Cooking for a Diabetic?
My father-in-law has diabetes and my motherinlaw hasn't made much of a difference in her cooking until recently. I hate to say this, but she's not a great cook to begin with, so the changes she's implemented have resulted in some pretty awful food so far. Really bland and tasteless.
I was trying to talk to her about what exactly makes a recipe good for diabetics and she couldn't give me a straight answer.
It seems to me that tasty food is an option here as long as I look out for sugar/carb content. Or am I totally off base?
So I look to you all - can you give me some guidelines for cooking for a diabetic? What should I keep in mind? Any good sites out there I should check out? Any tasty recipes you can suggest?
Any help is appreciated.
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11 Comments:
Well, there aren't a LOT of "straight answers" these days. Almost any food can be allowed in moderation, even sweets, if they're calculated. (Some diabetics can't tolerate them, but many Type II adult-onset diabetics can.) Much of the problem comes from just too many calories, and don't forget alcohol counts as calories, and, again, some diabetics have specific problems with it.
You'll get lots of advice on this board about it, but frankly, your best bet is to talk to a Registered Dietician or, if your dad has a nurse-practitioner, to him/her for specifics. There are way too many oddball ideas out there about this disease, which is becoming more and more prevalent, as we know. I'm an RN whose husband is a diabetic, and I get these questions a lot.
lemons at 4:57PM on 08/19/08
Agreed about the registered dietician - many RDs are now covered by insurance as well.
A little hint, though - agave nectar in place of sugar, honey, or terrible chemical sweeteners is excellent, and it has a very low glycemic index. It swaps out nicely in recipes, too.
savecara at 5:16PM on 08/19/08
most area's have a workshop set up with a registered dietician it cost little or nothing to attend, just some time usually. talk to his doctor as well and find out if there are any restrictions besides the "normal ones" for diabetics. but mostly, watch out for the carbs and remember 15 carbs is one serving. If he needs to lose weight or is uncontrolled, try to stick with no more than 4 servings of carbs per meal, and always mix a protein with carbs so he doesnt get an unregulated spike. Also alot of ppl I know have tried and enjoy splenda and other "artificial sweetners" just be aware a small number of people have the same reaction to those sweetners that they have to pure sugar.
huneybumper at 5:31PM on 08/19/08
Long, long ago, my dad was diagnosed with very mild adult-onset diabetes, which the doctor felt could be adequately controlled by diet. So he gave my mom some photocopied sheets of meal plans. My mom followed them to the letter. My dad started losing weight (and he didn't need to lose weight, he was skinny to begin with) and mealtimes were unpleasant to say the least.
The doctor didn't take into account that my dad was a pretty physically active guy, despite his age, and my mom followed the diets to the letter which meant that she left out everything that wasn't specifically allowed. So she cut out ALL spices and flavorings. So not only wasn't dad getting enough calories per day, what he was being served was terminally bland.
Dad went back to the doctor, complaining that both the doc and my mom were trying to kill him with this diet. In the end, the doc decided that dad's normal diet was pretty healthy without modification, and that he should just watch out for certain things. Everyone was happier.
The moral -- make sure that you know what the doctor really means for you to do, and as other people have mentioned, consult a nutritionist if need be. I've seen plenty of bad advice given by well-meaning people, so be sure you're following instructions from a valid source.
I've seen cookbooks put out by diabetic groups, so one of those might be useful for MIL, if only to let her know that the food doesn't have to be tasteless. But really, what the doctor intends might not be all that different from a normal healthy diet.
dbcurrie at 5:33PM on 08/19/08
my sister is an endocrinologist and has type 1 diabetes since age 15. I spoke to her and she tells me that a "diabetic diet" really does not exists. What all diabetics should subscribe to is healthy eating and portion control, just like any of us.
She recomends your in-laws to visit a nutritionist so he/she can advise them on what should their portions be based on his weight, medications and blood sugar levels.
