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Diabetic Chocolate Cake

Sometimes figuring out what to eat for Lunch is hard, especially if you have type 2 diabetes. All of a sudden, the things you used to like to eat, are on the forbidden list. Why? Because when you have diabetes, it's important to maintain a healthy weight. If you're overweight, it's even more important to watch what you eat, everyday.

If you work, then eating lunch can get even more complicated. Cafeterias, fast food places, and vending machines are notorious for having few healthy choices available. Bringing a lunch from home is better. But you still have to watch the calories, fat grams and carbs, in the food you bring from home. What are the healthiest choices? Let's build a lunch, using About.com's nutritional website, CalorieCount.com. Calorie Count provides nutrition facts for hundreds of different foods.

A So-so Lunch

• Tuna salad: 159 calories, 8 fat grams, 8 grams carbs
• Whole wheat pita: 170 calories, 2 fat grams, 35 grams carbs
• Iceberg lettuce: 8 calories, 0 fat grams, 2 grams carbs
• Cream of broccoli cheese soup: 170 calories, 11 fat grams, 15 carbs
• Soda: 100 calories, 0 fat grams, 27 carbs
• Chocolate sandwich cookies: 160 calories, 7 fat grams, 25 carbs

This lunch adds up to 767 calories, 28 fat grams, and 112 carbs

A Good Lunch

• Tuna salad: 159 calories, 8 fat grams, 8 carbs
• Whole wheat bread: 140 calories, 2 fat grams, 24 carbs
• Romaine lettuce: 2 calories, 0 fat grams, 0 carbs
• Cream of tomato soup: 130 calories, 2 fat grams, 26 carbs
• Milk: 122 calories, 5 fat grams, 11 carbs
• 100-calorie pack of cookies: 100 calories, 2 fat grams, 20 carbs

This lunch adds up to 653 calories, 19 fat grams, 89 carbs

A Better Lunch

• Deli ham: 60 calories, 2 fat grams, 0 carbs
• Whole wheat bread: 140 calories, 2 fat grams, 24 carbs
• Lettuce and tomato: 12 calories, 0 fat grams, 2 carbs
• Chicken noodle soup: 120 calories, 2 fat grams, 7 carbs
• Iced tea: 0 calories 0 fat grams, 0 carbs
• 3-1/4" dia. apple: 110 calories, 0 fat grams, 30 carbs

This lunch adds up to 422 calories, 6 fat grams, 63 carbs

The Best Lunch

• Deli ham: 60 calories, 2 fat grams, 0 carbs
• Corn tortilla: 70 calories, 1 fat gram, 14 carbs
• Lettuce and tomato: 12 calories, 0 fat grams, 2 carbs
• Black olives: 40 calories, 3 fat grams, 2 carbs
• Vegetarian vegetable soup: 67 calories, 2 fat grams, 12 carbs
• Hot or iced green tea, or water: 0 calories, 0 fat grams, 0 carbs
• 1 cup of grapes: 62 calories, 0 fat grams, 16 carbs

This lunch adds up to 271 calories, 8 fat grams, 46 carbs

BUILD A HEALTHY LUNCH
SO-SO	GOOD	BETTER	BEST
Tuna salad	Tuna salad	Deli ham	Deli ham
Iceberg lettuce	Romaine lettuce	Lettuce and tomato	Lettuce, tomato and black olives
Whole wheat pita	Whole wheat bread	Whole wheat bread	Corn tortilla
Cream of broccoli cheese soup	Cream of tomato soup	Chicken noodle soup	Vegetarian vegetable soup
Chocolate sandwich cookies	100 calorie pack cookies	3-1/4" dia. apple	1 cup grapes
Soda	Milk	Iced tea	Hot or iced green tea or water

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