Diabetic Recipes Needed!

[VictoriaL]

I just found out that DH's sister & her husband will be coming for a several-days visit next month. Her husband is a Type 2 diabetic and has trouble keeping his sugar levels where they should be (gee, could it be that he "sneaks" the forbidden foods a lot...). I am in desperate need of recipes for every meal that he can eat.
I'd appreciate any help!!! TIA!!!

[Kismet]

I don't have any recipes per se to offer, but I do have a thought. My dad is a diabetic, and he has let us know how many carbs he can have at each meal. As well, he has told us what "free" foods there are. With these two pieces of info, it's usually pretty easy for me to take any CL recipes and work them into a meal plan. Perhaps it is a bit more difficult than just making anything that looks good, but it isn't prohibitively difficult.

Good luck, and enjoy their visit!

[sherri]

Hi Victoria
People with diabetes can eat the same food we eat. They just need to control their portions more carefully and watch their added sugars. It is a big misconception that people with diabetes need "special" food. So, if you normally cook healthy, that will be completely appropriate for your guests. I would just serve a nice meal that has a good variety of choices...a starch, vegetables, etc.

[VictoriaL]

I am a very healthy-concious cook and it's what my brother-in-law teases me about! His wife asks that I prepare foods low on the glycemic index and I do anyway, and we ordinarily eat a lot of brown rice and whole-wheat pasta and vegetables but he's not wild about these kinds of meals. I need help with menu-planning and the subsequent recipes! I mean, if white potatoes are out and we are planning a picnic he will freak if I make taboulleh to go with the grilled chicken-- so has anyone made potato salad with sweet potatoes? My husband says just to make what we normally eat and he can either eat it or not, but I want to be nice to our guest and give him a choice! Or am I over-thinking this? I tend to do that... :rolleyes:

[yorkshirepud]

victoria ... check out this URL: http://www.recipezaar.com/browse/?&ls=d&path=0FC09B

it has over 700 diabetic recipes ...

hth ... yp

[HRJ]

Hi Victoria -- I'm a Type 2 diabetic, and I have to say that Sherri and Kismet have offered some great information here about meal planning for people with diabetes.

What seems to be causing the problem for you is this bit about only eating foods low on the "glycemic index." My advice would be to prepare your normal, health-conscious meals, with some extra attention to including the "low" glycemic foods he prefers -- but, if you're serving something that's "higher" on the scale, he can always eat a smaller portion, or just pass on that particular food in favor of something else.

While it's nice to accommodate guests, I don't think a guest should expect a host to devise several days' worth of menus in which every item adheres to a very specialized style of eating. If you were having him over for only one meal, I'd say, try to make all the food accessible to him; but, for several days, he needs to show some flexibility, too.

Helene

[AZLorena]

My DH is Type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetic. I don't have much in the way of recipes to offer you because he eats just like the rest of us....he watches his blood sugar closely and adjusts his insulin according to what and how much he is eating.....

but here is a website that someone sent to me.

http://diabeticgourmet.com/

Good luck

Lorena

[Emilylynn]

I have type 2 diabetes, too. When I was diagnosed, my Mom got very anxious about what to serve me when I was visiting. I asked her to do the following: 1)Have diet soda, crystal light or bottled water in the house because I hate the taste of their tap water, and having these things available to me would decrease my desire to drink regular soda. 2)Have healthy, low carb snacks like celery and dip around so I could snack like everyonelse. 3)Serve an extra vegetable at dinner that isn't a starch (like corn, peas, etc.) so that i could make my plate full of veggies and a little carb with out feeling deprived or different. And finally 4) Don't hound me about my blood sugar or if i've eaten something that I shouldn't or what my numbers were the last time I checked, etc. This is difficult enough with out everyone discussing it. I know that everyone cares about my health, but sometimes I would like to forget that i have diabetes for a little while and just be.

Here is a very loose recipie that I make often. It is fairly low carb for the serving size, and it's very filling. If you had fresh veggies, I think that they would be great in here. I keep the needed items in the pantry or freezer so that I can make it when ever.

Layered Taco Pie
3 tortillas
1 small can corn (about 6 oz)
1 15 oz can black beans
1 pack (8oz?) FF shredded chedder cheese
1 cup salsa

Preheat the oven to 350. Open the can of black beans and put about 1/4 cup of the liquid into a microwave safe bowl. Drain the rest of the beans into a colander and rinse. Place the rised beans into the bowl with the reserved juice. Mash with a fork until about 3/4 of the beans are smashed and there are a few whole ones here and there for texture. Place the bowl in the microwave, and heat about three minutes, until the beans are very hot(the juice is in there to keep the beans moist in the microwave). While the beans are heating, get a pie plate, 8 or 9 inches. Place about 1/4 c. of salsa on the bottom, then place a tortilla on top. Then layer half the cheese, half the corn and half the black beans that have just come out of the microwave. You can put a little hot sauce in at this point, if you like. Then spread about 1/4 c. of salsa on top. THen place another totilla on top, and repeat, placing the third tortilla on top. Put the remaining salsa on top of the heap, cover with foil and bake about 20-25 minutes.

I cut this into 6 servings. Each serving has about 38 grams of carbohydrate,which is 2 1/2 servings of carb if he counts his carbs that way. If you leave out the corn, it's only 30 grams of carb, or about 2 servings. I put FF sour cream on the side of my plate for dipping, and serve with a salad. My BF loves this dish and asks for it often. Good luck and I hope this visit goes well!

[VictoriaL]

Wow... thanks everyone. I printed this whole thread to put in my "Visitors File" (don't laugh, I must be organized and totally prepared)and will refer to it frequently. I think that I obsess about having everything "just right" too much. I wish that I could be more relaxed about the whole thing, but all must be perfect! :D

[funnybone]

Here is a link to Diabetic Recipes from BHG (http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/DiabeticRecipes.xml) in case anyone is interested.