Ultimate (hopefully) Christmas Thread - Tips, Tricks, "Hacks", Coping Mechanisms, Swaps, Recipes - Anything goes!

[Paul_]

What a great idea for a thread!

There's just the two of us, and my husband cooks Christmas dinner, which we have in the evening as daylight is so short. He is a superstar! He makes the best roast potatoes in the world (I taught him how) but he doesn't make them! We have a roast rib of beef and loads of diabetic-friendly veg. with butter on. We only eat that course - no starters, no puds. I do have one glass of red wine. This year I will have a few nuts which he allocates me as in my mind there is no such thing as "a few". That's why I also don't have the two squares of dark chocolate which would be okay if I did, but the rest of the bar would be calling to me, so we don't buy it. I don't crave his chocolate/biscuits/cake/sweets/peanuts/crisps - am completely indifferent to them since starting keto. That was an unexpected and most welcome side-effect. I'm not goody-two-shoes - it just happened.

I'm not a snacker - I wasn't brought up that way - he is, so he snacks all day, but they are his snacks not mine. So they don't interest me. I'll brunch with something diabetic-friendly when I am hungry. We used to have hot chocolate with brandy after a long walk on the day, but I just have the brandy now, maybe with coffee with cream.

Leading up to the day we do some mild socialising so I do come across people who try to press me to eat/drink things that will do me no good. It annoys me because I see it as manipulative and inconsiderate, but I woz brung up proper so I just refuse politely but firmly, and the more they push (why DO people do this? It's to make themselves feel good. Tough.) the more polite I am. Passive aggressive I can do.

It's honestly no hardship for me to do Christmas this way, but I have no criticism whatever of others having a different approach. The important thing IMO is to stay as healthy as we can manage while having as good a time as we can safely manage. That's different for all of us.

I'm pretty determined not to ruin the progress I've made at Christmas, so I completely get where you're coming from. Blood glucose is one thing, some fasting and controlled days after will bring that back in line hopefully from what I've seen others say. However, I'm also trying to lose a lot of weight, so staying within my strict carb limit isn't the only priority, and it's not much good if I consume 84,312 calories worth of fat and protein!

As for those who encourage diabetics to eat things that are bad for them, it really annoys me too. However, on the couple of occasions I've had to deal with it so far, I've taken the line of "Are you really that incapable of enjoying food and alcohol on your own terms, that you need me to brighten your day/night by joining in? It's a bit weird, no?" Fairly successful in silencing them so far.

 

[Paul_]

The thread title mentioned recipes as well, so I thought to share the recipe for this amazing low carb chocolate cake.

Definitely. Christmas specific recipes, links to existing forum recipes, or anything else along these lines most welcome here on this thread - especially if it's for anything that looks as amazing as that cake does!

 

[Paul_]

Both will have sweets and nibbles around which means a constant need for an insulin top up as I get offered another Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate truffle (my parents) or a toffee Quality Street (ILs).

Sounds great, I love family orientated Christmas days.

Here's @In Response's insulin delivery arriving on the 24th December, in preparation for the big day....

 

[Laineybod]

This will be my second Christmas as a diet controlled type ii. Christmas day for us (me, husband, son) will be quiet with just my brother in law visiting. My parents and my in laws have all passed away (my father in law most recently in May this year). So we tend to host and do the cooking. Last year they had prawns and smoked salmon which I hate so I had tuna and salad starter. We then had turkey, veg, roast potatoes and twice baked potatoes and all the little extras. I was careful about the potatoes and then all being frozen (baked were prepped and frozen the month before and toastie we bought prepped for once) helped as well to an extent. Plus of course careful about anything else a bit carby. They had a roulade and I had a sliver of it (20g, I weighed it) with sugar free jelly and cream. Luckily I have strong happy memories of jelly and cream growing up (we always had trifle but I never liked trifle so my dad would make me a triple layered jelly with cream) so it felt right. I have never liked all the traditional dried fruit things like mince pies or Christmas pudding. As for the days around and treats I would have a little of what I fancied and bulk it out with nuts (not too many of course) and the like. My first Christmas night out for a while this year and I will just do my best to be careful. I do have a cheeky treat but I have worked out what I can cope with and try to keep to that. Last year I asked on here for hot chocolate ideas but in the end didn't have any cravings for one so I am ready this year. Cocoa and unsweetened almond milk and sweetener is what I am going for. I did find some sugar free marshmallows and they were amazing so if I can find them again I will put some away for the top plus maybe some squirty cream. I'm getting quite excited now lol. I will have to do some recipe research.

