Planning for optimum nutrition
If you are looking to add nutritional power to your diet while lowering your food budget, incorporate two diabetes superfoods – legumes and whole grains.
Take one day a month to cook larger batches of grains and legumes and freeze extra portions in plastic bags. Having these portions ready will make it easy to incorporate these superfoods into your meals as side dishes, in soups, in salads or as a vegetarian main dish.
Cooking legumes
Legumes take advance planning since many need to be pre-soaked. The chart below shows approximate soaking and cooking times. One cup of dry beans will yield approximately 3 cups cooked, depending on the variety.
Cooking whole grains 
Whole grains are simple to cook. This whole grains cooking chart gives you a summary of how long it takes to cook each variety.
Bring water to a boil, and then simmer for the times shown. Always use filtered water for cooking.
American Diabetes Association: The Top 10 Diabetes Superfoods
PREPARING LEGUMES
Choose organic dried legumes, and use them within a few months of purchase for the best results. If the beans are older, they will take longer to cook.
• Sort out any dust, dirt or pebbles and rinse beans thoroughly.
• Cover well with 3-to-4 inches of fresh water and soak – do not use salt.
• Rinse and drain the beans after soaking several times. This may also help remove some of the gas-producing properties of beans.
• Cover the beans with 2-to-4 inches of fresh water in a heavy pot. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. To add flavor, include seasonings such as herbs, bay leaves and garlic, or vegetables such as onions.
• While simmering, keep tasting the beans so they do not overcook and become mushy.
• WAIT UNTIL THE BEANS COOL before draining them, then rinse well.
* Season and incorpoate into your recipes.
THE NUTRITIONAL POWER OF WHOLE GRAINS
The term “whole grain” refers to unrefined grain that still contains all 3 parts of the original grain kernel: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.
Refined grains have had the bran and the germ removed, with only the endosperm remaining. This leaves you with only a fraction of the excellent nutrition provided by the whole grain.
When you eat whole grains you are getting:
THE BRAN,
which is packed with antioxidants, B vitamins and fiber
THE GERM,
which contains B vitamins, protein, minerals and healthy fats
THE ENDOSPERM,
which has proteins as well as small amounts of vitamins and minerals
