Diabetes Nutrition | Riley at IU Health

Healthy nutrition is a major part of managing your child's diabetes. The pediatric diabetes specialists at Riley at IU Health want to help you and your child create an individualized plan for managing your child's diabetes at home, and that includes helping you adjust your family's typical food and activity schedule to meet your child's nutritional needs. Your child can continue to make food choices that are similar to those of children without diabetes, within the context of an overall healthy diet.

The registered dietitians at Riley at IU Health are certified diabetes educators. They stay up-to-date on the latest diabetes nutrition research and guidelines.

The following PDFs offer practical information that you can use to help your child find ways to eat like other kids while maintaining optimal blood sugar control.

Five a Day. Learn the serving size of various fruits and vegetables and find recipes that will help your child meet the "five a day" goal.
Carbohydrate Counting Food List. Use this helpful handout when counting carbohydrates to maintain blood sugar control.
Cook Smarter. Follow these tips when preparing meals at home.
Happy Easter. This list tells you how many carbs are in a serving of the most popular Easter candies.
Happy Halloween. This list tells you how many carbs are in a serving of the most popular Halloween candies.
Weight Management Tips for Kids and Teens. These tips can help you encourage your child to make healthy choices for weight management.
International Cuisine. This guide provides estimated numbers for counting the carbohydrates in top international dishes and meals.
Low Carbohydrate Foods. Low-carbohydrate foods are good snack options for kids with diabetes. Learn which foods are low in carbs and the serving sizes of each.
Shopping List. Follow these grocery shopping list tips for healthy eating on a dime.
Tips for Healthy Snacks. Find healthy snack ideas for children with diabetes.
Smart Start. Breakfast is arguably the most important meal of the day. This guide provides healthy breakfast ideas for children with diabetes.
Happy Thanksgiving. Learn what a healthy portion size is of the most popular Thanksgiving dishes and the total carbohydrates in each portion.

Support Services & Resources

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USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

This site is very easy to use. Type in a food item and press "Enter" on your keyboard or click "Go" on the screen. It is important to note that the first column shows values for a 100-gram portion. The second column shows a choice equal to the standard serving size for that food item. This site is good for searching brand name foods and restaurants.

ChooseMyPlate

ChooseMyPlate is a website developed by the United States Department of Agriculture. It describes portion and serving sizes for the major food groups.

CalorieKing

This site provides another good option for searching brand name foods and restaurants.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This site will help you calculate your child's body mass index.