First comes the bad news about food and preventing Type 2 diabetes.

“Unfortunately, there is no magic food or food combination that can help prevent Type 2 diabetes,” says Vandana Sheth, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes educator in Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Now, the good news: There are a lot of healthy and tasty food options to boost your overall health. Combine improvements to your diet with physical activity and weight loss when appropriate, and you can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

[See: The 12 Best Diets to Prevent and Manage Diabetes.]

When it comes to food choices, the trick is balancing protein, healthy carbohydrates and fat, dietitians say. This combination helps you stay full longer without spiking your blood sugar too high.

“When we consistently take in large amounts of calories, our body has mechanisms to process all of this material, which works well in the short term but over the long haul can reduce insulin sensitivity and eventually wear out our insulin-making cells,” says Scott Keatley, a registered dietitian with Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy in New York. “By having a diet in balance, we can avoid many of these long-term issues.”

Balance also means watching both the quality and quantity of what you eat. To help measure quality, dietitians are fans of the ChooseMyPlate.gov approach. ChooseMyPlate.gov advocates a plate that is half-filled with nonstarchy vegetables and fruit, a quarter-filled with protein and a quarter-filled with healthy carbohydrates. (Read on for some ideas to build such a meal.)

Calories are also important — after all, excess calories mean excess weight, which raises your risk for Type 2 diabetes. However, it’s even more important that you make quality, filling food choices. For instance, you might have eggs and whole wheat toast for breakfast or opt for a sugary cereal, and both choices could have the same calorie count, says Despina Hyde Gandhi, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at NYU Langone’s Weight Management Program in New York. Of course, the first choice is the better option to help prevent diabetes.

If you regularly combine protein, healthy carbs and a little fat, you’ll stay full longer and be less likely to overeat.

Here are some tasty food ideas that can promote better health and help reduce your risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Steel-cut oatmeal with peanut butter and fruit. If you’re eating just oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, your body will process that much more quickly than if you add a protein source like peanut butter, says Lori Zanini, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator in Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Drinks with no added sugar. Drinks with added sugar are popular nowadays but can add extra calories and little nutrition, says Cara Lowenthal, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. From flavored coffee drinks with whipped cream to sodas, it’s all too easy to suck down too much sugar with your beverages. Stick with water and flavored seltzer to hydrate. For your morning cup of joe, you can add a little regular milk if needed, Zanini suggests.

A hearty salad. If you’re already eating salad frequently, think for a minute about what it contains. Is it just greens and dressing? Or do you add nuts, beans or grilled shrimp? A hearty salad that combines veggies with protein sources as well as a dressing like vinegar and olive oil is a more filling approach than greens alone. Another idea: a caprese salad that combines ripe tomatoes, basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper and olive oil. The lycopene in tomatoes acts as an antioxidant to help reduce inflammation. “The mozzarella and olive oil have fat in them, but this will help you to feel full longer,” Keatley says.

[See: Your Plant-Based Diet Needs These 10 Foods.]

Snacks that combine protein, healthy carbs and fat. Some ideas to consider:

— Hard-boiled eggs.

— A sandwich with whole-grain bread, lots of lettuce and tomatoes, 3 ounces of lean chicken, mustard and avocado.

— Veggies and hummus.

— Almonds or walnuts.

— Greek yogurt.

— A piece of fruit and some nuts or a string cheese.

— Cottage cheese and fruit.

— A slide of whole grain bread and peanut butter or almond butter.

Beans. From garbanzo beans to hummus to edamame, beans are a nutritional superstar you can add to many meals. They provide healthy carbohydrates to the body and are a source of protein. Add them to salads, combine hummus with veggies and munch on edamame when you’re on the go.

Whole wheat bread. Surprisingly, bread can have hidden sugar, Zanini says. However, whole wheat bread, where the first ingredient listed is 100 percent whole wheat flour, is less likely to have a lot of sugar. It also provides fiber and will not spike your blood sugar like white bread does.

Haddock lightly covered with panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs). “The haddock is an incredibly lean protein, and most of the fat in the fish is the good kind — omega-3 fatty acids,” Keatley says. He advises combining the haddock with sliced lemon and asparagus, which are both loaded with vitamin C and fiber, to help keep glucose levels from spiking. Other good dinnertime vegetables that contain vitamins and fiber include broccoli, string beans and cauliflower, Lowenthal says.

[See: 8 Food Combinations to Embrace (and 3 to Avoid).]

Grilled pear halves with ricotta cheese and honey. This could be an awesome after-meal indulgence. “Pears are some of the most fiber-rich fruits, reducing the spiking of glucose. Combined with the cheese and honey, they give a feeling of fullness that will last the entire night,” Keatley says. For your sweet tooth, berries are also a good choice. They’re low in sugar and great for you, Zanini says.

A small dessert item. When you think about diabetes, you naturally may think about avoiding sugar. There’s naturally occurring sugar in a number of foods, and it’s not realistic to avoid sugar completely in the long term, Gandhi says. For this reason, she tells clients that if they are going to have a dessert, they should set a limit on how much they’ll consume. For example, a 100-calorie serving can still allow a cookie or three Hershey’s kisses. “That way, they don’t feel deprived,” Gandhi says.

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9 Foods to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes originally appeared on usnews.com