Diabetes Diet #5: A Sweet Thanksgiving

Diabetes Recipes:

Crunchy Cranberry Cookies
Pumpkin Mousse With A Snap
Warm Apple Pear Cake
Pumpkin Pie, Of Course!

A Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving from Judith’s Cyber Kitchen

Picture this snug and cozy scene, tempting aromas wafting throughout the house as family and friends gather around the thanksgiving table By the time all the platters and bowls laden with steaming hot dishes have been brought from the kitchen, the table is groaning. Golden orange baked yams with toasted sunflower seeds, creamy mashed potatoes, steamed brussel sprouts and roasted chestnuts, baked acorn squash filled with fennel puree, batter fried cauliflower, glazed turnips, creamed onions, buttered green beans with sliced almonds, cranberry relish, cornbread stuffing, mushroom gravy laced with sherry wine, celery stuffed with blue cheese, and of course the star of the day, that succulent, crispy, mahogany skin, roasted big bird, the symbol of Thanksgiving. This is the day we give thanks for all our blessed bounty and feast like there is no tomorrow.

With a little of this, a little of that, a second helping of mashed potatoes maybe, and oh, why not pur some more gravy on that mountain of stuffing. A day of eating, perhaps enjoying a glass of red zinfandel or Beaujolais Nouveau, conversation, laughter, memories. Then, a couple hours later, the table is cleared. Everyone moves around for a while until the desserts are brought in. Pies, cookies, mousses, nuts, dried fruit, and bowls of tangerines. By the time everyone has had their fill of sweets, one by one, they fall by the wayside to watch football games on TV, after all it is too raw and bitter cold outside to go for a walk, they say. The weather report says a chance of snow. Better just sit by the fire place and snooze a little.

Very charming.

But not very healthy, if you do the arithmetic:

3 oz white meat without skin   =   Cal 120, Protein 23 g. Fat 2.5 g. Cholesterol 55 g.
3 oz. dark meat without skin   =   Cal 145, Protein 22 g., Fat 6 g., Cholesterol 65 mg.
1 / 2 cup yams   =   Cal 130, Carb 20 g., Protein 1 g. Fiber 2.5 g.
1 / 2 cup turnip   =   Cal 65, Carb 6 g., Protein 1 g., Fat 4 g. Fiber 1.5 g.
3 T. cranberry relish   =   Cal 25, Carb 7 g., Protein 1 g., Fiber 1 g.
1 / 2 cup mashed potatoes   =   Cal 80, Fat 2.5 g., Carb 27 g., Fiber 4 g.
8 small Brussels sprouts   =   Cal 130, Carb 23 g., Protein 5 g. , Fat 3 g. , Fiber 7 g.
1 / 2 cup dressing   =   Cal 160, Carb 20 g., Protein 5 g., Fat 6 g.
1 / 2 cup green beans   =   Cal 64, Carb 7 g., Fat 4 g., Protein 2 g.
2 T. mushroom gravy   =   Cal 40, Carb 2 g., Protein 1 g. Fat 4 g.

As you can see that turkey dinner cost over 1000 calories and more than 100 carb grams. We won’t even discuss fat. AND, this is without considering everyone’s favorite part of the thanksgiving dinner dessert.

Here are a few ways to painlessly ease the heavy burden of Thanksgiving dinner

1. Offset balance of rich versus light foods by going for more plain choices and using the mashed potatoes and stuffing to garnish, rather that scooping mounds of these carb and fat laden foods in the middle of your plate.
2. Eat slowly and really enjoy each bite. Get involved in conversation instead of buzzing into an eating frenzy.
3. Drink a couple glasses of water a half hour before you sit down to feast. Water gives the filling of fullness and thus quells the appetite.
4. Move around. Get up. Help with dishes. Take the garbage out. Take a five minute stretch. Anything!
5. Walk away from the table without refilling your plate. Remind yourself second helpings might mean skipping dessert. What fun would that be.

Ah dessert! Most traditional thanksgiving desserts are replete with white flour, sugar, corn syrup and other nutritionally empty ingredients. Don’t despair. Join me in the Recipe Central pantry, where I’ll teach you how to bake up a few healthy and delicious Thanksgiving desserts that everyone around the table can enjoy without guilt. After these light and lovely treats, you may even inspire a few friends or cousins to join you in a half hour brisk walk around the neighborhood before settling down for a fireside snooze.

You can have it all cookie, pie, mousse, or cake. Plus a Good Blood Sugar, if you consider the entire meal, and make any necessary insulin adjustments, you will have another reason to give thanks a beautiful sampling of autumn desserts