Satisfying a Diabetic’s Sweet Tooth

1. Satisfying A Diabetic’s Sweet Tooth

2. Having diabetes does not imply that you must give up every kind of sweet, instead you should moderate its intake. Proper meal planning and rightful eating practices can help in achieving this objective. Here is a guide to help in ensuring calorie management while having sweets: • Instead of adding, incorporate desserts in your meals. Simply stating, if you plan on having a dessert, reduce carbohydrate (carb) content in other meals to maintain calorie intake during the day. Substitute small portions of any sweet for carbs like roti, bread, rice, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt or potatoes. • Wheneating in a restaurant, order a dessert for the entire table and share it. You can have ice-cream or a kheer but make sure it’s a 1/3-cup to 1/2-cup serving. • Prefer allowed artificial sweeteners (sucralose, stevia, sorbitol, mannitol etc.) instead of conventional white sugar to cut sweet/carbohydrate intake.

3. However, if you enjoy desserts or recipes made with non-caloric sweeteners, include this while counting your carb intake as cookies with “no added sugars”, or homemade cookies baked with stevia are NOT carb-free foods. • Fruit is one of the best desserts for people with diabetes as it gives vitamins and minerals along with fiber. One can make fruit pudding with low-fat yogurt to enjoy a low-calorie dessert. Always remember , Portion control is the key ! • Replace milk chocolates with dark chocolates having high percent of cocoa in it, preferably 60%+.

4. A Few Good Recipes 1. Apple Basundi (Calories Per 150 Gms – 151.5kcal) Ingredients: • Toned milk: 500 ml • Saffron 7-8 strands (soaked in warm milk) • Cardamom (elaichi) powder: ¼ teaspoon • Freshly grated apple: 1 cup • Chia seeds (soaked in 2 spoon milk): 1 spoon • Sugar substitute: 1-2 sachets (1 gm each) • Lime juice: 1/2tsp • Sliver Almonds and pistachio: 2 pieces each

5. Method: • Bring milk to a boil in a broad-bottomed non-stick pan. Reduce the flame and cook on low flame for approximately 1 hour (till volume is reduced to half), while stirring occasionally. • Add 3 sachets of sugar substitute and cook on a slow flame for approximately 25 minutes (or till the milk thickens like rabdi), stirring continuously. • Add the cardamom powder and cook on a low flame for another 20 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it cool. • Heat a small non-stick pan. Add the grated apple, 1 sachet of sugar substitute and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from flame and when cool, add it to the milk mixture with soaked chia seeds. • Serve chilled, garnished with slivers of almonds and pistachio. 

6. 2. Lauki Kheer (Calories Content Per 150 Gms – 167.0) Ingredients: • Grated Bottle Gourd (Doodhi/Lauki): 1 cup • Skimmed milk: 150ml • natural sweetener (sucralose) – 1 tsp • Cardamom Powder (Elaichi Powder): ¼ teaspoon • Chia seeds: 1 teaspoon Method: • Mix the milk and grated bottle gourd in a deep non-stick pan • Cook on medium flame for 10-12 minutes or till gourd is fully cooked, stirring occasionally • Add jaggery to this mixture, and cook on medium flame for 2 minutes • Add cardamom powder and chia seeds and stir well • Keep the pan aside until it cools off and then refrigerate it for at least 1 hour • Lauki Kheer is ready to be served

7. 3. Mix-fruit Shrikhand(Calories Content: 65 Kcal Per Serving) Ingredients (for 4 servings) • Chopped mixed fruits (apple , pear and orange): 1/3 cup • Hung low-fat curds (dahi): 1/4 cup • Warm low-fat milk: 1/4 tbsp • A few saffron (kesar) strands • Sugar substitute: 1/2 tsp • Cardamom (elaichi) powder: a pinch Method: • Combine milk and saffron in a small bowl and mix well till the saffron dissolves. Keep aside • Combine curd, saffron-milk mixture, sugar substitute and cardamom powder in a bowl and mix well using a whisk. Refrigerate for at least an hour. • Just before serving, place ¼th of the mixed fruits into a serving glass or bowl and top with ¼th of the chilled shrikhand. Repeat step 4 to make 3 more servings • Serve immediately

8. Tip: 2 cups of low-fat curds, when tied in a muslin cloth and hung for 1½ hours, will yield 1 cup of hung low-fat curds. Read More Health Related Blogs Here & Stay Healthy: https://hcah.in/health-advantage/