A Diabetic-Friendly Thanksgiving Dinner
Diabetic recipes for the holidays
If you are diabetic, you know that holiday dinners pose a special challenge. According to the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, over 79 million Americans over the age of 20 are pre-diabetic. About 18 million of us have full-blown diabetes. Yikes!
Does this mean we should just skip Thanksgiving feasts altogether? Not at all. True, we're past the point where we can simply pull out Grandma's favorite recipe for sweet potato pie and bake away, lost in a cloud of white flour. We're just too -diabetic- a nation for that.
But what it does mean is that we have to be smart in planning our feasts. We have to start cooking with the -glycemic index- in mind. I've put together some ideas for Thanksgiving dinner that are delicious but low-glycemic or glycemic-neutral. Think of this as a -glycemic-smart- Thanksgiving cooking.
What Is the Glycemic Index?
The glycemic index ("GI") is a number that tells you whether a food is going to raise you blood sugar. Foods with high glycemic index numbers raise your blood sugar the fastest. These foods include white table sugar, most refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white potatoes and of course sugar-based desserts. Some foods that you think are healthy actually have moderately high glycemic index numbers, such as carrots.
High glycemic index foods are generally considered to those with a glycemic index number over 70. Low glycemic index foods generally have numbers less than 55.
The trick in -glycemic-smart- cooking is to aim for a meal that has a low GI number overall.
Protein
Meat is not really an issue for diabetics. Most protein is either glycemic-neutral or low-glycemic, meaning that they do not raise your blood sugar levels appreciably.
Bread
Think you have to skip bread at Thanksgiving if you're diabetic? Not necessarily. Breads such as rye or barley are low-glycemic. Try making a Thanksgiving stuffing from one of these ingredients instead of white meal or white bread:
1. Quinoa. This South American grain is mostly protein and is perfect for low-glycemic meal-planning.
2. Rye Bread Crumbs
3. Basmati Rice (brown)
Mashed Potatoes Substitute
White mashed potatoes raise blood sugar about as rapidly than white table sugar. To make a tasty substitute that is glycemic-neutral, try using cauliflower. Boil the cauliflower, then use a blender to produce a potato-like consistency. Add butter flakes, rosemary and pepper for flavor.
Sweet potatoes or yams are also a better choice than white potatoes. They are higher on the glycemic index than cauliflower but much lower than white potatoes.
Not all white potatoes are created equal. At least not in terms of their effect on your blood sugar levels. A 2005 study from researchers at the University of Toronto discovered glycemic values of white potatoes vary not just with the species of white potatoes but also with the cooking method you use.
Red potatoes, cold have a glycemic index number of 56, which is pretty low.
California white potatoes roasted have a glycemic index number of 72
Russet potatoes baked have a glycemic index number of 77
Instant white mashed have a glycemic index number of 88
Red Potatoes, boiled, have a surprisingly high glycemic index number of 89.
The morale of the story? First, when you buy your potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, know your brands. Second, if you're set on using white potatoes, cook them, then cool them in the refrigerator to lower their GI number. Eat cool potato salad rather than hot white mashed potatoes.
Glycemic Index Number for Thanksgiving Dinner
Food
Turkey 0
Stuffing from white meal
Stuffing from Rye Bread 58
Stuffing from Barley 70
Stuffing from Quinoa 18 to 20
Mashed potatoes, mashed, white depends on type of potato, see above list
Mashed cauliflower 15
Mashed potatoes, sweet or yams 51 to 54
Basmati rice white 69
Basmati rice brown 56