A very healthy, easy and delicious soup, gets ready in few minutes, a satisfying meal and above all a perfect option for diabetic people too. This Thursday my entry for DFT is ZERO OIL OATS AND CELERY SOUP.

This Thursday DFT team brings you variety of healthy, delicious and diabetic friendly soups for all health conscious people. Find all the recipes by other team members at the last of this post.

Diabetes is known to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. So it’s important to maintain a healthy balance between HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol). According to the American Heart Association (AHA), oatmeal is a “heart healthy” food that lowers the levels of LDL.

Oatmeal is more nutritious than many of the other starchy breakfast food choices, such as croissants, donuts, biscuits, or toast. Not only does oatmeal improve cholesterol levels, it has an average GI of only 55, which makes it a low GI food and an ideal choice for the sugar-sensible eater.

Recipe
ZERO OIL OATS AND CELERY SOUP

INGREDIENTS

Serves- 2

Quaker Plain Oats- 1/2 cup
Chopped celery sticks- 2
Chopped Onion- 1 small
Chopped Tomatoes- 2 small
Salt and Pepper- to taste
Garlic powder-1/2 tsp.
Seasoning of your choice ( you can use curry powder or Sriracha , or even chaat masala)
Water- 2 cups

METHOD

• In a large pot or pan, fill water and keep it on flame.
• Add the chopped vegetables and let them boil completely.
• You will notice that onion becomes transparent and celery will becomes soft.
• Now add oats and stir. Put salt, pepper, garlic powder, and stir again.
• Cook the oats for 2-3 minutes and turn off the flame.
• Garnish with cilantro or celery leaves and top it with the seasoning of your choice.
• You can also add lime juice, chili flakes and even mint chutney to make it more flavorful.Enjoy this healthy and appetizing soup in breakfast or lunch.
  Thanks,
  SWATI.
• NOTES
  The glycemic index measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels and is an important factor in controlling diabetes.Oats have a lower glycemic index and help to balance glucose levels for better diabetes control and prevention of related complications. Oatmeal has this effect because it increases the viscosity or thickness of the contents of the stomach, slowing digestion and prolonging the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. This also gives the body a stable, long-term source of energy.Celery is a kind of vegetable which contains rich fibers.
  The rich fibers will help to effectively improve sugar metabolism and increase insulin receptor sensitivity so as to better control blood sugar and reduce insulin doses. Rich calcium provided by celeries can protect blood vessels, intensify bone functions and prevent chondropathy. Eating celeries help to slow down elevation of blood glucose, prevent sharp fluctuations of blood sugar and protect pancreatic functions.
  In addition, celery is also effective in lowering blood lipid levels and preventing cardiovascular diseases in Diabetics. The alkaline substances inside celery have been proven to quiet mood and eliminate irritation in the patients.Diabetes friendly Thrusdays (DFT)is an initiative started by our friend and very talented blogger-cum-photographer-cum-artist-cook Sonal Gupta of Simply vegetarian. It is my pleasure that I got an opportunity to work with her and other talented Bloggers who are now friends in this noble cause. Other DFT Soup recipes are:
  

  Chahat’s recipe

• 

  Sonal’s Recipe

Anupama’s recipe

Shailja’s recipe

Apsara’s recipe

Sarika’s Recipe

Prachi’s recipe

Disclaimer – The recipes and ideas given are just suggestions and conclusions based on my knowledge which I got from internet and some other sources. I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. Please consult your doctor for your personal dietary specifications as needed. I personally liked this initiative as some of my own family members have diabetes too. I will enhance and upgrade my knowledge regarding this disease and try to update more and more diabetic friendly recipes.