Planning special dinner for diabetic

[ChefJune]

Alix, my aunt absolutely could not have angel food or any other cake. The combination of carbs and sugar could have been real trouble. Pies, on the other hand, have lots less of carbs and the eater can avoid the crust if they wish, and the amount of sugar or sweetener added to the fruit can be legislated easily, as well.

[kadesma]

Originally Posted by ChefJune

Alix, my aunt absolutely could not have angel food or any other cake. The combination of carbs and sugar could have been real trouble. Pies, on the other hand, have lots less of carbs and the eater can avoid the crust if they wish, and the amount of sugar or sweetener added to the fruit can be legislated easily, as well.

June, I'm diabetic and I find certain foods drive my Blood Glucose over the moon. Theres I tend to stay away from. Years ago they were strict about sweets, now the rules have changed. Sugar can be eaten if we count carbs. If I want a piece of pie or cake or even a scoop of ice cream I trade carbs no potato, pasta or rice. Only protein, a big salad and a veggie and then I can have a small sensible serving of dessert. Life is much easier for us now. Of couse with insulin usage you can pretty much have what you want, but it's best to be careful weight gain is always looking over your shoulder
kades

[Alix]

Originally Posted by ChefJune

Alix, my aunt absolutely could not have angel food or any other cake. The combination of carbs and sugar could have been real trouble. Pies, on the other hand, have lots less of carbs and the eater can avoid the crust if they wish, and the amount of sugar or sweetener added to the fruit can be legislated easily, as well.

June, its different for every diabetic. Thats why I suggested putting it out there and allowing the diabetic to serve themselves. They are accustomed to the exchanges they require. The dietician I work with says much the same as kadesma, you can have nearly anything you want as long as you account for it correctly.

Edit: Pie can be problematic in that you have no clue how much sugar sometimes is used in the filling. The crust you can almost always calculate though. A boxed angel food cake will have the carbs listed and the fiber as well.

[Claire]

Alix, I was just about to write pretty much what you did. Find out what being diabetic means for your guest. It can mean different things for different bodies. I've had friends who had to severely curb carbs, in my husband's case he visited a dietician and came up with breakfast and lunch of 30 grams, supper of 60, and 20 gram snacks. All in all, I think he wound up eating more carbs than he ate previously, just spreading them out over the day, eating more fresh fruit and whole grains in his snacks, avoiding any spikes and hollows in his blood sugar counts. He's so far able to control it with diet, but he's pretty strict with himself. Some people mistakenly believe (to include at least one friend who was also diagnosed recently, but didn't go to the dietician) that it means trying to cut out as many carbs as possible. For my husband it was all about balance, but for others it may mean something else. So ... just be blunt and ask your guest. I agree with the suggestion a couple of you came up with of keeping the sides, meats, desert, appetizers separate so that the guest can choose what s/he knows what s/he is taking and modify accordingly (I try to do this whenever I know a guest has food issues, especially if they are an issue that can truly hurt them. In other words, no lasagna, rather a pasta with a separate salad, meat, and sauce, with cheese on the side. Don't get me wrong, I make a mean lasagna and make it at least annually, it just isn't a meal I'd make if I had to worry about lactose intolerance, vegetarians, vegans,diverticulitis, diabetes, food allergies, etc.) When that happens I make it easy for those who cannot have certain foods to simply avoid them. I don't go out of my way to cater to their needs (in other words if you can't stand to watch anyone else eat meat, don't eat at my house, but if it is just that you don't want to eat it, just skip that dish and I'll make sure there is enough of the sides for you to be able to make a complete meal. My husband can easily at friends' houses, eyeball the starch and know how much he can eat.