The Big Dinner

[conundrum1]

For my parents birthdays I have promised them a fancy dinner. The menu is a work in progress, but I want it to be "gourmet", yet healthy.

Question: Are diabetics allowed to eat natural sugars?

Bread Rolls:
- freshly baked or bought

Appetizer:
- apple, cinnamon, thyme, topped off with mashed yam/sweet potato

Salad:
- spinach, walnuts, strawberry, and

Comments

[mrn613]

sounds yummy? can I come over too?

Diabetics are supposed to eat fruit and carbs in general only in moderation, not in unlimited amounts. So they might be able to eat 1/2 cup of fruit at a meal, not 2 cups. This menu sounds pretty heavy on fruit sugars actually. I might skip the fruit in the green salad. Matzah ball soup sounds like a good idea, because a diabetic could just skip the matzah ball if he or she going through carb overload.

[conundrum1]

Haha sure! But bring your own chair because I only have a few mismatched ones and those are for my guests.

The reason I use fruits is because my father can't have spice. But there is still spice and there is still fruit - I don't know how to find a middle ground without making three different meals.

I can offer her the greens without the fruit, if she prefers.

I might also make some steamed veges - like broccoli and snow peas. They are perfect without anything added. Mmmm.

[proudestmom]

wow! such a balebusta! I am impressed. It took me a lot longer to learn how to cook like that as a newly (and not so newly) wed

[conundrum1]

Thanks for commenting!

There's no guarantee that the food will turn out well. I just proposed a menu...and if this diabetic lady comes...then I may have to revise it or make alternative dishes (e.g., Hungarian [Parprika] Chicken).

Salad doesn't have to have fruit in it.

Half an apple shouldn't be too bad and I was told by a friend that his diabetic (type 2) father was told by a nutritionist to davka eat yams.

Soup will be fine. As someone mentioned - she doesn't have to have matzah balls.

And I have no clue what a good diabetic dessert would be.

[liosho]

"Natural sugars" are basically either fructose or glucose found in fruits, vegetables, and grains. Diabetics need to control their overall intake of ALL sugars, especially glucose (that's the sugar your body uses for energy and is unregulated in diabetics). Also, you should really minimize the amount of Splenda you'll be using -- it's pretty sweet, and a little bit will go a long way.

[conundrum1]

Thank you. I always thought that fructose-sucrose were artificially based sugars. I learned something new today :D.

[liosho]

Sucrose, or common table sugar, is a disaccharide -- basically a glucose molecule combined with a fructose molecule. So nope, not artificial.