Making The Holidays Fun With Great Food For Diabetics: The holidays can be wonderful times for your friends and family. There is always so much to eat, and so many wonderful times to get together. If you are diabetic, or someone in your family is, it is important to be sure that you have selections of food that diabetics can eat without worrying about their diets.
First of all, it is important to remember that each person who is a diabetic has different dietary needs. There are different forms of diabetes. Some people eat a regular diet and then use insulin to counteract the sugar that they have eaten. For these people regular holiday foods are going to be fine. However, some diabetics prefer to stay away from sugar, and some can’t have it at all. Therefore, if you are having guests to your home it is a good idea to have lots of different foods for the holidays and many different choices as well so no matter what a person’s needs are, they can pick and choose what is best for them.
First of all, plan meals with plenty of choices. During the holiday season you are always going to have people dropping in and out and will most likely always be needing to serve meals. However, it isn’t always easy to keep everyone’s choices in mind, so have lots of options. When you make food, make a few different main courses ,and a lot of side dishes and salads. It might be a little bit of work, but it can make the holidays better for all.
When you make main courses that you know everyone is going to be eating, make them diabetic friendly. Don’t put in refined sugar – use a non-sugar substitute if you do need sugar. If you absolutely can’t get away from using sugar, be sure to make a second main course without any sugar in it so diabetics can enjoy the food as well.
When you are cooking side dishes, be sure that you are cooking a wide variety of them. Make some with the regular amounts of sugar, make some with sugar substitutes, and then make some without any sugar at all. If you have diabetics who are coming to your home, or you have some in your family, you can even make little cards to put near the dishes of food. Simply labeling items as “Sugar Free!” can be a great and easy way to let diabetics know what is okay for them to eat and what should be avoided. It will also save anyone who isn’t comfortable about talking about their food choices with others the embarrassment of having to ask what is okay for them and what isn’t okay.
Don’t’ forget the drinks when you are looking at your menus for the holidays. Often drinks are overlooked and only regular sodas and fancy fruit punches are included. Remember that you should have a selection of diet or sugar free sodas, and punches made without sugar. Also, remember that some diabetics are instructed to stay away from alcohol or from certain types of alcohol. Make sure that you have a decent selection including all sorts of things for your friends and family members to eat and drink while they are visiting for the holidays.
With a little bit of planning ahead, your holiday celebrations can be great experiences for everyone – diabetics included!
