Somali Diet Carbohydrate Counting Common Foods in the Somali Diet

Somali Diet Carbohydrate Counting Common foods in the Somali diet

You will need to count the total grams of carbohydrates your child eats at each meal or snack. You will also give your child insulin before eating the meal or snack with carbohydrates. The amount of insulin you will give your child will be based on an insulin to carbohydrate ratio given to you by your child’s doctor. This is how to keep your child’s blood sugar in a healthy range. Listed below are the grams of carbohydrates in common Somali foods.

What supplies do I It is important that you have the tools you will need to estimate need to count carbohydrate in your child’s diet. You will need: carbohydrates? • Measuring cups • Measuring spoons • Food scale that can measure in grams or ounces

Starches and Lentils or beans (½ cup = 20 gm carbohydrate) Grains Bread (1 slice or 1 oz = 15 gm carbohydrate) Cereal (Look at the nutrition facts label for each brand) Rice (1 cup cooked = 45 gm carbohydrate) Spaghetti pasta (1 cup cooked = 45 gm carbohydrate) Injera (100 gm = 33 gm carbohydrate) Oatmeal (1 cup cooked = 25 gm carbohydrate) All purpose/Teff/Corn flour/Millet (1 cup = 88 gm carbohydrate)

Fruits Apple (small 4 oz = 15 gm carbohydrate) Banana (8 inches long = 30 gm carbohydrate) Dates (0.8 oz pitted dates = 18 gm carbohydrate) Grapes (1 grape = 1 gm carbohydrate) Mango (7 oz = 35 gm carbohydrate) Orange (4.6 oz medium orange = 15 gm carbohydrate) Papaya (5 oz = 15 gm carbohydrate) Peach (3.5 oz = 10 gm carbohydrate) Pear (5 oz = 22 gm carbohydrate) Strawberry (1 medium strawberry = 1 gm carbohydrate) Watermelon (10 oz = 22 gm carbohydrate)

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To Learn More Free Interpreter Services • Nutrition • In the hospital, ask your nurse. 206-987-4758 • From outside the hospital, call the • Ask your child’s healthcare provider toll-free Family Interpreting Line, 1-866-583-1527. Tell the interpreter • seattlechildrens.org the name or extension you need.

Somali Diet Carbohydrate Counting

Vegetables Broccoli (1 cup = 5 gm carbohydrate) Carrot (1 cup = 5 gm carbohydrate) Cucumber (1 cup = 5 gm carbohydrate) Garlic (0 gm carbohydrate) Lettuce (1 cup = 5 gm carbohydrate) Onion (0 gm carbohydrate) Potato (1 cup = 30 gm carbohydrate) Spinach (1 cup = 5 gm carbohydrate) Tomato (1 cup raw or ½ cup cooked/pureed = 5 gm carbohydrate)

Dairy Milk (8 ounce or 1 cup = 12 gm carbohydrate) Yogurt (6 ounce or ¾ cup) = 15 gm carbohydrate) Buttermilk (8 ounce or 1 cup) = 13 gm carbohydrate) Cheese (1 ounce or 1 slice = 0 to 1 gm carbohydrate)

Meat All 0 gm carbohydrate. • Beef • Chicken • Fish • Goat meat

Fats All 0 gm carbohydrate. • Use oils, butter, and other fats in moderation • Fats and oils do not add any carbohydrate to the diet

Sweets Sugar (1 tablespoon = 12 gm carbohydrate; 1 cup = 200 gm carbohydrate) Honey (1 tablespoon = 17 gm carbohydrate) Jam or jelly (1 tablespoon = 14 gm carbohydrate) Regular syrup (1 tablespoon = 14 gm carbohydrate) Lite syrup (1 tablespoon = 6 gm carbohydrate)

Beverages Black tea without milk or sugar (0 gm carbohydrate) Milk (1 cup = 12 gm carbohydrate) Fruit juices (½ cup = 15 gm carbohydrate) Soda (1 can or 12 oz = 39 gm carbohydrate) Qaxwa (coffee made from shell of coffee bean with ginger = 0 gm carbohydrate)

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Homemade items To figure out how much carbohydrate there is in homemade breads (such as injera, roti, malawa, burkaki, maghumri, and sambusa) follow these steps: 1. Use measuring cups to measure the amount of flour and other ingredients such as sugar or milk in the recipe. 2. Add up the total amount of carbohydrate in the recipe. 3. Divide the total by how many portions the recipe makes.

Example: 5 cups of corn flour = 440 gm carbohydrate 2 Tablespoons of salt = 0 gm of carbohydrate 6 cups water = 0 gm of carbohydrate 1 tablespoon of yeast = 5 gm carbohydrate

Total carbohydrate = 445 gm The recipe makes 8 servings. There are 445 gm carbohydrates for 8 servings. This equals 56 gm carbohydrate per serving. (445 grams divided by 8).

Spices do not add a significant amount of carbohydrate to the diet.

Seattle Children’s offers interpreter services for Deaf, hard of hearing or non-English speaking patients, family members and legal representatives free of charge. Seattle Children’s will make this information available in alternate formats upon request. Call the 3/19 Family Resource Center at 206-987-2201. This handout has been reviewed by clinical staff at Seattle Children’s. However, your child’s PE1413 needs are unique. Before you act or rely upon this information, please talk with your child’s healthcare provider.

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