Megan here with some great ideas for birthday and celebration food ideas.
Last time, I wrote about the questions I ask myself before participating in celebration activities. If you missed it, check out that post here.
This post is specifically centered around the food itself and how to celebrate without falling off the diabetes diet wagon. (Which, consequently, is a terrible wagon where at least one functional part doesn’t work, but I digress.)
So, some great ideas for diabetes friendly celebration sweets:
- Watermelon with sugar free cool whip and berries, which can be arranged to look like a cake if you’re feeling especially festive (see picture above and here for the article and image credits!).
- Strawberry shortcake with Bisquick biscuits (don’t add sugar!) and Splenda instead of sugar for the strawberries. Serve with no-sugar added vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.
- Chocolate pudding pie made with sugar free pudding and sugar free Cool Whip. You can swap sugar for Splenda or sweetener on the graham cracker crust. Use a pre-made pie crust if you like, just pay attention to the sugars/carbs in there!
- Sugar free chocolate syrup with strawberries and pretzels for dipping (salty AND sweet!)
- Frozen yogurt with berries and roasted nuts.
- Sugar free Jello in the flavor of your choice, with sugar free Cool Whip and crushed pretzels and/or fresh fruit on top.
If you’re like me and enjoy making some easy changes to available things, I recommend some of the following swaps in dessert ordering, making:
- Fruit sauces on the side when ordering dessert out somewhere (these are usually PACKED with sugar and carbs). I also ask about the whipped cream and whether it’s from a can, Cool Whip, or something similar, or if it’s made in house. Generally they have to check, but it’s worth the question.
- Dark chocolate instead of Milk Chocolate, and I use semi-sweet chocolate chips in my cookies/brownies instead of milk chocolate.
- Swap no-sugar added applesauce in for sugar/sweetener and/or oils in your recipes (see links for advice and details).
- SHARE. Sharing is caring folks! If you can share with a friend or family member (or even new person at your table who’s willing to get their own small plate for their portion), DO IT. It will save you calories, carbs, and too many chances for serious overindulgence.
So there again, just a few ideas for everyone and some suggestions for participating and staying on this pain-in-the-neck wagon. For more great recipes and ideas, I recommend checking out this great post from the Martha Stewart website and from Taste of Home. Seriously-check these out. There’s over one hundred different recipes here!
I’d LOVE it if you’d like to share some of your recipes and suggestions here too-we can ALL, ALWAYS use ideas for making this life easier and just a little sweeter (sorry-couldn’t resist!).
Love and Light,
Megan C.
The Friendly Neighborhood Diabetics 