8 lunch meal ideas for fighting diabetes

Planning your lunchtime meals can be a challenge. Here are a few healthy foods you can choose for lunch to help keep your diabetes under control.

Dairy foods are especially important if you have diabetes, but full-fat cheese has a shortcoming. It's loaded with saturated fat. That makes blood sugar control more difficult by making insulin sensitivity worse.

Avocados are high in monounsaturated fats, which help you control your blood sugar and protect your heart. Their creamy richness is similar to cheese. You don't need to eliminate cheese from your diet completely. Just go for lower-fat forms like part-skim mozzarella when you don't want to substitute it altogether.

There's nothing wrong with two slices of lean lunch meat, like roast turkey or lean ham. But most store-bought sandwiches contain at least twice that much meat  along with mayonnaise and cheese.

Make it at home (or custom-order it at the deli) for a healthier option. Keep the meat lean (no salami or pepperoni!) and modest, and pile on the veggies. Don't stop at lettuce and tomato. Other great sandwich inserts are cucumbers, onions, bean sprouts and roasted red or yellow peppers.

It's another fantastic sandwich filler and a great opportunity to eat your beans. Spread it onto a veggie or chicken sandwich for extra protein and fibre.

To make your own hummus, pour a can of garbanzo beans into a blender and add 15 millilitres (a tablespoon) of olive oil and two cloves of chopped garlic. Add lemon juice to taste and blend. Traditionally, hummus is made with tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds. But it's not necessary (and it adds a lot of fat). Keep your portion size to 30 or 45 grams (two or three tablespoons).

Use water-packed tuna — not oil-packed — in sandwiches and on salads. Albacore tuna contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which fight inflammation and help prevent disease.

Mustard has none of the fat that mayo has. Fifteen grams (one tablespoon) of yellow mustard has about 10 calories, compared to 100 calories in the same amount of mayo.

Toss slices of oranges, grapefruit, nectarines, apples, strawberries or blueberries to salads dressed with a vinaigrette. For a protein boost, sprinkle with roasted walnuts or almonds.

Lentils are rich in protein. If you're not already eating them, open a can of lentil soup and enjoy a small bowl with your salad or sandwich. Or pair a meal with lentil salad. Lentils cook quickly and you don't need to soak them first. Their soluble fibre content allows them to digest slowly, so they have a blunting effect on your blood sugar.

Add protein to large salads to keep you full longer. Beans are perfect. They add protein and fibre to your lunch. Try kidney beans, chickpeas or black beans (especially good if you're adding avocado to your salad). Rinse them well before using to cut down on salt.

Tip: Buy a sandwich grill

Sometimes a hot sandwich is more satisfying than a cold one, even if it contains the same number of calories. Panini grills toast sandwiches nicely and melt any cheese you've added. Try cooked chicken breast with tomato and spinach (add a little part-skim mozzarella if you like) or lean, low-salt ham and low-fat Brie.