Kick your cravings to the curb
My in laws are two of the best bakers in the state of Kansas. Masters of the art. If their baked goody does not have a beautiful presentation, then they think it is no good. They are “that good.” However, that is not good for me because I am diabetic and all of those desserts wreak havoc my blood sugars. Because my in-laws are master dessert makers, they will not alter any of their recipes to be diabetic friendly. At all sorts of family gatherings, I was in the position to make two awful decisions
1. Watch them eat the baked goodness and try to tame the monster in the pit in my stomach
2. Or eat it for 5 minutes of pleasure and spend the next 5 hours feeling like the monster because my blood sugars are swinging high.
It was time to create a better option for myself. I have learned how to make some of my favorite treats that have a lower glycemic impact. Some of them are so delicious that I have to reserve my piece ahead of time. Some of them are comparable and still delightful.
22 cravings curbed
Diabetes deserves dessert too. Many people blame people with diabetes for eating too many desserts. Yes this can contribute, but diabetes is a metabolic disease and it is in the DNA. There can be two people with the same body mass index , wear the same pant size, run the same mile-time, and only one of them has diabetes. Believe me, I know how you feel. I have diabetes. I am 120 pounds and people still look at me when I am eating desserts and tell me “that is why you have diabetes.”
Many of the well-intentioned “on-lookers” say that people with diabetes cannot have desserts, but that is an unrealistic expectation for a disease that lasts a lifetime. They will say that a diabetic” can have just a small piece,” but, in my just opinion, that is an unfair and unequal expectation. Those small pieces are gone in two bites and a piece of Bazooka bubble gum lasts longer. It is time to create a better option for yourself! Desserts do not have to be a diabetic dilemma.
How can you to curb your cravings and not curve your blood sugars? You need to learn how to make your favorite sweet treats with a lower glycemic impact. In this book, you will find alternative recipes for some of your favorite desserts. They have only a fraction of the sugar and carbohydrates found in the original versions. Some of them are comparable and still delightful, but not the real thing. Some of the desserts will make your taste buds dance.
I promise that you do not have to be diabetic to love these desserts. Make these desserts for any social gathering too. My only warning is that you may have to reserve your piece ahead of time. As your friend or associate scarfs down a second helping to the phenomenol pumpkin chocolate cake (page 12), you can inform him or her that it was diabetes friendly. Most people will be enchanted that low carb can taste good. As a piece of advice, leave the conversation at that. You could proceed to brag about your dessert, and you could tell everyone that you added flaxmeal, which is high in Omega 3 and fiber, which lowers risk for colon cancer….and on and on, but as a gentle reminder, this information isn’t as enthralling to others as it is to you. Sometimes it just simplifies the conversation by saying “diabetes-friendly.”
Many of these desserts have added health benefits to them by using healthy substitutes such as nuts avocados flax and eggs. The utmost health benefit to these dessert is that they rid of two of the worst metabolic toxins, flour and sugar. I am not claiming that all of these desserts are full of health, because many of the desserts have a large amount of calories and fat in them. For example, the dairy products particularly are a big source of saturated fat and not my first pick for a healthy item. On that note, give yourself a break. Fat gives food good texture and makes it more filling. This cooking thing should be a little bit fun. We have really gotten to a point where food has become serious. We’re either ankle deep in new about hormones in our milk or attempting to pronounce erythritol or trying to remember which type of fat is going to kill us the fastest. Please do not misinterpret my encouragement, I am not suggesting that you become a sugar food junkie. So with this book, I am including my top 3 ways to stay healthy while eating desserts with diabetes.
3 suggestions to stay healthy while treating yourself to dessert:
1. You should incorporate your sweet rewards into your weekly meal plan. One to two servings of dessert per week is reasonable. “Plan” is the keyword. The day and time that you choose for your dessert should be adhered to, so that you still maintain control. When you begin to eat bites every time you lay your eyes on a cookie, then the cookie controls you. These moments of weakness happen when we have feelings of being deprived. That can be prevented by incorporating certain days with your type of dessert.
2. Here is a second lesson about eating desserts on a plan. When you practice the routine to only eat the dessert on the planned day and avoid eating it at other time, then you have actually developed a skill. Practicing a skill daily and weekly actually sets you up for better success in the future. At the workplace, parties, church, game days, there will be a sweet treat offered. Oftentimes, the highly-processed refine sugar foods are the only foods that are brought! Every time, you practice the little mental exercise at home not to eat the dessert, except on schedule, then you are flexing a muscle and making it stronger. It will make you stronger against the sugar laden cryptonite.
3. Divvy out your proportions that your diabetes can handle without much effect on your blood sugars. Measure out your serving size and then package it directly after preparing the dessert. As a second measure, use a plastic bag with three knotted strings on the top. As a third measure, put the pre-portioned dessert in the back of a high shelf or top cabinet. There is a reason for the madness. Releasing the strings prolongs the time to get to your dessert and by the time that your last string has been untied, then the urge has passed or lessened. Most urges last 30 to 60 seconds. Likewise, stepping up to the high shelf is an intentional act and it will prevent the unconscious act of munching on something within an arm’s reach.
“Stop self-sabotage with diabetes because diabetes deserves dessert too. This cookbook gives you recipes for desserts that will not spike your blood sugars and avoids processed foods.”
-Kristin Loyd
