Some things just make sense in a diabetic kitchen… like cookbooks that are filled with healthy, balanced recipes that won’t spike your blood sugar.

Meal times contribute to 56% of our blood sugar levels during waking hours. Which is why making easy-to-bolus-for meals KEY if you’re striving for non-diabetic numbers as a T1D.
I own every single one of these cookbooks and regularly give them out as gifts to family and friends because the recipes in them are SO GOOD, SO SIMPLE, and SO NUTRITIOUS… for everyone, not just people with diabetes.
These are not diabetic cookbooks. I don’t like diabetic cookbooks.
Why I Don’t Like “Diabetic Cookbooks”
Diabetic cookbooks focus on one thing, and one thing only: carbohydrates. And while, yes, carbs are a BIG variable when it comes to bolusing for a meal, when your only focus is to have a recipe with as little carbs or sugar as possible you lose sight of the bigger picture… nutrient density, how the macros are balanced, what foods are in season, and FIBER!
Not to mention that a lot of diabetic cookbooks lean heavy on overly processed, denatured foods. Which only ends up hurting our endocrine system in the long run.
What I Do Look for in a Cookbook, Being a Type 1 Diabetic
Instead of looking for “diabetic cookbooks” I look for cookbooks that focus on a few things:
- REAL FOOD: Get your stevia and monk fruit sweeteners out of here. I look for whole food ingredients, like “ground beef”, “carrots”, “butter”, etc.
- SIMPLE: If there are more than 20 ingredients I don’t want any part of it. And if the directions take up an entire page…. Thank you, NEXT!
- NUTRIENT DENSITY OVER FLUFF: Chia seed puddings and pancakes make drool-worthy photos, i’ll admit that, but those foods are just fluff. I want my recipe books to be packed with nutrient dense soups & stews, sheet pan recipes that allow for seasonal veggies, and casseroles or burgers that focus on protein.
- SAUCES, RUBS, & MARINADES: Sometimes my family’s favorite dinners are a simple marinated hunk of meat with sauteed veggies. I feel like though these recipes are rarely in cookbooks. But when they are, I know I’ve found a good one!
The Cookbooks
The Wellness Mama Cookbook
by Katie Wells
One of the things I love about Katies cookbook is how protein focused it is. For example, her breakfast section, which most other peoples breakfast sections should really be called dessert, is packed with savory, protein rich recipes like crustless ham quiche, bacon & eggs salad, west Texas omelet, and breakfast sausage balls! And she has some surprising flavor combinations that are to die for…like putting a dollop of cream cheese on her sweet potato shepherd's pie (I'm already drooling). Trust me when I say, it’s delicious!
BONUS: Her son co-authored a kids cookbook which I mention down below, so check that one out too!
Paleo Power Bowls
by Julia Mueller
I have gifted this book several times to family and friends because the recipes are customizable to fit any diet. If you eat more carnivore, then double the meat. If you eat more plant based, double the veggies. Don’t love seafood, swap it out for chicken. That’s the beauty of bowl meals and this book is ALL bowls. Plus there is a photo to go with every recipe - I just LOVE that! !
Cauliflower Power
by Linday Freedman
Lindsay is one of my favorite recipe creators of all time. If you check out her food blog you’ll see that she mostly shares her baking creations, however she is also a super talented cook. Her cookbook Cauliflower Power is a goldmine for healthy recipes that are packed with flavor. Her typical recipes go very light on the protein so we always double the meat portion - and for her meatless recipes we just add our favorite meat.
Franklin Steak Cookbook
by Aaron Franklin & Jordan Mackay
This is an excellent book about the different cuts of steak, when to use what cuts, how to cook them, how to slice them, and more. If you’ve ever spent a lot of money on a steak before, only to cook it and have it chew like leather, then you know the importance of knowing what kind of steak you have and how to cook & slice it.
Chef Junior
by Bartlett, Dessigner, Kimball, Langford, and Spears
What I love about this book is how fun & simple the recipes are. These kids have taken super basic, whole food ingredients and turned them into flavor bombs. Some of our favorite recipes from the book are avocado chicken salad, egg drop soup, cheeseburger casserole, and coconut chicken nuggets. They have so many staples in here too like a recipe for jam, how to make popcorn, granola, and guacamole.
Paleo Sweets
by Kelsey Ale
My son found this gem of a cookbook at our local library book sale. Talk about finding buried treasure! I’m honestly shocked that someone would let this out of their kitchen! The desserts are so creative, use whole foods over processed baked goods, and aren’t overly sweet.
For the Love of Popsicles
by Sarah Bond
Talk about creativity! The flavor combinations that Sarah comes up with for these popsicles are so ridiculously good. And there are SO MANY different recipes here. Everything from fruity, to cookie flavors, to minty/tea pops and more. I had no idea popsicles could be so diverse. Sarah gets T1D BONUS POINTS for this cookbook because she gives the carb counts for each recipe.
That's a Wrap on Diabetic Cookbooks
I’ve always found that the best diabetic cookbooks aren’t diabetic cookbooks at all. Instead they are cookbooks that focus on real whole foods over processed foods and nutrient density over fluff because that is the real needle mover when it comes to having a healthy blood sugar response to both food and insulin.
Do you have a favorite cookbook like this? Share it in the comments!
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i have the same feelings about “diabetes cookbooks”. I just added a couple of these to my Amazon cart, they look amazing! thank you!
Awesome! You’re going to love them!
I have the Cauliflower Power cookbook and i can attest to its greatness it’s my most highly used cookbook – i make something from there WEEKLY.
right?! same!