Controlled Christmas Eating
Christmas for diabetics can include the same foods other people eat, if certain criteria are met. To eat "regular" holiday fare, diabetics must have good control over their blood glucose levels and must understand how to include seasonal foods in their meal plans. Small portions of sweet foods can be substituted for carbohydrate foods in a diabetics food plan and will make Christmas for diabetics more enjoyable. Consult a dietician if you have any questions.
Sugar Substitutes
Some sugar substitutes, like Splenda®, can be used in place of sugar when baking Christmas goodies for diabetics. However, baking with sugar substitutes can cause digestive problems. To minimize digestive complaints, food baked with sugar substitutes should be eaten in small quantities.
Christmas Snacks for Diabetics
Keep a selection of healthy Christmas snacks for diabetics during the holiday season. Healthy snacks are not only diabetic-friendly, but they also can help prevent (or at least minimize) weight gain over the holidays by providing an alternative to less healthy treats. Possible snacks during Christmas for diabetics include:
- breadsticks
- cut vegetables with salsa
- dried fruit
- popcorn
- seasonal fruits
- low-fat cheese cubes.
Keeping Active
Light exercise after meals can help control blood sugar, especially when diabetics inadvertently overeat. A quiet walk before or after Christmas dinner can helps control diabetics' blood sugar levels.
Christmas for Diabetics: Seasonal Recipes
Use the following recipes at your dinners or parties to make Christmas food for diabetics.
Holiday Fruit Squares
(Adapted from "Christmas Fruit Squares" from Diabetic-lifestyles.com)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup spoonable brown sugar substitute
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup dried no sugar added cherries
- 1/2 cup peeled apple, chopped
- 1/3 cup dried figs, chopped
- 1 large egg and 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
- Butter-flavored cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper and spray the paper lightly with the butter flavored cooking spray.
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar substitute, and walnuts together in a large bowl. In a second bowl mix the raisins, cherries, apple and figs. Add the fruit to the flour. Mix well to separate the fruit and coat all the fruit with the flour mix.
Beat the egg, egg white, oil, orange juice and pineapple juice together and add to the flour and fruit, stirring until the mixture is evenly moist.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press down so it forms an even surface. Bake on the middle rack for ten minutes. Cool for ten minutes. Cut into 25 squares and allow to cool completely.
One serving equals two squares and is a diabetic exchange for 1 carbohydrate (fruit) and 1 fat.
No Crust Pumpkin Pie
(Adapted from "Pumpkin Cookie Bars" from Diabetic-lifestyle.com)
- Baking spray
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 16-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin
- 1/4 cup currants
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4 cup one-to-one white sugar substitute
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Spray a 13 by 9 inch pan with baking spray. In a large bowl, mix egg whites, egg substitute, sugar substitute, dry milk, canola oil and pumpkin for approximately two minutes, then stir in the currants.
Combine the salt, flour, baking powder and pumpkin spice. Sift the mixture over the wet ingredients and fold into the mix.
Pour batter into sprayed pan, and bake forty minutes. Cool then cut into 36 pieces. One bar equals one serving, and counts as ½ a carbohydrate (bread/starch) on a diabetic exchange.
Chicken Kabobs
(Adapted from "Chicken Kabob Dippers" from the American Diabetes Association)
- 4 small boneless chicken halves cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 wooden skewers soaked in water
- 1 medium yellow pepper
- 1 medium green pepper
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 small zucchini (1/2 inch slices)
- 8 ounces button mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Barbecue Sauce
Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Chop the yellow pepper, green pepper, red onion, and mushrooms into chucks, and slice the zucchini into ½ inch rounds. Skewer the chicken, alternately with the vegetables.
Grill three to four minutes on each side, either on a barbeque or under a medium-high grill. Chicken should be cooked and the vegetables crisp but tender.
Mix the mayonnaise and barbeque sauce together, and serve as a dipping sauce for the kabobs.
A serving equals 1 skewer, and counts as 1 vegetable, 2 meat (VL) and 1 fat on a diabetic exchange.
Christmas Food for Diabetics
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