Shopping Tips: Gift Baskets for the Diabetic

Gift Baskets full of fruits, nuts and candy can make a great Holiday gift. But what if a family contains a diabetic? What goodies can be included in a gift basket that will be enjoyed and used without endangering their health?

A Diabetic, Type 2, which is the most common form of diabetes, must balance their intake of carbohydrates and protein. Too much or too little carbohydrates can throw off the delicate balance and have their blood sugar soaring or dropping to dangerous levels. Diabetics must take charge of their diets, but here are a few things you can put in a gift basket that will ease their mind while allowing them to enjoy some Holiday treats.

Though there are several online sites with gift baskets for diabetics, you can create your own. There are a variety of baskets at most craft stores like Michael's or Ben Franklin's. You may even have an old basket around the house you are no longer using. Line the basket with pretty red and green tissue paper. To make a divider for your basket, cut two strips of cardboard (a cereal box works well) the diameter of your round gift basket. Wrap both strips with aluminum foil. Place the strips together and staple or glue one end of the strip. Staple or glue again, exactly half way down the strip. When dry, fold the unstapled strips out in the shape of a peace symbol. Place the dividers in your gift basket along with more colored red and green tissue paper.

Between the partitions, fill with a variety of unsalted mixed nuts and sugar free candy, topping this off with a bright red cloth napkin or colored plastic wrap. Add a large bow to the finished gift basket. Nuts provide protein with very few carbohydrates and the sugar-free candy also keeps the carbohydrates down. The combination of both nuts and candy is a nice balanced mix. Both of these ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. Robert Lewis, offers some pointers on that with Sugar-Free Candy: Eight Healthy Treats Guaranteed to Get Your Juices Flowing. If you're feeling creative and would like to make your own diabetic candy, Cooks.com offers six online recipes. You could also add a variety cheeses or sausages like salami or pepperoni to your basket mix, but you don't want to get the cholesterol and fat count up too high either. Remember that balance is the key for diabetics and pack your basket accordingly.

There are some nice online sites that specialize in gift baskets for the diabetic. Diabetic Candy.com is one of those. They offer gift certificates and a variety of sugar free candies, cookies and health bars for the diabetic in their gift baskets. Diabetic Friendly.com is another online site that caters to the diabetic and one that offers their own gift baskets, though I did not find their site as order friendly as the Diabetic Candy site. One of my favorite sites was Half Nuts.com, though not just for the diabetic. Half Nuts does do gift packages but I would stick with the nut selections or order their sugar free candy and make your own. Their combination gift sets might have too many carbohydrate temptations for your diabetic. Finally there is YC Chocolate.com, with their lovely sugar free truffles. You can order via phone or at the web site.

Please note that although you are using sugar free candies, they still contain carbohydrates. Each diabetic's needs are as unique as the individual with the diabetes. Encourage them to monitor their sugar levels until they are certain how your sugar-free candy affects them.