I know it's early to be thinking about Christmas food...but how can I make sure my diabetic dad doesn't feel like he's missing out?

[IHeartKingThistle]

I'm doing Christmas (yay!) this year. My dad has Type 2 diabetes and an insanely sweet tooth. I will buy him some sugar free sweets etc. but I like to cook and so much Christmas stuff has sugar in (chutney, braised cabbage, even bread.) And I have no idea what to do about puddings.

Ideally I'd like some lovely pudding/baking recipes without sugar that everyone could eat and not realise. I have no idea which substitutes work best. I just want to give him a great Christmas!

Any ideas gratefully received!

If you make your own bread, you can leave out any sugar.

Sweeten braised cabbage with apple and add fennel seeds or similar for flavour. That way there's no fast acting sugar in it.

Can you focus on savoury treats - good cheeses, sausages wrapped in bacon, spiced nut mixes, stuffed olives etc, or does he really prefer sugar?

My Dad also has type II. I think one day eating treat food won't hurt too much. All carbs will raise his blood sugar, not just sugar....potatoes and bread will too.
I'd provide his favourite savouries good cheese served with home made almond crackers, sausages, cured meats and fish. Avoid sweet alcoholic drinks, champagne and wine are ok. And then allow him to make his own choice.

Can I nudge you in the direction of the Christmas board?
I got over 100 posts very quickly when I dared to suggest that I may do a casserole instead of a roast on The Big Day!

They are ready and able to talk Christmas!

Have a look at the Diabetes UK website and type 'Christmas' into their search function, there are some awesome diabetes-friendly traditional Christmas food recipes!

Oh some great ideas - thanks so much!

Sorry Huevos, I wasn't sure where to put it!

I use xylitol instead of sugar when sweetening dishes. It works in baking as well though you may need to experiment a little with some dishes.

HTH

I am very new to this as DH has just been diagnosed with Type 2 so I am still learning. The literature I have says to avoid the sweets and jams aimed at diabetics, as not only are they expensive but they are sweetened with sorbitol and it has a nasty laxative effect.

Can you make him some sugar free sweets/jelly relying on the natural sugars in fruit?

For puddings you have to avoid fats as well as sugar.

You can make bread without sugar using spelt and wholemeal flour which is better than the white pappy stuff. Do you have a bread maker? I will post some recipes later (have to get in bath now).

The recipe listing on Diabetes UK is very comprehensive and I am wading my way through the site. I understand Antony Worrall Thompson has written a book of suitable recipes that you can buy online from Diabetes UK and also Tesco has a good meal planner on their website with lots of good ideas but I think you have to pay to subscribe.

Brilliantly helpful responses,thankyou.