Gestational Diabetes While Time Poor



Gestational Diabetes can be tough, especially when you don't have a lot of time to dedicate to meal planning and cooking.  This will be talking about strategies and things you can do to make sure you are managing your numbers while still managing your time.  If you don't have time in your day, there's nothing I can say to change that. So I'm not going to be telling you to find the time, I'll talk about what you can do in the little time you do have. 


We will start with preparing meals at home quickly.  There are lots of things you can do to eat quickly while at home or to take things for the road. The first options are ideal for nights you don’t have time or anything prepared and the second part requires some prep work but can be quick after the initial work. 


Quick breakfast options

  • Overnight oats with things like chia seeds and nuts and seeds and see if that works for you.  

  • Greek yogurt with fruit and granola.  

  • Half a bagel or a slice of toast with cream cheese or peanut butter

  • Low Gi Cereal- make sure to add some fat and protein with greek yogurt, or an egg on the side. 


Prep Ahead Breakfast options 

  • Quiche, just pop a portion into the microwave in the mornings.

  • Egg Muffins (Quiche batter in muffin tins)

  • Hard-boiled eggs


For quick lunch options:

  • Open-faced sandwiches

  • Smoothies: limit the fruit and add some form of protein, such as nut butter or protein powder. 

  • Mix a can of tuna with some mayo and add to a bagged salad for a quick tuna salad

  • Low carb tortilla or lettuce wrap


Prep Ahead lunch options

  • Dinner leftovers

  • Salad



Quick dinner options: 


  • Baked meat and veggies.  I would dice potatoes, put those on a tray, and place in the oven. Then turn the oven to 400F/200C to preheat.  While the oven preheats dice meat and veggies into bite-sized pieces and then pull out some seasonings and oil.  Once the oven is preheated, pull the potatoes out of the oven and add the meat and veggies.  Sprinkle with oil and seasonings, toss everything to coat and place back in the oven for 10 minutes.  The whole process should take less than 20 minutes. 

  • Breakfast for dinner- while you might not have time to cook breakfast, scrambling eggs is a quick dinner

  • Spaghetti is a quick option, just measure or weigh out your portion of pasta. 



Fast food restaurants and drive-throughs are a great time-saver, but more complicated when you are trying to eliminate carbs.  Most fast-food restaurants now days have salad options.  Picking a salad when available is a great way to lower carbs. With the toppings and salad dressing, fast-food salads will probably meet your mealtime carb allotment.  Another option is to get a burger or a sandwich without the top bun. Or without eating the top bun.  This will take away a lot of carbs.  Skip the fries/chips.  As much as I hate to say it and do it, fast-food chips have a lot of carbs and it probably best to avoid it.  They do not come in portioned control amounts and you are probably getting a lot of carbs from the reset of your meal.  Another option that would like you to have some chips is to get just meat and chips.  If the restaurant has chicken nuggets that would be a good option with small chips, or with a side of fruit. 


Takeaways are another quick option that many people utilize a lot.  Your options depend greatly on what type of takeaway you choose.  You might be surprised at how many take away options have no carbs or very low carbs.  Anything that is just meat or fish and vegetables will be a no-carb option.  A lot of places you can get meat and vegetables with a side of potatoes or rice and have that for your carbs.  Another option is salads. A lot of takeaways have really good salads  Otherwise, your best option is to take a quick look at the menu and see if they have carb counts.  Look for items that are lower GI or that you know you react to safely.  Basmati rice is generally ok if they have it.  Options with whole wheat pasta or noodles are better than normal noodles. 


Although it can seem daunting, there are lots of ways to prepare food with Gestational Diabetes that does not take a lot of time and can fit into your existing schedule. I hope this gave you a few ideas.  




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