Festival means opportunity to catch up with friends and family. But the focus on food and eating during this season can be very tough; especially for families dealing with diabetes.
Remember that festivals don’t have to disrupt your diabetes control. With a little preparation, you’ll be ready to face any festival head-on and still enjoy it.
Special occasions and festivals can be high when it comes to desserts. It is important to remember that most sweets have a lot of calories and carbohydrates in a small portion, so pay attention to your serving size. You can work a sweet treat into your diet by replacing a small portion of dessert with other carbohydrates already in your meal. For example, if you wish to have a small piece of cake or pie, you may choose to pass on eating rice or potatoes or some other carbohydrates during the main course.
Tips for desserts during festivals and other special occasions
- Decide ahead of time what and how much you will eat and how you will handle social pressure (No Thank you, I’m full).
- Share one portion of dessert with someone else and scrap off any high-calorie whipped cream topping or extra frosting.
- If there is someone else on the house during a party who is trying to watch what they eat, maybe they will want to join you for a walk while desserts are out on the table.
There are ways to revise many dessert recipes so they are healthier and still great tasting. Many times you can use less sugar or half of the sugar in the recipe can be replaced by a sugar substitute.