 

[KennyA]

My first diabetic (knowingly diabetic, that is) Christmas I thought I'd be OK to have some Christmas pudding. The rest of the meal was almost zero carb. This was before I'd got hold of a glucose meter. I'd been on 20g carb a day for about a month.

I did have some pudding, and it was really good, with brandy butter and thick cream. After about half an hour, the sugar hit me and I had to go to bed, I felt so ill. That continued for most of Boxing Day - nausea and headache mainly.

A lesson learnt.

 

[Paul_]

My first diabetic (knowingly diabetic, that is) Christmas I thought I'd be OK to have some Christmas pudding. The rest of the meal was almost zero carb. This was before I'd got hold of a glucose meter. I'd been on 20g carb a day for about a month.

I did have some pudding, and it was really good, with brandy butter and thick cream. After about half an hour, the sugar hit me and I had to go to bed, I felt so ill. That continued for most of Boxing Day - nausea and headache mainly.

A lesson learnt.

Oddly enough, I had been wondering what happens when you're low carb for a decent period of time, then relapse and have a carb overload - and now I know.

Thanks Kenny....I think.

 

[lovinglife]

Yes one of my early Christmases I went a bit crazy on the roasties, parsnips and stuffing, learnt me a lesson

 

[Bcgirl]

Love this topic! I’ll be in Mexico for Christmas this year. I personally don’t have any issue with food, meaning I don’t crave sweets or goodies. I’m allergic to wheat and gluten and many nuts so I know I can’t eat the breads, cookies, cakes….I also can’t justify eating something that will harm me, so no ice cream, candy, chips. What I love about Mexico is the atmosphere, the huge gatherings in the town square, the dancing and music, the fireworks, the children….it’s all so special, who needs bad food? We’re in a condo so there is zero temptation from any pile of food you would find at an all inclusive resort. I may splurge on some hot, fresh corn tortillas though.

 

[Lakeslover]

Great idea for a thread.

Christmas Eve is likely to be a chilli with rice for everyone else and low carb roti or crackers for me.

on Christmas Day it is a family tradition to have pork pie for breakfast. I will join in, but leave the pastry.

lunch will be a buffet with sausage rolls, crisps, different ham and continental meats, olives, cheese, crackers, salad. I make some keto cheese crackers for me, and buy some lower carb crackers, allow myself one sausage roll, ignore the crisps and indulge in the meats and cheeses.

our evening meal is Turkey, sprouts cooked with bacon and cream, cauli cheese. I allow myself two small roast potatoes which have been par boiled, cooled then air fried in goose fat and seem to have little effect on blood sugar. I have a small amount of gravy and bread sauce, and I make my own cranberry sauce with sweetener instead of sugar. Afterwards my one indulgence is a very small amount of Christmas pudding with lots of cream.

Boxing Day is usually home cooked gammon, cold Turkey, veg, and potatoes for others.

I make my own mince pies, and buy shop ones for others. https://sugarfreelondoner.com/keto-sugar-free-mince-pies/ I have also made shortbread using sweetener. It tends to be more crunchy but still tasty. I might make a low carb cheesecake as well.

Any snacks for me will be nuts or dark chocolate.

 

[Antje77]

What I love about Mexico is the atmosphere, the huge gatherings in the town square, the dancing and music, the fireworks, the children….it’s all so special

We'll need you to post some pictures in december!

 

[Jaylee]

Christmas, I leave till the last minute.. Then surprise with a subtle light show..

Set the “mood..”

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Oddly enough, I had been wondering what happens when you're low carb for a decent period of time, then relapse and have a carb overload - and now I know.

Thanks Kenny....I think.

Some respond worse than others.... A little blip won't do much harm, an entire slice of pud though... That can floor you.

 

[filly]

Great idea for a thread.

Christmas Eve is likely to be a chilli with rice for everyone else and low carb roti or crackers for me.

on Christmas Day it is a family tradition to have pork pie for breakfast. I will join in, but leave the pastry.

lunch will be a buffet with sausage rolls, crisps, different ham and continental meats, olives, cheese, crackers, salad. I make some keto cheese crackers for me, and buy some lower carb crackers, allow myself one sausage roll, ignore the crisps and indulge in the meats and cheeses.

our evening meal is Turkey, sprouts cooked with bacon and cream, cauli cheese. I allow myself two small roast potatoes which have been par boiled, cooled then air fried in goose fat and seem to have little effect on blood sugar. I have a small amount of gravy and bread sauce, and I make my own cranberry sauce with sweetener instead of sugar. Afterwards my one indulgence is a very small amount of Christmas pudding with lots of cream.

