A Diabetes-Friendly Holiday Menu

Planning a dinner party or holiday meal is easy with this collection of recipes featuring a main dish, starch and vegetable side dishes, and a delicious dessert. To help guests with diabetes limit their carbohydrate intake to around 45 grams (an ideal number for keeping blood sugar under control), serve the food on plates instead of buffet or family-style.

Here's how to use the Plate Method: On a 9-inch dinner plate, cover half of the plate with non-starchy vegetables. A quarter of the plate can have starchy foods, and the other quarter should have a meat or protein source. A serving of fruit or milk also can be offered.

Glazed Holiday Ham

1 (6- to 7-pound) 30%-less-sodium, smoked, fully cooked, bone-in spiral-cut ham half
1/2 cup cranberry chutney or raspberry or apricot preserves
2 Tbsp horseradish mustard or Dijon-style mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place ham on rack of broiler pan and cover with foil. Bake 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F.

Combine chutney and mustard in small bowl and mix well. Remove ham from oven and discard foil. Spread chutney mixture evenly over surface of ham. Return to oven. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes 24 (3-ounce) servings
Dietary Exchanges: 3 Meat
Calories: 200 (42% of calories from fat)
Total fat: 9 g
Saturated fat: 3 g
Protein: 25 g
Carbohydrate: 3 g
Cholesterol: 65 mg
Dietary fiber: 0 g
Sodium: 1,103 mg

Recipe courtesy of Diabetic Cooking

Mashed Potato and Green Onion Patties

2 cups mashed potatoes (see tip below)
1/3 cup flour
4 medium green onions, finely chopped
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp canola oil
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Tip: To make 2 cups nutritious mashed potatoes, mash 1 pound boiled potatoes with 2 Tbsp diet margarine and 1/4 - 1/3 cup fat-free (skim) milk. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Combine potatoes, flour, green onions, egg whites, salt and pepper in medium bowl and mix well.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, place 4 mounds potato mixture in skillet, flattening slightly to form four patties (3-1/2 to 4 inches each). Cook 3 minutes. Turn. Cook 2-1/2 to 3 minutes more or until brown on bottom. Using a flat spatula, carefully remove and place on serving platter. Keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and potato mixture. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Makes 8 servings (1 patty each)
Dietary Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Fat
Calories: 120 (37% of calories from fat)
Total fat: 5 g
Saturated fat: <1 g
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 17 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 201 mg

Green Beans With Maple-Bacon Dressing

1 bag (16 ounces) frozen French-style green beans
1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth or water
1 Tbsp bacon bits
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper

Bring broth to a boil in large saucepan. Add beans, cover and simmer over medium-high heat about 7 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Remove from heat and drain. Place beans in serving bowl.

Mix together bacon bits, syrup, vinegar and pepper in small bowl or cup. Pour over beans. Toss to coat.

Makes 6 (1/2-cup) servings
Dietary Exchanges: 2 Vegetable, 1-1/2 Fat
Calories: 76 (50% of calories from fat)
Total fat: 4 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 7 g
Cholesterol: 8 mg
Dietary fiber: 5 g
Sodium: 324 mg

New Brownies

4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites and salt with rotary mixer or wire whisk until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar until peaks are glossy. Beat in vanilla.

Fold in cookie crumbs and walnuts. Pour mixture into a nonstick pie pan and carefully level mixture with spatula. Bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings, 1 brownie per serving
Calories: 209 (59 calories from fat)
Total fat: 7g
Saturated fat: 1g
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrate: 36g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Dietary fiber: 1g
Sodium: 182mg

Recipe courtesy of the American Diabetes Association

This page last updated 4/26/10 10:23 AM