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

[Paul_]

Love that, @Antje77. Perfectly sums up the challenges, particularly at this time of year.

There's been a lot of temptation so far in my December and so far I've managed to resist, or plan ahead and have alternatives prepared. Long way to go yet though!

 

[Antje77]

Love that, @Antje77. Perfectly sums up the challenges, particularly at this time of year.

Not only that, it also shows the importance of close friends or family, which is an important part of this time of year as well. She has her own health challenges, but diabetes isn't one of them.
Still, she understands a lot of how diabetes works for me, and I hope I come close to this in understanding her health issues and how she deals with them.

 

[Paul_]

Not only that, it also shows the importance of close friends or family, which is an important part of this time of year as well. She has her own health challenges, but diabetes isn't one of them.
Still, she understands a lot of how diabetes works for me, and I hope I come close to this in understanding her health issues and how she deals with them.

Sounds like the most amazing friendship!

 

[AndBreathe]

The subject of this thread is rather wide, so I hope I'm not going too far off topic sharing what happened today.
It's a type of Sinterklaas hack, provided by my best friend Inge, and it's very touching and funny.

Sinterklaas is a close relative to Santa Clause, as you can see from his name and red suit, and he celebrates his birthday on the 5th of december in the Netherlands. He fills shoes rather than socks, but his birthday involves presents and lots of sweets and carby food, just like the one of his cousin. He also writes poems to go with the presents, which is the best part of the celebration.

Today I received something like a Christmas hamper through the mail. (There is a thread about Christmas hampers, pretty useful if you need inspiration to make one for a colleague or friend, and a fun read as well: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/personal-chrsitmas-hamper.200737/)

It held 11 small presents, ranging from an interesting cheese to a pack of lighters and a second hand book.
Every single present had a poem to go with it, some only two funny lines, some long and thoughtful.
Present giving like this shifts the attention from food to something else.

It came from my best friend, Inge, who knows me well enough to know I'd want to share on the forum, so even though she is Dutch, she wrote her main poem in English in hopes to become famous around here!
She also included some words that are definitely not allowed on a family friendly forum so I've blanked them out.

I think this poem applies to all of us. (Except most of you aren't listed as oracle, this is just a matter of post count and I think it's quite ridiculous.)

So I wanted to share this as a wish to all of us who do our best and sometimes struggle!
Dikke knuffel to all of you!

View attachment 64802

Bravo Sinterklaas aka Inge

 

[MommaE]

The subject of this thread is rather wide, so I hope I'm not going too far off topic sharing what happened today.
It's a type of Sinterklaas hack, provided by my best friend Inge, and it's very touching and funny.

Sinterklaas is a close relative to Santa Clause, as you can see from his name and red suit, and he celebrates his birthday on the 5th of december in the Netherlands. He fills shoes rather than socks, but his birthday involves presents and lots of sweets and carby food, just like the one of his cousin. He also writes poems to go with the presents, which is the best part of the celebration.

Today I received something like a Christmas hamper through the mail. (There is a thread about Christmas hampers, pretty useful if you need inspiration to make one for a colleague or friend, and a fun read as well: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/personal-chrsitmas-hamper.200737/)

It held 11 small presents, ranging from an interesting cheese to a pack of lighters and a second hand book.
Every single present had a poem to go with it, some only two funny lines, some long and thoughtful.
Present giving like this shifts the attention from food to something else.

It came from my best friend, Inge, who knows me well enough to know I'd want to share on the forum, so even though she is Dutch, she wrote her main poem in English in hopes to become famous around here!
She also included some words that are definitely not allowed on a family friendly forum so I've blanked them out.

I think this poem applies to all of us. (Except most of you aren't listed as oracle, this is just a matter of post count and I think it's quite ridiculous.)

So I wanted to share this as a wish to all of us who do our best and sometimes struggle!
Dikke knuffel to all of you!

View attachment 64802

Inge is a star, what a lovely friend.

 

[lovinglife]

Just made this keto lemon curd to go on top of my Christmas cheesecake, so easy to do and it so delicious that I’ve had to put it right in my freezer otherwise it’ll be gone before tomorrow It does keep in the fridge for 2 weeks though, just had a sneaky slice of low carb toast with what was left in the bowl

My tip is do it over a Bain Marie rather than directly in a saucepan, lot less chance of lumps and it catching

Keto Lemon Curd {4 Ingredients} - The Big Man's World ®

My keto lemon curd is thick, creamy, and gooey, so you won't believe it is low-carb! It's made with just 4 ingredients and ready in minutes!

thebigmansworld.com

 

[Paul_]

This thread has been so useful to me over the past week, where Christmas festivities have stepped up with friends and family.

