How To – Diabetic Cooking Tips and Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Recipes
Thanksgiving dinner is a great time for good food and family. BUT in most families there are family members who have dietary needs, such as diabetics. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a diabetic doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor. There are simple ways to make food healthier for the diabetic who loves to cook for.
*Don’t miss the great Diabetic Thanksgiving Recipes at the end!
Tips for Cooking Diabetic-Friendly Recipes for Thanksgiving
-Avoid Sugar
This may seem like common sense, but sugar can sneak into the kitchen faster than you think.
High-sugar foods often served at Thanksgiving include:
sincere yam
Sweet potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Desserts, cookies, cakes and tarts
Small chocolates and candies placed around the house.
Alcohol
Offer smart desserts with sugar
Consider offering lower sugar dessert options, such as:
No sugar added apple pie and no sugar added ice cream
Fruit bowl with low sugar fresh whip, berries, apples and melons are low sugar fruits
Or considering cooking your favorite desserts with sugar substitutes like Splenda™.
Stay away from carbs
Carbohydrates (carbohydrates) are converted to sugars and processed as such in the body. This means that your body must process chocolate and bread using insulin in much the same way. For a diabetic diet, this means that carbs are almost as bad as foods that are obviously sugar-based, like desserts and sweets.
Carbohydrates to avoid on Thanksgiving are usually foods like:
breads and buns
potatoes
Rice
Filling
Diabetic foods to fill your plate
Protein, vegetables, and low-fat foods are best for diabetics. This includes turkey!
Green beans, corn, carrots, broccoli and other vegetables
salad
Serve bad foods in moderation
On vacation it’s easy to deviate from your normal diet. Many people splurge at parties or indulge in treats and foods they normally avoid.
Living a healthy life as a diabetic means that your dietary choices should be manageable for you. Going too strict could lead a diabetic to abandon the diabetic diet altogether.
At the holidays eat SOME of the foods you love but normally avoid. This can mean a small piece of cake or a bagel or some mashed potatoes and gravy.
The important thing to remember is MODERATION. Take a little, but don’t overdo it.
Tips to keep diabetics healthy on Thanksgiving
-Have the diabetic at your Thanksgiving dinner check his blood sugar throughout the day.
-Offer to serve the dish for your diabetic guest(s) and serve portions according to the tips above: lots of protein and vegetables, little sugar and carbs
-Consider serving foods that fit the above recommendations. While these tips are specific to diabetics, these food options are healthier for everyone.
-Above all, enjoy time with your family and friends!
Here’s a great diabetic-friendly turkey and stuffing recipe:
Roasted Turkey With Wild Rice, Sausage And Apple Stuffing
Filling:
1 cup of wild rice
3 cups of water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cooking apple, such as Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, or Rome, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
A pinch of ground mace or nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound Italian-style fresh turkey sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup pecans, toasted (see note)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Turkey:
1 turkey (8 to 10 pounds), fresh or thawed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the filling: Combine the wild rice, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and just about to pop, about 30 minutes. (Times may vary depending on the brand of rice used.) Drain and reserve. Adjust one oven rack to the lowest position and remove the other racks. Preheat to 325 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, apple, celery, garlic, thyme, mace, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until most of its pinkness is lost, but not so much that it is dry, about 5 more minutes. Add the cooked wild rice, walnuts, and parsley to the vegetable mixture. (This can be done the day before.)
For the turkey: Remove turkey parts from neck and breast cavities and reserve for other uses, if desired. Dry the bird well with paper towels, inside and out. Melt the butter together with the poultry seasoning. Salt and pepper inside the bird’s cavity. Add the stuffing loosely to the cavity and place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up, and brush generously with the seasoned butter, then season with salt and pepper. Cover the top of the bird with aluminum foil.
Roast the turkey for about 2 hours undisturbed. Remove and discard the aluminum foil. Bathe with the remaining butter. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into thickest part of thigh, about 20 to 25 more minutes. Remove turkey from oven and cover with foil for 15 minutes before slicing.
Note: To toast nuts, spread them on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated 350 degree F oven until golden brown, about 7 minutes.
Nutritional information
calories 407
Saturated fat 5 grams
Carbohydrates 22 grams
Fiber 3 grams
protein 42 grams
Unsaturated fat 12 grams
Nicole Anderson offers excellent information on diabetic diets and diabetic recipes at [http://www.diabetic-food-recipes.com]. Cooking to maintain diabetic health doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor. Cook smart and eat tasty food!