I hope you had a good holiday. Many of us enjoyed spending time with our families. Now it's time to celebrate the New Year. It's time to make resolutions to become a healthier version of ourselves. There will be some new health trends, including food. While some of the food suggestions will be incredible healthy for many, that will not be the case for everyone. I don't support these trends without them passing certain logical nutritional hurdles specific to diabetics.
I’m sure you’ll hear about the new potato milk that’s hitting the market here in the U.S. for a better thicker substitute for milk instead of almond milk. Typically, the starches in root vegetables like potatoes spike blood sugar and aren't usually a dietary staple for me. I’m not going to go for the fads. That doesn’t mean I won’t try it, if I feel it is safe for me after looking at the serving size and nutritional content.
Serving sizes depend upon industry standards. Every once in a while I find a company that tries to look nutritionally better than their competitors. They will actually decrease the serving size to make their carbohydrate count and sugar counts lower. I run from these brands!
The nutritional values that I looked at carefully are: sugar, carbohydrates, and fiber. Carbohydrates and fiber go together. Carbohydrates will spike your blood sugar and keep it up for a long periods of time. Fiber offsets carbs. Fiber lessens the effect of the carbohydrates and aids in bowel movement which can improve weight loss. I like products with a carbohydrate count around 17 to 22 g per serving. The sugar counts can cause blood sugar to spike and crash rapidly. I really like to keep my sugar counts below double digits.
This brings us to our upcoming New Year's celebrations that tend to involve alcohol. Most alcohols have a lot of sugar in them. A glass or two of a red wine like cabernet or merlot is good for a New Year's celebration. Usually ice cream would not be on the list of things with which to celebrate the new year; but I'm tired of red wine. This year has also been unseasonably warm down in the south. That’s why it came up on the list. I want something non-alcoholic with which to celebrate the New Year. Ice cream seems like a nice treat. There are some healthy options out there like the Keto brand ice cream retailing over $5 a pint. Or you can make your own....
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
-1/8 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
1.) Place the heavy whipping cream in a metal bowl & put in freezer for 30 min.
2.) Remove from the freezer and add the ingredients in the metal mixing bowl.
3.) Whip the ingredients until it thickens to a pudding consistency.
4.) Freeze for 2 hours.
5.) Pull out to eat and store in refrigerator.
In case this recipe causes you to struggle or you are tired of exercising your diabetic willpower, it is ok. I have some fun tips and tricks of things I do when I misbehave... Making healthier food options is one that tends to make me feel ok, if it turns into a bit of a splurge. Another option is good for when you’re traveling. I like to have things in containers that can be thrown. That way when you realize you’ve had too many dark chocolates, you can sling the bag in the back of the car as far out of reach as possible. Post splurge, I make sure to add more water to my system as soon as possible. This helps me flush my system, usually two cups of water. There are other times when it’s great to share with friends and family. Just be careful. Please don’t aid and abet your friend into becoming a fellow diabetic. This provides a great opportunity to share what you can and can't eat with out providing a collegiate level lecture on nutrition.
I would love to hear your new or old personal lifestyle hacks. Sharing our knowledge is so helpful to our fellow diabetics. These changes are more reasonable than willpower because they allow for days when we want to be bad. Lifestyle changes take time but are much more substantiable over fad diets and willpower; so we can become a healthier version of ourselves in the new year. Please comment, like, share, and come back next week for more recipes, ideas, and tips. Subscribe to the website, if you would like weekly email reminders to add more recipes to your recipe book.
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, but a compilation of research from medical sites. Make sure to see your doctor and have up to date lab work.