The key really has been preparation. Thanks to many of the comments throughout this thread, I've been able to see many of the challenges coming and have had alternatives ready to go. Some I've bought from low carb suppliers, some I've made myself, and some I've just used some tips and tricks from the forum here when eating out. All good so far, BG readings have remained stable for all these.

Not going to lie though, the temptations have been rather relentless for about a month now, it's taken some willpower for sure. I definitely didn't fully appreciate just how much Christmas revolves around carbs for the general population. Even the foods I go for on a low carb diet in certain situations (e.g. eating out) suddenly seem to be covered in carbs, or served with lots of them on the side. Adverts on TV, food stalls wofting their carby scents everywhere, supermarket aisles rammed full of them, endless email promotions of them - you can't escape it. I've resisted so far, but I can see now how difficult this time of year is for those with dietary restrictions.

How's everyone else getting on with December's temptations?

 

[KetoAnnie]

Just made this keto lemon curd to go on top of my Christmas cheesecake, so easy to do and it so delicious that I’ve had to put it right in my freezer otherwise it’ll be gone before tomorrow It does keep in the fridge for 2 weeks though, just had a sneaky slice of low carb toast with what was left in the bowl

My tip is do it over a Bain Marie rather than directly in a saucepan, lot less chance of lumps and it catching

Keto Lemon Curd {4 Ingredients} - The Big Man's World ®

My keto lemon curd is thick, creamy, and gooey, so you won't believe it is low-carb! It's made with just 4 ingredients and ready in minutes!

thebigmansworld.com

I'd been wondering yesterday if I could make lemon curd with allulose, and voila - there it is!! Thanks for the link and enjoy your treat!

 

[Welshman1952]

My Jewish so this time of year is big for me (Hanukkah just over and Christmas about to start). I confess that I missed the latkes and apple sauce along with the donuts but at the end of the day it's only food.

Christmas itself is a lot easier than for most as its traditionally a time when we go berserk on Israeli salads, hummus and falafel. In addition, my wife makes a mean vegan roast that historically has never spiked my sugars.

I intend to allow myself a mince pie each day followed by half an hour of exercise to reduce my BGs. Other than that we don't really go much on sweet things. I will make a "fruit salad" consisting of berries, natural yoghurt, coconut cream and if my BGs are OK a small portion of ice cream

As for alcohol I never touch the stuff, though I may have a small glass of no alcohol wine.

The bottom line is that Christmas isn't about food, it's about enjoying yourself and your family - oh and of course the pressies

Have a great time all, belated Happy Hanukkah and a joyous Merry Christmas to you all

 

[MrsA2]

There a timely, helpful podcast from my 2 favourite Australian lady doctors. Well worth a listen. Only 23 minutes. Aimed at general public, not just diabetics, but very much low carb

If link doesn't work its
Real Health and Weight Loss podcast episode 181

Google Podcasts

podcasts.google.com

 

[MrsA2]

supermarket aisles rammed full of them, endless email promotions of them -

I so agree! I had to pop in for just 3 items yesterday and the stacked walls of boxes and boxes of carbs made me feel so sad. Such excess, they can't really expect to sell that much in just 4 days can they?.
Yes the veg were 15p but salmon was double last year price, cheese was only on short date.
I put my (virtual) blinkers on, head firmly down, strode just to what I needed, then out.

 

[lovinglife]

I'd been wondering yesterday if I could make lemon curd with allulose, and voila - there it is!! Thanks for the link and enjoy your treat!

If you make it let me know what you think

 

[Outlier]

I'm lucky that I haven't needed all that much in the way of coping strategies because I know how my attitude works. I was going to say "mind works" but it isn't about intellect, is it? It's about emotion, which is way harder to manage.

I really enjoy meat/fish/nuts/allowable veggies, so I concentrate on what I AM "allowed" not what I "shouldn't" have - and the "allowed" and "shouldn't" are weasel words, aren't they, so geared to making us feel deprived. Really we are the fortunate people in the world because we have such a choice of food rather than eat when we can and have what there is. So when others want to chow down on food that will kill me if I give it long enough, that's fine for them but not for me. Same way as extreme sports (and I used to ride fast horses over big fences) don't thrill everybody, and you get to a time of life where you have to quit them anyway.

I eat before I go out. Simple and effective way to help with the avoiding food/drink that will do me harm.
I bought nice clothes and had others taken in after I lost All That Weight. And I wear them. Nothing is kept "for best". Every day of my life is "best".

I make sure there is something nice IF I want to eat/drink it when I come home. Mostly I don't want it, but the fact of it being available helps me to pass on the things that are on offer.

 

[Margarettt]

I'm lucky that I haven't needed all that much in the way of coping strategies because I know how my attitude works. I was going to say "mind works" but it isn't about intellect, is it? It's about emotion, which is way harder to manage.

I really enjoy meat/fish/nuts/allowable veggies, so I concentrate on what I AM "allowed" not what I "shouldn't" have - and the "allowed" and "shouldn't" are weasel words, aren't they, so geared to making us feel deprived. Really we are the fortunate people in the world because we have such a choice of food rather than eat when we can and have what there is. So when others want to chow down on food that will kill me if I give it long enough, that's fine for them but not for me. Same way as extreme sports (and I used to ride fast horses over big fences) don't thrill everybody, and you get to a time of life where you have to quit them anyway.

I eat before I go out. Simple and effective way to help with the avoiding food/drink that will do me harm.
I bought nice clothes and had others taken in after I lost All That Weight. And I wear them. Nothing is kept "for best". Every day of my life is "best".

I make sure there is something nice IF I want to eat/drink it when I come home. Mostly I don't want it, but the fact of it being available helps me to pass on the things that are on offer.

This entire post really resonated with me @Outlier . I don't know that I feel exactly the same but its certainly a "variation on a theme" I enjoy and look forward to all my meals. After 30 years of guilt and calorie counting every time I add cream or butter or even sit down to something with cheese I feel like I'm on a permanent "cheat day". I used to have a couple of days off whatever diet at Christmas, stuff myself with things I didn't even want because I had permission and then suffer enormous guilt when I stepped back on the scales. This year I know more or less what I'll be having and am looking forward to it.
I too wear all my clothes. A couple of years ago I decluttered down to only clothes I really like. Since August I've lost 30lbs and my really liked clothes are rapidly becoming too big and will have to go so I'm in my best every day.
I'm not sure people believe me when I say my personal type2 diagnosis (I know everyone has different circumstances) is turning out to be a positive thing in my life (so faranyway) but it is.
Every day of my life is best is a great mantra.
Merry Christmas to you.

 

[Antje77]

Help, I think I need a Christmas recipe!

I decided to not drive to my uncle and aunt this year because my car is acting up, and I don't feel like getting stranded on Christmas. I also don't feel like driving through the storm anyway, so my car was a perfect excuse, and I declined two offers of friends to borrow their car.

Turns out my neighbour who lives in my garden doesn't have plans for Christmas either, so we spontaneously decided to have dinner together.
It will be either a turkey or a duck from our own garden.
He'll do the killing and cleaning, so I think it's only fair if I offer to turn it into a Christmas worthy meal.

Problem is, I've never even cooked a chicken (well, I did once, didn't work out well), let alone a turkey or a duck.

It says 'recipes' in the thread title so I thought to ask here...

So please tell me what to do with a duck/turkey to make a very yummy christmas dinner!

edit: I decided to start a thread on this, made more sense than asking for specific recipes on this one: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/recipe-needed-for-turkey-or-duck-christmas-dinner.201362/

 

[Antje77]

I'm a bit late with this recipe but it will be Christmas again next year.
My friend just sent me this link and added it should be very easy to adapt to low carb: Just use darker chocolate and leave out the sugar, or substitute with a sweetener of choice if you prefer.
I expect it will be amazing even unsweetened.

Bicerin (Italian coffee and chocolate drink)

Bicerin is a hot drink from Turin, Italy. Espresso is topped with a layer of melted chocolate followed by a layer of whipped cream. Heaven.

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk

 

[filly]

Over the years I have been pre diabetic more than anything else. However, still have to be careful with my food.
What I have found this year (especially as they all know I am diabetic). Some are also diabetic or suitably qualified etc
I have been scuppered at every point. Trying not to upset and then eating carbs I wouldn't normally touch. Difficult knowing how to deal with it.
A no thanks works most of the time but this time of year when people have gone to so much trouble it seems so rude to refuse almost everything.