Diabetes - Up Close and Personal: Tips and Tricks for Health and Happiness

Whose Responsibility is it Anyway?
I've talked with a number of people who either have diabetes or live with someone who does. Juggling the whole food preparation and eating situation is both time consuming and expensive. However, when it comes to providing healthy foods that will prolong life, we really don't have much choice. Education is key for any caregiver as well as for the diabetic. Responsibility for what is eaten ultimately rests upon the diabetic, but as caregivers, it is our responsibility to make sure we prepare foods that will not do harm.

First Things First
One of the first things I did after my husband's diagnosis, was to clear everything I knew to be bad for him, out of my kitchen. I removed a bag of granulated sugar, a box of brown sugar, a bottle of corn syrup, a bottle of pancake syrup and a full bag of white flour. That was an essential start toward healthier cooking. The next step was to find better alternatives to the products I had just removed from my cupboards. This step required trial and error and lots of reading. Over the years, I've found a couple of products that I keep on hand at all times because they are the foundation for healthy food preparation. One of those products is Spelt Flour. Any baked good that I previously made can be made with this flour. There is no sugar spike due to carbohydrates as compared to baked goods made with processed, refined, white or whole wheat flour. The next product is a sugar alternative. This is a lot trickier than the flour. There are so many products on the market today that would seem to be good substitutes for refined sugar. Again, after much trial and error, we settled on using either Stevia or Xylitol. Many people use Splenda and we did too for a long time. However, reports that are out now on this sweetener are not all good. Decisions need to be made as to which sweetener works best for you and your budget. Again, education and studying current reports are critical.

Be Prepared to Spend More Time in the Kitchen
I quickly discovered what a time saver processed foods had been in my life. Fast foods and deli foods found in the supermarket were suddenly off limits. Deli prepared chicken, Cole slaw, baked beans and rolls was a no-no. Although the deli foods tasted good, we saw sharp rises in my husband's blood sugar levels. Refined sugars added to these foods need to be avoided. Therefore, I started making my own slaw, baked beans and bread. It takes time and much planning to put a healthy meal on the table, but after a while, it has become second nature.

Make a List Before Going to the Grocery Store
One of the best ways to avoid buying all those pretty packages of prepared foods sitting on your grocer's shelves, is to make a list and stick to it. Buy the products that you will use in making your own nutritious meals. Spend your food dollars on the healthy staples and not on the junk foods and processed foods that are costly and less nutritious.

Create Your Own Recipe Book
After a while, you will be creating your own new recipes, sometimes simply by exchanging flours and sugars in your old recipes. Take some time to make up your own cookbook which can be thumbed through when you need a meal plan.

Not Everyone Who Lives Here is a Diabetic
This is one of my favorite categories because for such a long time, my focus was completely on my diabetic husband. After a while, I realized that I had given up a lot of my own favorite foods because he couldn't eat them. As caregivers, we need to make sure we get a little pleasure once in a while. Remember, this is not a sprint to the finish line, but a lifelong journey. Pace yourself. Choose foods carefully for all members of the family and allow the diabetic to take responsibility for what he does or does not eat. I've reminded my husband many times that I am not his mother!

Quality of Life Days
Occasionally, we have a cheat day at our house. We lovingly refer to it as a "quality of life day". Although there are many desserts and ice creams that are sugar free, we occasionally treat ourselves to one of our favorite desserts at a restaurant. A dessert that is absolutely decadent and not sugar-free. This can do wonders for our spirits and has been known to cause lots of laughter amid the oohs and aahs of eating something forbidden. The temporary rise in blood sugar doesn't last long and because we ate the treat in a restaurant as opposed to buying an entire dessert and bringing it home, it is a one time treat, at least until the next quality of life day rolls around.

Source:
My Life