<p>I’ve been baking like crazy this past week for cookie exchanges, etc. Now, I’d like to bake for our families and I just realized that we’ve got a few diabetics and those who are staying away from too many sweets. Any ideas for easy treats for them?</p>
<p>It may not be that easy, but I bake a sugar free cheese cake for my boss. She loves it. I simply take my favorite recipe and use splenda instead of sugar. I also use ground pecans instead of graham crackers for the crust/base. The recipe calls for sugar in both the crust and filling, so I just substitute splenda. I also make the cheesecake for a Christmas party for a Adult with special needs. Some are diabetic. I made it last year for the first time, and it was the only dessert that was completely gone by the end of the party. </p>
<p>Splenda measures cup for cup with sugar, but I use just a touch less in both the crust and filling. I also add a bit more vanilla and almond extract than the recipe calls for. Anyway, it goes over very well. Splenda works well in a cheesecake type dessert. I have also used it for sugar free apple pie. I just used splenda instead of sugar. My diabetic boss loved it.</p>
<p>I’ve learned that flour is almost just as bad as sugar, so I find it fairly pointless to make flour based baked goods that are low-sugar. Instead you have to be a little creative.</p>
<p>Also, when making things like low-sugar cheesecake - splenda doesn’t quite match cup-for-cup for sugar. In addition to being sweet, sugar is strongly hygroscopic and this affects the texture of food. So adding a little bit of sugar or syrup will help the texture. </p>
<p>If it has to be no-sugar, you can add a little malitol (just a little!!) instead.</p>
<p>As for foods, there’s cheesecake, flourless chocolate cake, custards, flans, creme brulee’s, cookies made from ground-up nuts, pudding, pies with ground-up nut crusts, etc.</p>
<p>I’d stick with certain fresh fruits and nuts.</p>
<p>Both my mother and mother-in-law are diabetic. Whenever I try to cook something special for them, it goes ignored, and they go after the forbidden treats instead. (Actually, that’s mainly my mother. My m-i-l instead can never eat anything I make, for one reason or another…)</p>
<p>I’ve found it most practical to make regular things that aren’t too bad. Angel food cake with fresh fruit and low-sugar whipped topping (in a can.) Ginger snaps - make them small, so it’s not too bad to cheat a bit with one or two.</p>
<p>Also, sugar-free jello or pudding. Pecan “sandwiches” filled with strawberry cream cheese.</p>
<p>In a modern world, there are no foods that diabetics are forbidden to eat. Like anyone without diabetes, they have to watch their intake of sugar and fat. That being said, they can have a small serving of cake or cookies as long as they monitor their blood sugar and compensate with exercise or medication or both. I am the mother of a child with Type 1 diabetes.</p>
<p>My DD is allergic to …um…molds, sugar, chocolate, dairy, wheat, eggs, potatoes, peanuts…yup - you name it! So diet is VERY important in our house and college is going to be VERY stressful. </p>
<p>At any rate, because her sugar allergy is to “cane sugar” (haven’t tested any other sweeteners so we really don’t KNOW, but…) - we use a lot of agave. VERY sweet, but none of that nasty artificial taste, not the strong flavor that honey has, yet low on the glycemix index. I first got this hint from a nutritionist and we don’t even HAVE sugar in our house anymore. BUT…it is still a sweetener and, like maple syrup, will increase blood sugar so might not be acceptable.</p>
<p>BUT…if you have a Whole Foods store…there is a brand of cookie my daughter loves (vegan, sugar free, and gluten free). I forget the brand! But they package a BIG cookie all by itself, or smaller versions in a box. They are not bad. Also, we love a jam that we get there. I forget the brand name of this too! But they have one version called “Four Fruits”. Dalfour…I think that might be the brand. It might be good to use for cooking. And “no sugar added” applesauce is a good ingredient. All these things have good flavor, are sweet, have no sugar added, and NO artificial sweeteners (blech!). But some of them do have OTHER types of natural sweetener, so check labels of course. There is also a store online that sells sugar free, agave sweetened cupcakes. But you’d have to research whether or not your friend can have agave.</p>
