MEAL PLANNING
Carbohydrate Counting with Filipino Foods

sics
The Ba
How many
carbohydrates are
allowed at a meal?
FILIPINO CUISINE
Carbohydrate counting is a meal planning method for people
with diabetes. It allows you to manage diabetes through diet.
Wh a t a re ca rb o h y d r a t e s?
arbohydrates are the
primary fuel of the body.
They can be found in
starchy foods, such as breads,
cereals, and grains, like brown
and white rice. Other major
sources of carbohydrates are
fruit, juice, milk, and yogurt.
They are also in beans and
vegetables. Another name for
carbohydrates are “carbs.”
C
When you eat foods that
contain carbohydrates, your
body breaks down
carbohydrates into glucose.
This leads to rising sugar levels
in your blood. By monitoring
the amount of carbohydrates
you eat, you can have better
control over your blood sugar
levels.
You and your healthcare
provider, usually a certified
diabetes educator or a dietitian,
will be able to set up an
individual plan. However, it is
typically 30-45 grams of
carbohydrate for females and
45-60 grams of
carbohydrate for males
at a meal.
What is one
carbohydrate
choice?
One carbohydrate choice is a
serving of food that is equal to
15 grams of carbohydrate. In
order to determine the amount
of carbohydrates you are eating,
you will need to refer to the
food label. The food label will
tell you the serving size and the
amount of total carbohydrate
per serving. The following
pages provide a quick reference
of Filipino and American foods
that are equivalent to one
carbohydrate choice, unless
otherwise specified.
Copyright  2012 San Jose State University
Carbohydrate Counting Food List
One carbohydrate choice is 15 grams of carbohydrate.
An asterisk (*) means the food contains extra fat or is prepared with added fat.
Breads:
Cereals & Grains:
Starchy Vegetables:
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
1 oz Bagel, plain
1/2 C Cereal, Bran
1/3 C Cassava
1 slice Bread, white or wheat
(1 oz)
1/2 C Cereal, Sugar-coated
1/2 C Corn (5 oz of cob)
1/2 C Cereal, Oatmeal,
cooked
1/2 C Peas, green
1/3 Brioche with cheese (1 oz)
(Ensaymada with queso)*
1/4 Brioche with cheese and
coconut strings (1 oz)
(Ensaymada with queso
and macapuno)*
1/2 English muffin (1 oz)
2 Tbsp Flour, Glutinous rice
2 Tbsp Flour, Rice
1/2 C Noodles, cooked:
Bean thread (Sotanghon),
Egg noodles (Canton),
Rice noodles (Bihon)
1/3 C Plantain, sliced, raw
1/2 C Potatoes, boiled w/o skin
1/3 C Taro, sliced, cooked
1 C Winter Squash (Kalabasa)
1/2 C Yam or Sweet Potato,
cubed, cooked
1/3 C Pasta, cooked
1 Breakfast/Dinner Roll (1 oz)
(Pan de Sal)
1 Sweet Roll (1 oz)
(Pan de Leche)
1/3 C Rice, Glutinous rice/
Sweet rice, cooked
1/3 C Rice, White or Brown,
cooked
1/2 of Sponge cake (1 oz)
(Mamon)
Tip: Try to make at least 1/2 of
your breads/grains whole.
Whole grains provide many
nutrients and dietary fiber.
Examples: Whole wheat pan
de sal, brown rice, and whole
wheat pasta
Copyright  2012 San Jose State University
Carbohydrate Counting Food List
One carbohydrate choice is 15 grams of carbohydrate.
An asterisk (*) means the food contains extra fat or is prepared with added fat.
