Dad - Diabetic Little Guy - few teeth

[JGDean]

I just got back from WVa and we now have my Dad (81) a diabetic, on a walker, and a a little (4 ft tall, 68 lb) deaf, handicapped cousin (68) with just a few teeth, living with my husband and I. I am trying to be creative. The little guy is a carb freak. He has a little coffee or tea with his honey in the mornings. The Doc says his glucose is fine and to let his eat anything he will to keep weight on. He likes mashed potatoes, corn, mac and cheese, cottage cheese, yoghurt and soups. I need to sneak in a little more protein somehow. My dad will eat most things but he doesn't like skin on anything. He will chew veggies and spit out the skin. I have been putting Benefiber in his coffee to help constipation. He also likes carbs but his glucose level doesn't. My husband is a runner and won't eat beef. Any ideas on simplifying meals and covering everyones needs???

 

[QSis]

Boy, you have your hands full, JG - God bless you!

Ham goes well with corn and mashed potatoes, and you can slice it thin for easy chewing. Ham also goes well in mac and cheese.

Spaghetti and turkey meatballs in tomato sauce might be good for everyone. Ground turkey meatloaf, too. Ground turkey "shepherd's pie"?

Everyone might like a hearty chicken noodle soup with small diced carrots and celery. Corn chowder? Fish chowder?

Try the wheat pastas and/or Dreamland brand. Lower bad carbs than regular pasta.

Just a few suggestions. Hope others chime in as well.

Good luck!

Lee

 

[Uncle Bob]

Fish......

 

[QSis]

Scrambled eggs with stuff in them. Omelettes. Frittatas.

Lee

 

[Constance]

There's no way husband, dad and cousin are going to thrive on the same diet. The best solution to that is to keep some high-carb snacks on hand for cousin and your husband...and be sure to keep some low-carb ones for your dad so he won't feel left out.
A friend of mine who is diabetic loves what he calls "Pink Stuff"...sugar free strawberry Jello combined with sugar free Cool Whip and cottage cheese. Lowfat popcorn is also a good one, if your dad's digestive system can handle it. And while fresh fruit is not low-carb, it will help with the constipation.
By the way, the doctor recommended Miralax for my husband.

As suggested above, you can do anything with ground turkey that you can with ground beef. If you don't have a meat grinder, you might invest in one, whether it's an old fashioned hand-crank type or one that attaches to your mixer. Then you can grind ham or lamb for patties, or any leftover meats for meat spread. If your family likes salmon or tuna, patties or casseroles with those will be easy to chew. And you'd be surprised how much chewing some people can do with their gums. My FIL loved steak, and he'd cut it up in little bitty pieces and go for it.

 

[JGDean]

I made some of the pink stuff and everyone liked it! I made mine with Greek strained yoghurt. Mac and cheese with ham went over well too. I'm trying spaghetti squash with ground turkey tomato sauce this evening. Fish works well too. We have a neighbor who fishes regularly and always remembers us. The little guy likes fish balls - a take on meatballs - he likes to dip them in ketchup. Both Dad and LG hate eggs which is a shame in that it would be easy, inexpensive, a complete protein and many variations. Thanks much for all the suggestions!

 

[Constance]

I'm glad the Pink Stuff went over!

 

[Claire]

Oh, dear, what a quandry. I think at their ages, you can spoil them a little. It sounds like you may be a real southerner, and often ham or bacon chopped up in the macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, etc, goes over well.

One thing your husband might enjoy is grilled vegetables (and your cousin and father would like them as well). Grill them when you put a chicken on the BBQ and serve as is, then puree them in your mixer/blender/food processor (whatever you have) so that Daddy doesn't see any "skin". It makes for a great ingredient to soups, nice and smokey.

You might consider a protein powder if you're having a hard time getting meat into the diet. Make milk shakes and add the powder to them. I once interviewed a third-generation vegan and can come up with other hints if I cull through my files and find out what she told me.

 

[JGDean]

I have a pork tenderloin marinating and some squash and zuchinni for tonight. I think I'll try the grilling idea for a change. I didn't think about pureeing the vegetables. The LG and Dad would probably like that. They love mashed potatoes and Yams. I'll also see how the protein powder goes over. DH uses unflavored in smoothies. I might try adding some to the puree. Thanks for the ideas!