He should learb to read the labels of products - the nutritionist should be able to teach him - as many low carb products tend to be high in fat and many fat-free products tend to be loaded with sugars.
Some rules of thumb in terms of what to eat and what to avoid:
- Eat as healthy as possible - stick to whole grains, proteins, fruits and vegetables. In terms of fruits lean towards the berries and eat bananas and grapes in moderation, as these tend to be higher in carbs
MadelynRodriguez at 7:50PM on 08/19/08
sorry... continuing my post...
My sister also mentioned your FIL should watch out and control his intake of starchy vegetables, such as peas, corn and potatoes, which are higher in carbs.
She also recommended the Joslin Diabetes Gourmet Cookbook with lots of recipes and portion size for diabetics. Maybe you can give it to your MIL as a gift.
I truly believe that anyone, even diabetics, can eat most anything but in MODERATION. I am vegetarian, and this lefestyle choice has helped me control and LIVE with an IBS condition. I eat things everyday that most people in my condition live avoiding. I would like to encourage your in-laws to just incorporate more vegetarian-friendly and more natural/less processed foods into their diet... here are a few ideas they might like:
Salade Nicoise - this has some potatoes, but has more of everything else...
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Rosemary Almonds - a nice snack full of protein
Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms
Vegetable Lo-Mein,
good luck and may your FIL stay healthy...
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 8:14PM on 08/19/08
we live in an area where the nutritionist classes are not available. my mom and my cat were diagnosed around the same time. bubba (cat) was on insulin from day one, about 4 years ago, and was very stable right up until he developed other problems. mom, not so much. she only went on insulin a couple of months ago, and is finally more stable.
my husband was only diagnosed in june, a complete shock, and we radically changed our diet. we gradually added other foods, and have found that with his oral meds (glucophage) and regular testing, he tends to keep close to 100 BG. he eats what he wants for the most part, a lot of of stuff i learned over the years being on high protein diets. even weight watchers works! tonight, we are having spaghetti. we've had pizza, we have in-n-out burgers every couple of weeks. he's found a low sugar ice cream, and he has a drink a couple of times of week (my mom has a martini every night. her doc told her it's okay).
eating a lot of protein is good, the good starches are good. simple sugars are hardest. test a lot.
and for you cat people? feline diabetes message board (FDMB). i learned a lot there, cats and people are very much alike.
-buns
p.s. bunnies don't get diabetes.
bionicbunny at 8:15PM on 08/19/08
I am a diabetic as is mil, fil, dad, step dad, 2 sisters ok I will stop but the list goes on! We eat whatever we want as long as you don't eat a ton it's fine. mil eats sugar free ice cream. Bananas are a treat food as they are HIGH in sugar and potissum but other then that......
www.organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com
love2cook at 9:52PM on 08/19/08
Thank you so much everyone for your comments. It looks like I (and they) have a lot to learn about this!
missus_p at 1:10AM on 08/20/08
I was just diagnosed with Type 2 within the last 6 months. Everything said above is true, you just have to eat small portions. I tend to go a little heavier on the veggies at dinner and substitute whole grains for pasta, rice, etc. Even if I just eat a lot of protein and low carb, if the portions are large my blood sugar will get a little higher than normal.
You might want to ask your father-in-law if there are any foods he is sensitive to. For some reason onions and carrots make my blood sugar rise more than other vegetables and I tend to skip them unless I am using them to just flavor a dish I am cooking.
tricia_m at 2:33PM on 08/20/08
avoid some obvious high glycemic index foods. white potatoes. white flour. pasta made with white flour (there is a high protein by Barilla called Barilla Plus out there that's one of the best "not all white flour" pasta), white rice. Your food doesn't have to be bland and tasteless, we eat like this all the time and we're not diabetics. Sweet potatos are great. The obvous other items to avoid are sugars, cakes, cookies, syrups and the like.
nightmoon at 8:06PM on 08/21/08