Non-starchy
Vegetables :
5 g of carbohydrate is
1/2 C Cooked Vegetables OR
1 C Raw Vegetables
(1 1/2 cups of cooked vegetables
OR
3 cups of raw vegetables
is 15 g of carbohydrate = 1
carbohydrate choice)
Examples:
Artichoke, Asparagus, Baby
Corn, Bamboo Shoots, Bok
Choy, Bitter Gourd
(Ampalaya), Bottle Gourd/
Calabash (Opo), Broccoli,
Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery,
Chayote, Chinese Broccoli,
Cucumber, Eggplant, Green
Beans, Green Cabbage,
Green Onions, Green Papaya,
Hearts of Palm, Jicama, Mung
Bean Sprouts, Mushrooms,
Napa Cabbage, Okra, Onions,
Oriental Radish/Daikon
(Labanos), Pea Pods,
Spinach, Swamp Cabbage
(Kangkong), Tomato, Tomato
Sauce, Water Chestnuts,
Yardlong beans/String beans
(Sitao), Yellow Squash,
Zucchini
Tip: Non-starchy vegetables
are high in fiber and low in
carbohydrates
Fruits & Juices:
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
Fruits
1/2 Papaya or 1 C cubed
1 Peach, medium
1 Pear, large
1 Apple, small
1/2 Persimmon, 2-1/2 diameter
1 Banana, extra small (<6”)
3/4 C Pineapple, fresh
3/4 C Blueberries, fresh
2 Plums, small
1/4 C Breadfruit
1 C Pummelo sections
1 C cubed Cantaloupe/Honey
Dew
1 C Raspberries
12 pieces Cherries, fresh
1/4 Coconut meat, medium
sized, young (Buko)
2 Tbsp Dried Fruits
(blueberries, cherries,
cranberries, mixed fruit,
raisins)
1/4 C Durian, chopped, fresh
or frozen
1/2 C Fruit cocktail, canned in
extra light syrup
1/2 Grapefruit, large
17 pieces Grapes, small
3/4 C Guava
1 Kiwi
1 1/2 Mandarin oranges
(tangerines), small
1/2 Mango, small or 1/2 C
2 C Starfruit
1 1/3 C Strawberries, whole
1 1/3 C Watermelon, cubes or
balls
Juices
1/2 C Apple juice
1/2 C Canned Calamansi Juice
Drink
1/2 C Canned Coconut Juice
Drink with pulp
1 3/4 C Coconut Water, fresh
from coconut
1/2 C Guava nectar
1/2 C Mango, nectar
1/2 C Orange juice
1/2 C Pineapple juice
1/3 C Prune juice
1 Nectarine, small
1 Orange, small
Copyright  2012 San Jose State University
Carbohydrate Counting Food List
One carbohydrate choice is 15 grams of carbohydrate.
An asterisk (*) means the food contains extra fat or is prepared with added fat.
Milk
Combination Foods
Combination Foods
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
Carbohydrate content varies
per food item
Carbohydrate content varies
per food item
1 1/2 Tbsp Condensed/
Sweetened Milk
1/2 C Evaporated milk, non-fat
Approximately 4 g of
Carbohydrate:
Approximately 15 g of
Carbohydrate:
1/2 C Evaporated milk, wholemilk*
4 oz Pan-fried marinated beef
(Beef Tapa)*
5 pieces Meat egg roll
(Lumpia Shanghai) *
1 C Milk 1% or non-fat
1 C Chicken Sinigang
2 pieces Vegetable egg roll
(Vegetable Lumpia)*
1 C Milk 2% or whole milk*
1 C (8oz) Yogurt, Plain, low-fat
or whole milk*
1 C (8oz) Yogurt, Plain, non-fat
1 C Soymilk, Plain or
Light Plain
1/3 C (3 oz) Yogurt with fruit,
low-fat with low calorie
sweetener
1/3 C (3 oz) Yogurt with fruit,
non-fat and low-fat
Approximately 5-7 g of
Carbohydrate:
2 links Breakfast sausage
(Longanisa)*
1 C Chicken soup with ginger
& vegetables (Chicken
Tinola)
Approximately 18 g of
Carbohydrate:
1 C Guisadong Mongo
Approximately 20 g of
Carbohydrate:
1 C Pancit Guisado
Approximately 9 g of
Carbohydrate:
1 C Chicken Arroz Caldo
1 C Oxtail in Peanut Butter
Sauce (Kare-Kare)*
3 oz BBQ Pork (Tocino)*
Approximately 13 g of
Carbohydrate:
1 C Pinakbet
Copyright  2012 San Jose State University
Carbohydrate Counting Food List
One carbohydrate choice is 15 grams of carbohydrate.
