- Go wild with cinnamon. Add the spice to sweet potatoes, applesauce, muffins, cakes, pies, breads, compotes, cider, hot chocolate. Cinnamon lessens blood sugar spikes and helps control diabetes and borderline diabetes.
- Use low-fat, low-calorie staples such as fat-free or 1% milk (but not whole milk or cream) for mashed potatoes and pies.
- For vegetables, sprinkle on fresh herbs, not butter and cream sauces.
- Make your own stuffing using sourdough bread, high-fiber bulgur or barley instead of white bread. Get flavor from sage, rosemary, thyme and onions, not salt. Use low-fat, low-sodium broth rather than butter or turkey drippings.
- Choose dark chocolate candies, baking squares and chips over milk chocolate. The darker, the more health-protecting antioxidants.
- Serve a green salad before a meal, and use dressing made with lemon juice or vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil (not corn and soybean oil). Lemon juice and vinegar both can help to suppress appetite and spikes in blood sugar. Olive oil contains good monounsaturated fat.
- For beverages, serve water, black or green tea, orange, pomegranate and other 100% fruit juices and low-sodium tomato juice (not carbonated beverages). If you serve wine, make it red, which is high in antioxidants.
- Use smaller plates and bowls, and let adults and kids serve themselves.
Copyright 2006 Jean Carper. Printed first in USA Weekend. All rights reserved.
For more information from Jean Carper, go to www.Jeancarper.com
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