Health professionals love to give advice about ‘healthy eating’… We see the phrase everywhere. But they rarely say what they mean by it! And often when you are given advice, it’s overly simplistic, patronising, or not culturally aware. So I was delighted to happen across this recipe book for diabetes in pregnancy. It’s called “Tasty recipes when you have gestational diabetes” and was produced by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
NHS Dietary advice in pregnancy is often very white-British centric, so this cookbook is a breath of fresh air! Curated by Laura Bridle, it was created for women and birthing people managing gestational diabetes who enjoy a range of flavours and spices. Hurrah! The project was a partnership between the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK and NHS South East London.
It includes healthy versions of a wide array of international dishes: there’s West African jollof rice, Carribean jerk chicken, South Asian curries, East Asian stir fries, South American chilli, African stews, and European flavours too.
I haven’t been able to find anywhere you can get a physical copy – but the pdf is freely available.
The Britsh Heart Foundation actually has a range of recipes on its website if you’re looking for more inspiration at mealtimes: https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/healthy-eating/recipe-finder
If you’re aware of any other good meal-planning resources, please do post links in the comments!