An asterisk (*) means the food contains extra fat or is prepared with added fat.
Sweets/Desserts
Snacks
Other
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
Limit intake
15 g carbohydrate
(1 carbohydrate choice)
Carbohydrate content varies
per food item
1 oz (2”x2”) Bibingka Special
1 oz (1.5”x2”) Bibingkang
Malagkit
1 oz Banana chips
1 piece Biscotti (Biscocho)
Approximately 5 g or less of
Carbohydrate:
3/4 oz Cornicks*
1/3 C Coconut Milk*
1 oz (1.5”x2”) Biko
1 oz Corn Chips*
1/2 C Tofu
1 oz (1.5”diam) Carioca*
1/2 oz Dried Mangos
2 oz (2”x2”) Cassava Bibingka
(w/o macapuno sport)
3 Graham crackers
1/8 cup Ginataan
3 C Popcorn, microwaved nonfat or low-fat
2 oz Halo-Halo*
3/4 oz Pretzels
1/2 cake (1 oz) Hopia
2 Rice cakes
2 oz Ice Cream* (Macapuno,
Ube, Halo-Halo, Mango,
Langka)
6 Round-butter crackers*
2 cakes (2”diam) Kutsinta
3 Sky Flakes Crackers*
1.5 oz (2”x2”) Leche Flan*
3/4 oz (9-13 pieces) Snack
Chips (Regular Potato/
Tortilla)*
1.25 oz (1.5”x2”) Maja Mais
1 piece (1 oz) Polvoron*
1.5 pieces (1 oz) Puto mini
cakes
Approximately 9 g of
Carbohydrate:
2 Tbsp Lechon Sauce
Approximately 15 g of
Carbohydrate:
2 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
3/4 oz Shrimp Chips/Crackers*
Free Foods
Less than 5 g Carbohydrate
Artificial Sweeteners/Sugar
Substitutes
1 Tbsp Banana Ketchup
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce (Patis)s
1 Tbsp Ketchup
1/2 piece (1 oz) Turon*
Pepper Sauce (Tabasco)
1 oz (1.5”x2”) Ube Majas
1 Tbsp Salted and Fermented
Shrimp (Bagoong)s
1 Tbsp Soy sauce, regular s or
light
Vinegar
Note: dimensions were
approximated
s high
in sodium
Copyright  2012 San Jose State University
Resources
General diabetes information is available on the American
Diabetes Association’s website: http://www.diabetes.org
Carbohydrate counting resource:
The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Fat Gram Guide, 4th ed.
Lea Ann Holzmeister, RD, CDE.
Available at http://www.shopdiabetes.org
For more information on how to read food labels:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/
NFLPM/ucm274593.htm
Recipes of sweets/desserts and combination foods are
from Violeta A. Noriega’s cookbook, Philippine Recipes
Made Easy. The recipes were analyzed for its
carbohydrate content.
F u n F a c t a b o ut Yar d l on g Be ans (sitao)
1/2 cup is about 5 grams of carbohydrate
Yardlong beans are native to Southern Asia and
currently grow in Asia, Europe, Oceania, and
North America. This plant can potentially
reach up to 9-12 feet in height.
It belongs to legume family and has the ability
to trap atmospheric nitrogen in its roots. With
the aid of bacteria that fix nitrogen, it can make
its own food.
It is a good source of vitamin A, folate,
potassium and fiber. Try putting it in the next
Filipino dish you cook this week.
Copyright  2012 San Jose State University