Hi, 2 months ago I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic.  My doctor wasn't all that great in handling the situation and I was basically too scared to eat anything for the first few weeks.  I didn't know what to eat, or what not to eat.  My diet up until then was the worst kind for a diabetic.  My first few sug tests were all over 350.  The first tip I recieved was whole wheat bread.  So I ate Subway for the first 2 weeks until I was able to get into a nutritionists office.  After that, everything became SO much better!  A few tips I recieved, and would like to share for anyone newly diabetic and not sure what to do are as follows: 

Quaker Oatmeal(not that instant junk) is a great breakfast.  A half a cup of oatmeal, an ounce of raisins, and about 3/4 tbsp of Agave Nectar for a sweetener is delicious.  Agave has a low glycemic index so it won't spike your sugar and the whole grain oats take longer to break down into sugar in your system.

Any and all breads should be Whole Wheat.  Do not touch anything made from white flour.  For lunch, Organic peanut butter with Polaner's fruit spread is pretty good. 

Also, I saw someone mention Stevia in an earlir post.  I've tried it and I consider it edible.  not as good as sugar or some artificial sweeteners, but it is healthier and the taste isn't bad.  But to each their own.  Try it, worst thing that happens is you wasted 5 dollars on the box.   Also look at the panel on the box.  There should be just about nothing in it.  Its an organic leaf, no sugar, carbs, or anything else.

Another favorite of mine is whole wheat pasta.  I love pastas.  I can't live without them.  Barilla Plus is my personal favorite, but there are plenty of others out there.

And the brown eggs in Stop n Shop with Omega-3's are great also.  Tasty and good for you. 

My nutritionist said to get ground flax seed and add it to just about every meal.  Tasteless, oderless, and textureless when its ground down.  And I'm pretty sure it adds fiber to the meal.  So don't over do it.

One last thing, if you'll permit me.  Cinnamon is great for controlling blood sugar levels.  I was told to start taking 2000 mg a day.  (I was also told to take 2000 mg of fish oil too)  I found it in CVS in store brand at 500 mg a capsule.  Before I started taking it, I had gottem my blood sugar to level off around 160 in the morning.  After a few days taking the cinnamon, my levels dropped below 120 every morning, and I haven't had any problems.

I know I'm new and I've probably stated things people already knew, but I help just one person take control of their illness, than I feel justified in writing this long, long post.  If I have helped, please let me know.

Enjoy!

Greg

P.S. The Agave Nectar is awesome!

Hi greg... I'm also type 2, for about 3 years now.  I've learned that (for me) the glycemic index is about the best thing to use to determine which carbs and in what combinations.  When I first visited a nutritionist, she told me stick to about 30-45 carbs per meal and about 15 carbs per snack.  Which works great, but sometimes I want more.  I've found that adding a protein and/or fat to the snack lets me eat a few more carbs (like adding peanut butter to a bagle, for instance).

Also, I'm a huge bread lover, so that was really hard to control for me.  I've also learned that sour dough bread and seeded rye bread have the lowest glycemic index of all, and I never have problems with either of these two, even if I go over the actual number of carb grams.  Something about what makes it sour is thought to be the thing that helps. 

I suggest you go to the dlife site for zillions of tips and lots of information on the subject, also many forums with other diabetics and also you can sign up for an email weekly magazine.  Good luck!