<p>There’s so much to learn about diabetes. I don’t have time to shop for all of the special ingredients so I’ll have to visit Whole Foods for some sugar free items and candies. I also like the fruit basket idea. Isn’t that sugar, too?</p>
<p>Bless you, lilmom, for trying so hard to make sure everyone’s taken care of.</p>
<p>Cleveland is right. I have been Type I diabetic for over 20 years. Nutritionists now say a carb is a carb. Many diabetics now count carbs in order to control their blood glucose levels - it’s about carb content and portion size. Basically diabetics just follow a healthy diet plan that would be healthy for anyone to follow.</p>
<p>Some people are under the illusion that if something is sugar free or made with an alternative sweetener or fat free, they can eat it at will and it’s ok but that’s not exactly accurate. It has to be taken into the context of portion size and food intake for the day. And, yes, fruit is sugar too. Diabetics can and do eat fruit but like everything else it has to be in moderation in small amounts. My problem with fruit is that it usually goes bad before I can eat it all.</p>
<p>With that said, many diabetics (like many non-diabetics) struggle with their weight. I am one of those and I work really hard with exercising and trying to eat right. I prefer not to receive gifts of food (although I dearly love cheesecake!) - it’s a lovely gesture and I would receive such a gift gracefully. However, I’d much prefer some bath salts to take a relaxing bath after I exercise - guilt free!</p>
<p>See if you can find sugar that is made from Stevia(I’ve seen ads on TV recently).
Stevia is a natural herb.</p>
<p>Another diabetic here chiming in with the carb warning - a carb IS a carb. Fruit can be just as bad as candy (but then, I have a forbidden lust for grapes…) and flour is pretty awful, too.</p>
<p>For me, I have found that dark chocolate is pretty low-carb and for some wonderful reason I can tolerate it really well. You might want to give that a try. Beware: You need to watch out for sugar-free stuff; sometimes the carb count is identical to the sugared stuff - and the sugarfree is often more expensive and less tasty!</p>
<p>I’m not diabetics but I just want to chime in that get my carb from eating lots of vegetables. You cannot avoid it.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, everyone (even diabetics) need some carbs. Diabetics are in danger when they have too many carbs and don’t balance it with medication or exercise. So for diabetics it’s not so much “avoiding” carbs completely but rather “limiting” carbs.</p>
<p>I - like many of the other posters here - got side-tracked with the title of this thread - treats for diabetics, and glossed over that part about specifically wanting to find something for a cookie exchange. I did want to add that if they signed up to be part of it, then they are surely expecting regular cookies. They probably have the same uses for cookies as the rest of us – feeding guests and family members! So I think they want the same variety everyone else is getting.</p>
<p>Not exactly a sugar-free place (although they do have some Stevia-sweetened cookies and pastries), but this bakery in Seattle has excellent vegan, gluten-free cookies (I’m not on any special diets, but I love their stuff):</p>
<p>[flying</a> apron sustainable bakery, vegan, glutan-free, wheat-free](<a href=“http://www.flyingapron.net/home.htm]flying”>http://www.flyingapron.net/home.htm)</p>
<p>Our local Costco has their baking cookbook.</p>
<p>Why don’t you figure out the carbs per cookie for whatever you want to bake, and include that with your cookies. The diabetic recipient can then adjust insulin accordingly. My son has type 1, and the first time I make anything I figure out what the carb count is per serving, after measuring and figuring out how many servings there are in the total recipe. I write that on the recipe card or in my cookbook for future reference.</p>
<p>That’s a fabulous idea, martharap. Very thoughtful. Even if the diabetic is type II and not on medication, most type IIs know how many carbs they should have with each meal so can adjust diet accordingly if they know the carb content of the treat.</p>
<p>I made chocolate cake (Pills) and 30% walnuts. I think the next time, I’d use 60% nuts. Serving size remains the same but the carbs are replaced with nuts.</p>
<p>Spiced nuts. Toast the nuts with a little olive oil, then toss with whatever herbs and spices you like. Or a little parmesan cheese.</p>
<p>There are a zillion recipes for sugar-glazed spiced nuts, too, if you want to use just a little sugar.</p>
<p>Or savory popcorn.</p>