

If you're trying to reduce carbohydrates, that's important.

Low-carb eating shouldn't mean finishing dinner and immediately wondering what else you can eat.

What Are Healthy Fats?

You don't need special foods just because you have diabetes.

Healthy fats can come from everyday foods such as olive oil, avocado and avocado oil, nuts, seeds, nut butters without added sugar, and fatty fish such as salmon.

Other foods, including eggs, meats, cheese, sauces, and dressings, may already contain fat too.

That means you don't necessarily need to add fat to a meal if there's already enough there.

And healthy fat doesn't mean unlimited fat.

The goal isn't to make everything as high in fat as possible.

The goal is to recognize that fat is part of a balanced low-carb meal and choose your foods thoughtfully.

Food Should Still Taste Good

Sometimes we make eating for diabetes sound like a lifetime sentence to plain chicken and steamed vegetables.

It doesn't have to be.

Food should still taste good.

If you enjoy salad with dressing, make a salad you look forward to eating.

Roast cauliflower with avocado oil, garlic, and seasonings.

Put avocado beside your eggs.

Add nuts or seeds to a salad.

Make a flavorful sauce or gravy.

Season your food.

Finding healthier ways to prepare foods you enjoy can make a change in eating habits feel less like something you're enduring and more like the way you simply eat.

That's important because we're not trying to eat differently for a week.

We're trying to build habits we can live with.

Look at the Whole Meal

Instead of worrying about making your dinner look exactly like a picture of a divided plate, look at the whole meal.

Ask:

Where are my non-starchy vegetables?

Where is my protein?

Where are my healthy fats?

Maybe the fat is in your salad dressing.

Maybe it's the olive oil you used to roast your vegetables.

Maybe it's the avocado beside your eggs.

Maybe it's in the salmon you're having for dinner.

Maybe it's in the mushroom gravy you spooned over your chicken and cauliflower.

Healthy fat doesn't necessarily need its own section of the plate.

It just needs to be part of the meal.

One Faithful Step

If you're new to diabetes, all the information about food can feel like a lot to learn.

You don't have to figure it all out today.

Start with one meal.

Choose plenty of non-starchy vegetables.

Include protein.

Look for where healthy fat fits naturally into the foods you enjoy.

And make something you actually want to eat.

You don't have to create the perfect plate.

You can simply make the next choice a little more thoughtful than the one before it.

One meal. One choice. One faithful step at a time.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV)