My mother in law has been diagnosed as diabetic and I wanted to put together a hamper for her of lots of things that would be good for her that she hadn't thought to try or might of been a little pricey could anyone help out? I did look at a diabetic hamper website but then have been put off by diabetic foods negative press and the doctor told her diabetic food not always tat good for her so to stay clear.
Hampers?
- Thread starter Fruit and Nuts
- Start Date
My doctor told me to avoid any foods with diabetic written on it - she told me that there is as much sugar in them as normal foods. I think you are allowed nuts and fruit (in the right portions), crackers and cheese are good too, but be careful of the salt content.
If I were you, I would make up your own hamper for her, that way you will be able to see what goes into it.
If I were you, I would make up your own hamper for her, that way you will be able to see what goes into it.
Depends whether you want it to be all dry/tinned goods, or to include some fresh.
You could put in some nice cheeses, some nuts, and packets of oatcakes and/or sesame Ryvita (check the label - you're looking for 5g of carb per 100g - or less. Don't eat too many at once!). Sugar-free peanut butter. Tins of fish, maybe some smoked salmon, ham, salamis, bacon, eggs. Sugar-free jellies (I get mine in little pots from Tesco). Cream and/or live unsweetened yoghurt. Fresh fruit - berries, plums, apricots, small apples. Bananas are a complete no-no.
Chocolate - go for dark chocolate, 70% cocoa powder or higher. Milk chocolate has too much sugar.
Many people on here use Bergen Soya and Linseed bread rather than 'normal' bread. I can eat Tesco Finest Multi-grain Wholemeal, but not much and not every day. Breakfast cereal is a problem - I can eat "Lizi's Granola", but not every day and only in small quantities.
A good rule of thumb on vegetables is - nothing from under the ground. There are exceptions - onions, leeks, garlic (if they can be said to be underground!) Anything green and leafy is fine.
I use a sweetener called Splenda, which comes in tablet and granulated form. Others are available!
Do not include - pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, cakes and pastries, biscuits, jams, honey, marmalade, sugar, dried fruit, sugary fruit, starchy veg.
The problem is that all Type 2 diabetics are different in what they can eat. Some people can eat porridge; some can't. Some can eat pineapple - not me! The only way to find out is to get a blood glucose meter and test, before and 2 hours after each meal. She'll soon find out what sends her blood glucose too high.
If she has been diagnosed early, you may find that she can keep reasonable control by cutting out anything sweet (including the sweetest fruit), and by eating only small portions of anything containing carbohydrate.
Have a good look round the site and you'll get plenty of good ideas for food. On the 'Newly Diagnosed' bit there is the 'Info for Newbies', which would be well worth printing off for your mother-in-law to read. Have a look on the Low-carb Forum for plenty of good ideas on what to eat - there are many recipes, including cakes, puddings and chocolate.
Diabetes need not mean depriving yourself of good foods; it just mean re-thinking things a bit - and watching your carb intake. In fact, it's a challenge
. As a friend of mine says - I want to be buried with my eyes, kidneys and feet all intact! The only way to achieve this is to control your diet to keep your Blood Glucose levels low - get your mother-in-law a meter, preferably from the doctor. She needs one in order to learn how to eat for good BG levels.
Please come back and let us know how you're all getting on. You can ask any questions you like on here - there's always someone around to help.
Best wishes to your mum-in-law :wave: Could you tell us more about her - likes and dislikes, for instance? Does she need to lose weight? she's not alone :wink:
Viv 8)
You could put in some nice cheeses, some nuts, and packets of oatcakes and/or sesame Ryvita (check the label - you're looking for 5g of carb per 100g - or less. Don't eat too many at once!). Sugar-free peanut butter. Tins of fish, maybe some smoked salmon, ham, salamis, bacon, eggs. Sugar-free jellies (I get mine in little pots from Tesco). Cream and/or live unsweetened yoghurt. Fresh fruit - berries, plums, apricots, small apples. Bananas are a complete no-no.
Chocolate - go for dark chocolate, 70% cocoa powder or higher. Milk chocolate has too much sugar.
Many people on here use Bergen Soya and Linseed bread rather than 'normal' bread. I can eat Tesco Finest Multi-grain Wholemeal, but not much and not every day. Breakfast cereal is a problem - I can eat "Lizi's Granola", but not every day and only in small quantities.
A good rule of thumb on vegetables is - nothing from under the ground. There are exceptions - onions, leeks, garlic (if they can be said to be underground!) Anything green and leafy is fine.
I use a sweetener called Splenda, which comes in tablet and granulated form. Others are available!
Do not include - pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, cakes and pastries, biscuits, jams, honey, marmalade, sugar, dried fruit, sugary fruit, starchy veg.
The problem is that all Type 2 diabetics are different in what they can eat. Some people can eat porridge; some can't. Some can eat pineapple - not me! The only way to find out is to get a blood glucose meter and test, before and 2 hours after each meal. She'll soon find out what sends her blood glucose too high.
If she has been diagnosed early, you may find that she can keep reasonable control by cutting out anything sweet (including the sweetest fruit), and by eating only small portions of anything containing carbohydrate.
Have a good look round the site and you'll get plenty of good ideas for food. On the 'Newly Diagnosed' bit there is the 'Info for Newbies', which would be well worth printing off for your mother-in-law to read. Have a look on the Low-carb Forum for plenty of good ideas on what to eat - there are many recipes, including cakes, puddings and chocolate.
Diabetes need not mean depriving yourself of good foods; it just mean re-thinking things a bit - and watching your carb intake. In fact, it's a challenge
. As a friend of mine says - I want to be buried with my eyes, kidneys and feet all intact! The only way to achieve this is to control your diet to keep your Blood Glucose levels low - get your mother-in-law a meter, preferably from the doctor. She needs one in order to learn how to eat for good BG levels.Please come back and let us know how you're all getting on. You can ask any questions you like on here - there's always someone around to help.
Best wishes to your mum-in-law :wave: Could you tell us more about her - likes and dislikes, for instance? Does she need to lose weight? she's not alone :wink:
Viv 8)
Fruit and Nuts said:
What a lucky Mother In Law she is having such a kind and considerate Daughter In Law!!! I'd definitely stay away from any 'diabetic' foods as some of the sweeteners used can cause quite nasty toilet issues for some people - as I recently discovered to my cost when I ordered some 'diabetic sweets' online. I ate two ... and was instantly out of action for two days because I couldn't leave the bathroom! The rest - £18 worth of sweets and meal replacement bars which were meant to last me a while ... went straight in the bin. That was down to SORBITOL, but I'm OK with Sucralose for some reason.
Some of us eat a low carb high fat diet which means we include butter, cream, hard cheese, eggs, full fat yoghurt, nuts, avocados in our diet, it doesn't mean we gorge on pounds of butter - just that we eat foods which contain fats in normal amounts rather than avoid them.
So those of us on LCHF eat mainly Protein, Veggies and Fats but not the Obvious Carbs like bread, pasta, rice, cakes, sweets, biscuits - and I personally eat fresh fatty meat of all varieties and oily fish. I don't buy tins or processed sliced meats now if I can help it. I get whatever carbs I need from fruits like strawberries and other berries and I can tolerate nectarines quite well, and above the ground veggies like cauli, brocolli, sprouts.
So it would have to be a fresh food hamper for me to be honest and none or very few carbs. Not all diabetics use a LCHF diet, it some of us tolerate more carbs in our diet than others and we only know that by blood testing which is why a meter is a good idea even if the GP says she doesn't need one! It's not what HE needs her to have it's what SHE needs to know about her own eating regime and how it affects her blood sugar.
I use the Codefree from Amazon because the test strips are cheaper than most.
Good luck!
Hello!
Is she type 1 or type 2? That is the key to what you can put in the hamper. If she is a type 1, you'll have a lot more freedom on what you can give her. Only she knows what she can and can't eat, sadly. Diabetes is very individual, so nobody can tell you what a "no-no" is unless she eats it and tests her blood sugar to find out.
I'm a type 1 on insulin, but I still avoid dried fruit (I hate it anyway), bananas tend to spike me as well. Don't put any "diabetic" food in it. It's waaaaay expensive and usually full of carbs anyway which is the problem, not sugar itself. Although sugar free sweets like Polos or sugar free marshmallows are fine and not expensive. You could also find out her favourite hard boiled sweets and go to a sweet shop to get a sugar free version without forking out too much.
Although diabetes is a very individual condition, most diabetics benefit from low GI foods. I find that I can eat dark chocolate and ice cream without spikes, because it's so fattening, it's low GI. The higher the cocoa % in the chocolate, the better it will be for her blood sugar. I actually don't even like milk chocolate any more now I've been eating the 80% cocoa stuff! If she is a lover of chocolate and likes cooking, you could also stick in some nice cocoa powder. (I love the Green and Blacks organic one in my oatmeal, mmm). Cinnamon is also brilliant for diabetes! Nuts and cheese are also great, but fattening.
If she is trying to lose weight, I'd say still go for cocoa powder and cinnamon, since she can do as she pleases with those things and make low fat things. Apples and pears are good for blood sugar (in moderation of course) because they are full of fibre which slows down the sugar, and it also takes more calories to digest an apple than there are calories in the apple itself. Rye bread (especially pumpernickel) is one of the best breads out there for diabetics. The darker the bread and the more seeds, the better it is for diabetics.
Vegetables wise, I find that snacking on carrots keeps my blood sugar in check, and black beans (tinned) are excellent as well. Spinach, broccoli and kale are probably the best veggies for diabetics in my opinion. Does she like green tea? That's also nice. Or tea in general actually! It's a great gift for a diabetic as it contains no sugar.
Also, if she does like cooking, Chilli Con Carne is a great dish that is relatively low carb depending on how many beans you put in it.
Is she type 1 or type 2? That is the key to what you can put in the hamper. If she is a type 1, you'll have a lot more freedom on what you can give her. Only she knows what she can and can't eat, sadly. Diabetes is very individual, so nobody can tell you what a "no-no" is unless she eats it and tests her blood sugar to find out.
I'm a type 1 on insulin, but I still avoid dried fruit (I hate it anyway), bananas tend to spike me as well. Don't put any "diabetic" food in it. It's waaaaay expensive and usually full of carbs anyway which is the problem, not sugar itself. Although sugar free sweets like Polos or sugar free marshmallows are fine and not expensive.
You could also find out her favourite hard boiled sweets and go to a sweet shop to get a sugar free version without forking out too much.Although diabetes is a very individual condition, most diabetics benefit from low GI foods. I find that I can eat dark chocolate and ice cream without spikes, because it's so fattening, it's low GI. The higher the cocoa % in the chocolate, the better it will be for her blood sugar. I actually don't even like milk chocolate any more now I've been eating the 80% cocoa stuff! If she is a lover of chocolate and likes cooking, you could also stick in some nice cocoa powder. (I love the Green and Blacks organic one in my oatmeal, mmm). Cinnamon is also brilliant for diabetes! Nuts and cheese are also great, but fattening.
If she is trying to lose weight, I'd say still go for cocoa powder and cinnamon, since she can do as she pleases with those things and make low fat things.
Apples and pears are good for blood sugar (in moderation of course) because they are full of fibre which slows down the sugar, and it also takes more calories to digest an apple than there are calories in the apple itself. Rye bread (especially pumpernickel) is one of the best breads out there for diabetics. The darker the bread and the more seeds, the better it is for diabetics.Vegetables wise, I find that snacking on carrots keeps my blood sugar in check, and black beans (tinned) are excellent as well. Spinach, broccoli and kale are probably the best veggies for diabetics in my opinion. Does she like green tea?
That's also nice. Or tea in general actually! It's a great gift for a diabetic as it contains no sugar.Also, if she does like cooking, Chilli Con Carne is a great dish that is relatively low carb depending on how many beans you put in it.
