By Marilyn Helton

Single Serving Diabetic Friendly Recipes Morning Rush Hour Burrito Fiber Rich French Toast Stuffed Red Pepper Basic Seasoned Ground Beef Tangy Apricot Chicken Broiled Vegetable Sandwich Heavenly Parfait Peach Melba Cobbler Click here for Lots More Diabetic Friendly Recipes!

For many older people, eating well becomes increasingly challenging for a number of reasons: Senses of smell, taste, and touch may decline gradually with age; medications or health conditions might alter flavor perceptions; and cooking for just one or two is often hard to adjust. You may find yourself eating what's at hand rather than preparing three nutritious meals a day.

Many supermarkets now have their own salad bars, which are life-savers when you're cooking for one or two. No more wilted or moldy produce -- you can buy small portions of fresh vegetables and fruits and avoid the waste that comes from throwing away half a head of lettuce or other produce that has gone bad. Use salad bars to provide vegetables for small stir-fry dishes, salads, soups, stews and casseroles. (Note from Cheri: Be sure to check out Mrs. Green's Extra Life discs -- safe and all natural, they extend the life of produce in your refrigerator.)

Although single servings purchased from the supermarket usually cost more than the large economy size, you can also take advantage of the larger, lower cost packages by buying them and repackaging them at home. The nutrition label tells you the number and size of servings in a package, so divide the contents into serving units accordingly.

Other simple, inexpensive ways to boost nutrition and flavor in smaller meals include: adding diced vegetables to canned soup during cooking; spreading lowfat Italian dressing on a skinless chicken breast or lowfat ranch dressing on fish before baking or broiling; marinating single servings of vegetables overnight in a lowfat vinaigrette dressing; or boiling vegetables for pasta in low-sodium bouillon instead of water. And finally, look for recipes and cookbooks designed for those who are cooking for only one or two people.

Since May is Older Americans Month, we've decided to recognize our nation's seniors with a recipe sampler from Quick & Easy Diabetic Recipes for One by Kathleen Stanley, CDE, RD, MSED and Connie C. Crawley, MS, RD, LD, ©1997 by The American Diabetes Association, Inc.

If you want more information on healthy eating, you can request a free copy of AICR's brochure, Cooking Solo, by sending a self-addressed, stamped (56 cents), business-sized envelope to: American Institute for Cancer Research, Dept. SA, P.O. Box 97167, Washington, DC 20090-7167.

Enjoy!

Marilyn

IMPORTANT NOTE!!! We DO use small amounts of refined sugar per serving in our recipes, which is in keeping with the revised guidelines for people with diabetes, issued by the American Diabetes Association Committee On Nutrition in 1994. We strongly urge that you check with your physician, health care team, primary diabetes health care provider, or registered dietitian or nutritionist on how to incorporate our recipes, or any recipes from our cookbook reviews, into your daily meal plan. Please Note: Recipes with refined sugar may not be suitable for ALL diabetics. Your blood sugars should be under control and your daily meal plan MUST include the carbohydrate allowances per serving for each recipe containing refined sugar.

Marilyn Helton is a regular contributor to Fabulous Foods as well as the Diabetic Gourmet. She firmly believe that a diabetes diagnosis does not have to mean a culinary death sentence. Click here to visit Marilyn's website Cinnamon Hearts for more diabetic recipes and information.