There are some guidelines you should follow to make sure your meals are healthy and you should keep an eye on fats, sodium and carbohydrates it possible avoid frying foods instead, broil, boil, or roast. Before cooking, remove the fatty portions of meat and take the skin off of chicken. Use broths and other food items that are low in saturated fats and sodium. Use non-stick frying pans so you can cut down on the amount of oil used. Substitute vegetarian meals in place of meat based meals on occasion and substitute certain fruits in place of ice cream and chocolate sweets. Use skimmed milk and other non fat dairy products and fat free dressing on salads or use yogurt as a salad dressing.
You can use an artificial sweetener instead such as splenda or cut the sugar back to about 1/4 as much as you would normally use. This may not work with sweets and other desserts and those should be eliminated except for diabetic desserts. Artificial sweeteners have their own drawbacks but can be used in recipes where sugar is not needed to create the right texture, color or moisture level.
It is also important that you use measuring spoons and measuring cups when you cook for a diabetic and measure out portion sizes accurately. Cooking for someone with diabetes can be a challenge but there are many cookbooks on the market today, it is getting much easier to make healthy and tasty meals. You can easily find diabetic dessert recipes and recipes for holiday meals as well as everyday eating. The most important is to follow the dietary guidelines as set forth by your doctor since everyone is different and the doctor is the best one to give advice on the proper diabetic menu to follow.