Diabetics Have Options When it Comes to Diabetic Friendly Desserts

Your diabetes problems are caused by too much glucose or sugar in the blood. The heart, blood vessels, eyes, and kidneys are some body parts can be damaged by high blood sugar. To slow down these problems and still have those special treats, you can certainly do a lot with diabetic friendly desserts.

Your success in diabetes management is often determined by your attitude. A change in lifestyle and diet is usually called for by the diagnosis. Remember, lowering the blood sugar levels is the goal. Sugar and other carbohydrates similarly affect glucose levels, calorie for calorie. Foods with lower sugar and carbohydrates usually make up a new diet for a diabetic.

Many recipes, ideas and products that are low in sugar provide a variety of choices for you. Dipping in some salad dressing or non-fat yogurt may be tried to liven up the taste of fresh veggies. In moderation, that will not destroy your sugar levels. You can also have vegetable soup of onions, celery, green beans, spinach, squash and other non-starchy foods in a bigger cup.

You can definitely eat desserts and sweets as well. Without depriving yourself, fit desserts and other treats into your meal plan. A way can be found by working with your dietician. Within acceptable limits, desserts for you can still be as delicious. It can only be a matter of watching your portion. This is the same as with all foods and with most things in life. You can certainly find the balance that works.

Some tasty treats can be your diabetic friendly cheesecakes. Try a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of no-sugar hot chocolate. Melon salad, fruit salad with yogurt dressing, and banana split cake are some delicious fruit treats you can surely enjoy. Diabetic friendly desserts that include many options for diabetics are made available. Sugar-free gelatins and puddings are some of the simplest and least expensive. Fruits, fruit salads, or a combination of fresh fruits is a common option. Canned fruits packed in natural juices are other options you can eat. You may love frozen grapes and bananas for dessert.

Try baking your own diabetic friendly cheesecakes at home. You can also try preparing pudding. Graham cracker sheets, fat-free milk, cream cheese, crushed pineapple, bananas, and pecans are nutritious ingredients you can include.

Definitely, you have the options. You may also consider natural sweeteners and sugar alternatives in your diabetic friendly desserts. For their beneficial characteristics, natural sugars are widely used in many applications nowadays.

Our diabetic friendly bakery carries yummy diabetic friendly cheesecake. Check us out at http://www.aTasteofHeavenTreats.com.

Tips for an Easy Diabetic Diet Menu

A diabetic diet menu is not a rigid diet where all you can eat are fruits or vegetables, although including plenty of these foods in your diet is beneficial but that applies for everyone and not just for diabetics. Below are some suggestions for a good diabetic diet menu:

- Include a wide variety of vegetables and fruits to your diabetic diet menu. Include apples, oranges, bananas, red cabbage, beans and carrots. Eat vegetables that are high in fiber and low on starch like broccoli and spinach. Additional fiber helps digestion and improves health.

- As much as possible try to eat whole grains instead of processed foods. Grains are at the base of the diabetic food pyramid which means that you should make it a central part of your diabetic diet menu. Choose whole wheat spaghetti and brown rice.

- Eat food at regular intervals. Don't have large gaps or too low gaps between successive meals such as lunch and evening snacks.

- Pick non-fat dairy goods like skimmed milk, non-fat yogurt and cheese. If the taste of these products does not suit you, you can go for the low-fat instead of non-fat dairy products. Today a lot of flavors are available in market such as strawberry, blueberry, peach etc. Include these in your Diabetic Diet Menu.

- One of the Diabetic cooking tips you can use is to abstain from high-calorie drinks like sodas. It is better to just drink water and fresh, natural fruit juices. Cut down on coffee and tea as much as possible. If not, try to reduce the sugar you use or opt for an artificial sweetener instead.

- Cut down on desserts. Sorry to say!! We all love to eat cakes, cookies and ice cream but cutting down on them can make a big difference on having a healthy body. It is alright to eat at once a week rather than every day. This change you need to make in the Diabetic Diet.

To stay in health, try to implement above food tips as much as you can. A diabetic diet menu emphasizes eating the right foods and the right amount. Remember, it is all about control and discipline.

Rahul Gupta is an expert in the field of Diabetes and related Diet. With his cooking tips, he has helped hundreds of people across the world. If you want to learn and get a free ebook on Diabetic Diet Menu and Recipes [http://healthinsuranceace.com/Diabetes/diabetes_food_recipe.html], please visit his website at healthinsuranceace.com/diabetes [http://healthinsuranceace.com/Diabetes/diabetes_food_recipe.html].