Boxing Day is usually home cooked gammon, cold Turkey, veg, and potatoes for others.

I make my own mince pies, and buy shop ones for others. https://sugarfreelondoner.com/keto-sugar-free-mince-pies/ I have also made shortbread using sweetener. It tends to be more crunchy but still tasty. I might make a low carb cheesecake as well.

Any snacks for me will be nuts or dark chocolate.

Yum Yum .....

 

[Deleted member 527103]

who needs bad food?

I do not consider my Mum's homemade Christmas pud, etc. as bad food.
In fact, I avoid thinking of any food as "bad". It may not suit me: I may need to take more insulin (yes, I know I have that option), I may have an intolerance to it, I may not like the flavour, I may have a moral dislike of it. But that is me. It is not the food.

 

[filly]

Christmas, I leave till the last minute.. Then surprise with a subtle light show..

Set the “mood..”

Oh dear made me cry. My fave song. Dad used to sing it all the time at Christmas and at other times. Whenever I hear it , it reminds me of him .

 

[lovinglife]

Oh dear made me cry. My fave song. Dad used to sing it all the time at Christmas and at other times. Whenever I hear it , it reminds me of him .

Me too, we used to tease my dad with that song as he was born in Christmas Day, we never spent a Christmas Day apart until sadly he passed away on Christmas Eve 2019. Always blubber when I hear that song, but it makes me smile too - thanks @Jaylee for this time making me smile

 

[Paul_]

Great idea for a thread.

Christmas Eve is likely to be a chilli with rice for everyone else and low carb roti or crackers for me.

on Christmas Day it is a family tradition to have pork pie for breakfast. I will join in, but leave the pastry.

lunch will be a buffet with sausage rolls, crisps, different ham and continental meats, olives, cheese, crackers, salad. I make some keto cheese crackers for me, and buy some lower carb crackers, allow myself one sausage roll, ignore the crisps and indulge in the meats and cheeses.

our evening meal is Turkey, sprouts cooked with bacon and cream, cauli cheese. I allow myself two small roast potatoes which have been par boiled, cooled then air fried in goose fat and seem to have little effect on blood sugar. I have a small amount of gravy and bread sauce, and I make my own cranberry sauce with sweetener instead of sugar. Afterwards my one indulgence is a very small amount of Christmas pudding with lots of cream.

Boxing Day is usually home cooked gammon, cold Turkey, veg, and potatoes for others.

I make my own mince pies, and buy shop ones for others. https://sugarfreelondoner.com/keto-sugar-free-mince-pies/ I have also made shortbread using sweetener. It tends to be more crunchy but still tasty. I might make a low carb cheesecake as well.

Any snacks for me will be nuts or dark chocolate.

Sounds like an amazing way to spend Christmas!

Thanks for all the great ideas in your reply and the recipe, will be stealing a lot of those.

 

[Paul_]

Love this topic! I’ll be in Mexico for Christmas this year. I personally don’t have any issue with food, meaning I don’t crave sweets or goodies. I’m allergic to wheat and gluten and many nuts so I know I can’t eat the breads, cookies, cakes….I also can’t justify eating something that will harm me, so no ice cream, candy, chips. What I love about Mexico is the atmosphere, the huge gatherings in the town square, the dancing and music, the fireworks, the children….it’s all so special, who needs bad food? We’re in a condo so there is zero temptation from any pile of food you would find at an all inclusive resort. I may splurge on some hot, fresh corn tortillas though.

Very jealous, sounds like a lovely way to spend Christmas!

 

[Paul_]

Some respond worse than others.... A little blip won't do much harm, an entire slice of pud though... That can floor you.

My Christmases in the past have always centred around 3 main components - great company, good food, and lots of alcohol. The first one hasn't changed, after the replies in this thread I'm pretty confident the second will still be true (just less of it and fewer carbs), and the third one was always a questionable component anyway for the enjoyment aspect due to hangovers (really don't miss them).

I was feeling a little anxious about the festive period, Christmas has all been so special for my family, but all the replies here have really put my mind at ease.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

My Christmases in the past have always centred around 3 main components - great company, good food, and lots of alcohol. The first one hasn't changed, after the replies in this thread I'm pretty confident the second will still be true (just less of it and fewer carbs), and the third one was always a questionable component anyway for the enjoyment aspect due to hangovers (really don't miss them).

I was feeling a little anxious about the festive period, Christmas has all been so special for my family, but all the replies here have really put my mind at ease.

Christmas'll be fine, no worries. The most important components are still intact, meaning the excellent company and though maybe a bit different, good food.

I think you're going to be relieved when it's over, and everything went even better than you expected it to.