The 11 Best Insulin Resistance Recipes For Blood Sugar Balance
Looking for insulin resistance recipe ideas to support your body while addressing insulin resistance? I’ve rounded up 11 dietitian-created recipes to keep your blood sugar in check.
This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own.
What causes insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance is when cells in your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond well to insulin and can’t easily take up glucose from your blood. As a result, your pancreas makes more insulin to help glucose enter your cells.
Researchers don’t yet fully understand what causes insulin resistance, but two main contributors may be excess body fat and lack of movement.
Anyone can develop insulin resistance — temporarily or chronically.
In some cases, you do have a chance to reverse your insulin resistance and prevent developing a chronic disease. Because it isn’t just type 2 diabetes you are working to prevent.
Insulin resistance also increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and cognitive decline as we age.
Luckily, changing your diet – along with physical activity, weight loss, and proper sleep – can potentially reverse insulin resistance. And these insulin resistance recipes are the perfect way to help balance blood sugar levels.
Do insulin resistance recipes exist?
Addressing insulin resistance is similar to addressing blood sugar concerns. We want to eat balanced meals that avoid big swings in blood sugar and increase the need for more insulin.
That means consuming more fiber-rich carbs (whole grains, oats, fruits and vegetables) and balancing them with lean proteins (chicken, turkey, tofu, beans, eggs) and healthy fats (oils, nuts, seeds).
Cutting back on added sugars, saturated fat and sodium may also help improve insulin resistance.
11 Easy Insulin Resistance Recipes (Dietitian Approved!)
Are you ready to eat your way to improved insulin sensitivity and better blood sugar control? Then these insulin resistance recipes are for you!
Each recipe on this list is well balanced with protein, fat, and fiber, contains moderate carbohydrates, and limits added sugars, saturated fat and sodium – perfect for anyone trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
From breakfast to dinner and snacks in between, here are 11 of the best insulin resistance recipes to balance your blood sugar. And all are, as always, dietitian-approved!
Easy Veggie Egg Muffins
Made with eggs, fiber rich vegetables, low fat cheese, and whole grain bread, these veggie egg muffins are ideal for weight loss and overcoming insulin resistance. Each serving has only 6 grams of carbs and 9 grams of satiating protein to keep you going all morning. Get the recipe
Calories: 120 Carbs: 6g Protein: 9g Fat: 7g Fiber: 1g
Peanut Butter Pancakes
Start your morning with PB&J pancakes for a well balanced breakfast with no added sugar! The sweetness from the pancakes and syrup comes entirely from 100% grape juice.
Combined with egg, peanut butter, and Greek yogurt, each serving provides 10 grams of high quality protein, no refined flour or added sugar. Instead, they are made with whole grain oats, which are rich in fiber and prebiotic resistant starch that promote a slowed release of carbohydrates into the bloodstream and improve insulin sensitivity. Get the recipe
Calories: 233 Carbs: 18g Protein: 10g Fat: 14g Fiber: 3g
Low Carb Stuffed Peppers
Each one of these cream cheese stuffed peppers has only 3 grams of carbohydrates and is well balanced with fat and protein to keep you full and satisfied without having an effect on your blood sugar.
With almost no carbs, these stuffed peppers are the perfect snack or appetizer to serve prior to a meal that may have more carbs, so that you can more easily manage your blood sugars. Get the recipe
Calories: 105 Carbs: 3g Protein: 3g Fat: 9g Fiber: 1g
Crispy Avocado Bites
With only 8 grams of net carbs per serving, these crispy avocado bites provide an ideal combination of protein, fat, and fiber to balance blood sugar while curbing appetite. Get the recipe
Calories: 200 Carbs: 13g Protein: 6g Fat: 16g Fiber: 6g
Parmesan Baked Tomatoes
Parmesan baked tomatoes make an easy, blood sugar friendly snack or appetizer in just minutes! Seasoned with olive oil and parmesan cheese to provide the perfect balance of healthy fats, protein and fiber.
Mix them with your favorite low carb pasta, toss in some greens, and add a protein for a filling meal to balance your blood sugar. Get the recipe
Calories: 61 Carbs: 4g Protein: 2g Fat: 5g Fiber: 1g
Keto Zucchini Boats
Zucchini is a low-starch vegetable that’s perfect for people with diabetes to enjoy as often as they want without worrying about high blood sugars.
Each of these zucchini boats only has 6 grams of total carbs. Plus, they’re full of healthy fats and protein to help stabilize your blood sugar. Add ground turkey or chicken for a boost of protein to make them even more filling! Get the recipe
Calories: 44 Carbs: 6g Protein: 3g Fat: 2g Fiber: 2g
Better Than Takeout Fried Rice
Traditional fried rice recipes use white rice, which can send blood sugar soaring. This low carb fried rice swaps out refined rice with RightRice Fried Rice Medley instead to provide more fiber and 30 grams of protein for a more blood sugar friendly dish.
Adding in lean protein from chicken breast and eggs along with lots of non-starchy vegetables can be a great way to make a filling fried rice recipe that has less impact on your blood sugar levels. Get the recipe
Calories: 302g Carbs: 7g Protein: 30g Fat: 17g Fiber: 2g
Low Carb Baked Feta Rice
Adding RightRice as the base to this lower carb baked feta rice dish not only helps to reduce the carb content, but it adds a beneficial source of fiber and vegetables as well.
This recipe contains 24 grams carbs and 4 grams of fiber per serving compared to the original viral TikTok baked feta pasta version, which I estimated contained about 55 carbs and 2 fiber per serving size. A big saving in carbs and calories without sacrificing flavor one bit! Get the recipe
Calories: 238 Carbs: 24g Protein: 10g Fat: 11g Fiber: 4g
Carrot Ice Cream
This healthy carrot ice cream is a low-carb, luscious treat that won’t spike your blood sugar like traditional ice cream. One half-cup serving is approximately 9 grams of carbohydrates– half of what a typical serving of ice cream has!
Using full fat coconut milk provides the perfect balance of fat to keep you full and satisfied while slowing down the digestion of the carbohydrates.
Sweetened with a touch of maple syrup and carrots, this diabetes-friendly dessert is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth without sending your blood sugar sky-high. Get the recipe
Calories: 140 Carbs: 9g Protein: 1g Fat: 12g Fiber: 1g
Low Carb Blondie Mug Cake
Almond flour gives this blondie mug cake recipe a brownie-like texture with less carbohydrates (and more fiber) than traditional flour. And since this flour is higher in protein, it helps to keep you feeling full longer while promoting stable blood sugar levels as well. Get the recipe
Calories: 209 Carbs: 13g Protein: 14g Fat: 12g Fiber: 2g
Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake
Not only is this Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake low in sugar, it is also packed with ingredients that help control your blood sugar. Almond milk, peanut butter, greek yogurt, and cocoa fill this creamy milkshake with 14 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and healthy fats to keep you full for longer and satisfy your sweet tooth without any added sugars. Get the recipe
Calories: 209 Carbs: 12g Protein:14 g Fat: 15g Fiber: 3g
The bottom line:
Lifestyle and diet changes are crucial for managing or improving insulin resistance. Consuming meals high in lean protein, fiber-rich grains, fruits and vegetables while limiting saturated fat, sodium and added sugars can help manage or reverse insulin resistance.
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