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Guilt-Free Holiday Eating

We are officially into the holiday season and that mean parties, get-togethers, and lots of food and drink. If you are like many people who are interested in staying healthy, feeling better, and maintaining your weight, making wise holiday food choices can be challenging. Thankfully, help is here. Hidden amidst the dessert dishes, family dinners, and holiday buffets are ways to indulge yourself while making realistic choices that won't send you into a dietary abyss or derail your health and weight goals. So forget about the all-or-nothing approach. By engaging some smart nutrition tactics and knowing which foods to choose, you can enjoy plenty of tasty holiday fare without being weighed down by guilt.

A Healthy Food Philosophy

The first step to guilt-free holiday eating is to make a decision that your goal is to eat in a manner that allows your body to feel good now and later. When you walk into a holiday party, decide eat the best of what there is, not all of what there is. Make up your mind to choose foods that are worthy of your taste buds and your goals. This means picking your favorites while keeping in touch with your body's limits. And somewhere in your mix of choices, decide to make a few decisions based on maintaining your health.

To help make your food choices fun and fulfilling, while also satisfying your health and weight goals, consider these nine great holiday foods you can feel good about eating:

Nuts

Bowls of nuts are staples at most parties. And while most of us think of nuts as fatty, salty, high-calorie snacks, strong evidence supports the claim that, "Diets containing one ounce of nuts per day can reduce the risk of heart disease." Nuts are loaded with the antioxidant vitamin E and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. In addition, research shows that eating a handful of nuts can satisfy hunger and help you stay full longer. The healthiest nuts? Almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, and macadamia nuts. As with anything, the key is moderation. Allow yourself to savor a small handful and move on.

Turkey

It's a holiday staple you can feel good about. A 3-ounce serving of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains 26 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 0 grams of saturated fat. For leftovers, put turkey on a whole-grain bun, add on the cranberry sauce, and you're getting an excellent source of protein, fiber and disease-fighting antioxidants.

Shrimp

Seafood is a great way to make holiday eating healthy. Eating 12 large steamed or grilled shrimp not only taste good, they fill you up at only 66 calories. Shrimp and crab claws are very low in fat - and cocktail sauce is fat free. While it is true that shrimp contain a fair amount of cholesterol, research has show that shrimp do not raise overall blood cholesterol levels. And, the low-fat content and high omega-3 fatty acids contained in shrimp are good for your heart.

Potatoes

Potatoes have gotten a bad rap in the low carbohydrate craze. Despite the latest diet trends, the highly nutritious potato can be an excellent addition to your holiday fare. They are fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium free. One medium potato contains only 100 calories, 0 calories from fat, and is loaded with potassium and vitamin C, and contains good amounts of B6 niacin, thiamin, and iron. If eaten with the skin, it also has lots of fiber. This holiday season, you might consider forgoing the potato chips and fries and instead enjoy a steaming baked potato. Order the potato plain and add your own toppings. Create a satisfying, flavorful spud with chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, fat free sour cream or low-calorie dressing.

Sweet Potatoes

Interested in even more value for your calorie buck? The sweet potato is a nutritional powerhouse. The calories in the sweet potatoes are the same as potatoes, but the vitamin and mineral count is far greater. Orange colored sweet potatoes are loaded with beta-carotene - approximately 520% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance. They are also an excellent source of vitamins C and E, provide potassium and vitamin B6, and are high in iron and dietary fiber. Sweet potatoes are great for you!

Pumpkin

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too? Imagine eating a portion of your daily vegetables in the form of pie. The bright orange color of pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotene, touted for its anti-aging and heart-healthy properties. To make your own lower calorie pumpkin pie, follow traditional recipes with just a few substitutions. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs (two egg whites for every whole egg), evaporated skim milk, and reduce the sugar by one quarter to save more than 100 calories and 18 grams of fat per slice. For a splurge, top it off with fat-free whipped topping.

Meringue cookies

Substitute some of your regular sugar cookies and other guilty treats for meringue cookies, which are light, delicate, and fat-free. The simple mixture of egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar is easy to make and can satisfy any sweet tooth. At only 28 calories per cookie, you can afford to indulge on these holiday cuties.

Chestnuts

Technically a fruit and not a nut, chestnuts are nutrient dense and extremely low in fat. Four chestnuts contain about 70 calories and less than 1 gram of fat. They are also a great source of dietary fiber, vitamin E, B vitamins and magnesium. The simplest way to eat chestnuts is to boil or roast them. To boil, use a knife to make an "X" in the shell. Place in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain and peel with a sharp knife while still hot. To roast, make an "X" through the shell to relieve the pressure while cooking. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the shells split. Remove the shell and the inner skin, and they are ready to eat!

Silk Soymilk Nog

Ordinary eggnog contains about 230 calories and 10 grams of fat per half-cup serving. Yikes! Consider trying Silk Nog which contains about 90 calories and 2 grams of fat per half-cup serving. Silk Nog is a seasonal eggnog-like product made with soymilk instead of cow's milk or eggs. It is available during the holidays in most larger grocery stores. Silk Nog is thinner than most full-fat eggnogs, but has a similar flavor. It's not real eggnog, but you just might find it a pleasant alternative to the real stuff.

Holiday eating is meant to be fun and not guilt-ridden. Avoid putting on extra weight while having a great time by using the tips above to choose quality and taste over quantity. As with so much else that is fun in life, let balance, intuition, and your body be your guides!

Dr. Annette Colby, RD can help you take the pain out of life, turn difficult emotions into joy, release stress, end emotional eating, and move beyond depression into an extraordinary life! Annette is the author of Your Highest Potential and has the unique ability to show you how to spark an amazing relationship with your life! Visit www.LovingMiracles.com to access hundreds of content filled articles and sign up for a Fr'ee subscription to Loving Miracles! newsletter.

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Healthy Eating Tips Aimed At Children

If you stay on top of the news, you probably already know that obesity is the number one health problem and type II diabetes is becoming epidemic among US children. Yet, many parents are baffled at how to get their children to eat more healthy foods. Getting children to eat healthy isn't as complicated as it first appears. By following a few healthy eating tips for several months to a year, children will begin to prefer healthy food choices, because that's what the body craves, anyway. The tips include healthy choices, variety, color, avoiding junk food and...very important, do-it-yourself instructions.

Make Healthy Food Choices: Controlling food choices is essential for children to begin eating healthy. Food choices don't have to be controlled in the home if they are controlled at the supermarket, cafeteria and restaurant. If only this tip were used, children would be far healthier than they are today. If it doesn't get into the basket, it doesn't come home. If it doesn't come home, it can't be eaten there. Simply by choosing low fat, non fat, sugar free, and fresh, unprocessed foods, you can deal a death blow to obesity. "But my son won't drink diet soda." Fine, there's the water faucet! Which one of you is responsible for his health? "But my daughter's school serves processed food meals for lunch." Give her no lunch money...Send her with a bag lunch...if they insist she eat their lunch, find a more flexible school or one that serves only healthy food choices. You can always make ice cream or cake an occasional treat, but if someone is loading your child up every day on sugars, fats and salts, they are literally poisoning and addicting the child to things that will destroy their health.

One 4-year-old I knew naturally preferred vegetables over everything else. Her mother forced her to eat pork chops like mine forced me to eat spinach. If your child naturally prefers things that are healthy, don't fight it. You can find creative ways to add foods like soy beans, nuts and beans that are high in proteins. Don't fight success! Don't accept failure, either. Another family I knew had the mother scurrying to meet every tiny food preference the children had. It turned out that the only thing all of them liked was pizza, beef (especially hamburgers), cheese, corn and ice cream. Needless to say, the whole family struggles with weight issues. The tip of making healthy food choices is only successful if you use the discipline to make those healthy choices consistently. Skipping back and forth can't be an option if your aim is to teach your children to make healthy food choices.

Use Variety In Texture, Flavor And Color: One of the most helpful tips in aiming kids toward healthy foods is to use a variety. Young children are attracted to bright primary colors, which is one of the reasons yellow corn is popular. I didn't like salad as a kid, but it was always the same...iceberg lettuce and tomatoes...on Thanksgiving we got croutons. There are so many beautiful colors and interesting flavors in the vegetable section, there is no reason to use one boring recipe over and over. Fruits are naturally colorful, full of many nutrients and unprocessed sugar. Fresh fruits are excellent snack and dessert substitutes. Many ideas for variety and color of snacks are in my article Making Healthy Snack Choices which is too long to duplicate here. Please...if you want kids to like vegetables, don't use those mushy canned ones...they have no nutrients and are the most unpleasant things for a kid to eat. Almost everything in cans is also available frozen and is simple to cook, using a microwave. Use pepper, garlic powder, ground dill or basil for added flavor with no salt. Also, use variety in preparation methods by going from stir-fry, to baked, to BBQ, etc. The very changes in texture, color and flavor of foods gives kids an appreciation for the natural flavors of healthy foods.

Eating Healthy Saves Time And Money: Many people have the misconception that eating healthy is expensive and takes a lot of time. In my personal experience doing both, preparing healthy foods is no more time-consuming than preparing unhealthy foods. In fact, most recipes are faster and easier to prepare, and there's no driving or waiting in line for the prepared foods. Time is just an excuse! As far as cost goes, well, there's a huge difference. Eating healthy is far less expensive. The average family could save at least 75% of their food budget if they switched to fresh meats, fruits and vegetables and eliminated the prepared snacks and meals. Anyone can do this and improve the health practices of their children. All it takes is the decision to change and the discipline to stick to it.

Do It Yourself-Avoiding Junk Food: You may have noticed I talk a lot about preparing this and cooking that. That's because one of the healthy eating practices every child should learn is the practice of doing it yourself. By doing the cooking yourself, you set the example that it can be done...you don't have to bring your meal home already cooked from the store or restaurant. Doing it yourself puts you in charge of the amount of salt, fat, carbohydrates and proteins in your foods. It's much healthier! Also, one of the things that makes food interesting is cooking it. If your kids get to take part in the preparation, they have a vested interest in eating the foods. You can't do that with dinner-in-a-box.

When we talk about using "do-it-yourself" to aim your kids toward eating healthy, there is one tip that outweighs all others. If you want your kids to eat healthy, do it yourself. You can't eat ice cream and tell them it's only for grown-ups. While puffing on a cigarette, my Dad told us never to smoke "It's a filthy habit." I'll bet you know how that turned out...four out of five of his children smoked. If you want your kids to eat healthy, set the example by eating healthy, yourself.

Of course, where kids are concerned, there is no guarantee, but the vast majority of children will eat healthy if their parents make healthy food choices, use variety, plan and prepare the meals, and provide a healthy eating example in their choices. The bottom line in most cases, childhood obesity isn't an epidemic... it's a choice. Choose health!

Glen Williams is Webmaster for http://www.e-health-fitness.com, founder and CEO of EHF, Inc. He has done extensive research on personal and family health and fitness issues and has been helping and advising people on health since 1987. You can comment on his articles at Health And Fitness Forums.

The Benefits Of Nutrient Dense Fruits And Vegetables In A Healthy Diet

All fruits and vegetables are super foods. They are the most nutrient dense of the food groups, meaning they have very low calories for nutritional punch that they pack. They are high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. They are low in fat and calories. They protect against a number of diseases, including cancer. Making fruit and vegetables the main component in your diet guarantees a slender, healthy body.

You don't need to memorize this information or count calories. Just be aware and add nutrient dense fruits and vegetables to your meals for optimal health. The color of each fruit and vegetable is the key to the type of phytochemical it contains. Be sure your plate has 2 or 3 colors: red tomatoes, green broccoli, purple berries.

Here are some ways to ease more of them into your diet;

Add a handful of green leafy vegetables, sliced avocado or sliced apple to sandwiches.

Drink 100% vegetable juice.

Tomato sauce is an excellent source of phytochemicals. Use in spaghetti sauce, chili, salsas, soups, beans.

Add extra chopped vegetables to soups.

Save the water from cooking vegetables and add it to your soup. Replace the water in bread or other recipes with the vegetable water.

Add dried fruits and vegetables to lunches. The healthful phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables are not affected by cooking, freezing, canning or drying. Dried produce has more fiber than fresh. Watch out for sugar content in dried fruit.

Add pureed foods to dishes: pureed sweet potatoes to macaroni and cheese: applesauce substituted for part of the fat in desserts: any pureed fruit or vegetable to soup.

Make dessert with fruits; sugar-free angel food cake with strawberries: cobblers and pies: canned peaches and gingersnaps: yogurt and fruit.

Top Picks of Fruit and Vegetable Super Foods:

Red tomatoes--contain lycopene that reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes: photochemicals in their flesh prevent free radicals from damaging joints, muscles, and brain cells.

Broccoli--boosts the immune system, fortifying it with cancer fighting photochemical; contains vitamin C and folate.

Spinach--contains high fiber, calcium, vitamins C, A, B6, E, K, and iron.

Berries--antioxidants, fiber, calcium, vitamin C

Bananas--important for its phosphorus content.

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