Nervous about what to serve guests who are diabetic? Hosting a dinner party for guests with diabetes is no sweat if you follow these four simple rules…
Planning a dinner party can be overwhelming, even for the most confident of hosts…
Deciding which kinds of appetizers to serve, how much food to buy, and what to present as the main course can be daunting, even without taking into consideration one’s dietary preferences.
If you know that a guest is diabetic, you will need to make a few adjustments to your usual dinner routine, but not a lot.
Diabetics can eat the same kinds of foods as non-diabetics, only in smaller amounts and with limitations.
Mainly, try to limit foods that affect blood sugar levels, such as carbohydrates like sweet beverages and starchy white bread rolls. Encourage guests to help themselves to crispy vegetable sticks with dressing and sparkling water with fruit juice.
With careful planning, you can treat your guests to a delicious and diabetically healthy dinner party they’ll be talking about for years.
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Here are 4 simple rules for planning a party for diabetic guests:
Step 1: Make it a six-course meal, or longer
Doctors warn diabetics not to eat a heavy meal in one sitting, but rather to eat small bites throughout the day, with at least an hour in between servings.
Greet your guests with a small, heart-healthy appetizer, preferably something that is low in carbs, like marinated artichokes and mushrooms. Later, introduce a soup course, followed by a light salad. For the main meal, serve your guests a selection of smothered chicken breasts, lean roast beef, or vegetarian stuffed squash.
Limit starchy pastas and rice to side dishes, and incorporate veggies like broccoli, carrots, and zucchini.
Step 2: Support their drinking habit
Diabetics need to drink plenty of water- it keeps their blood sugar down. Refrain from buying cases of colas and the like- they’re just candy in disguise. Instead, stock up on mineral water, plain seltzer, and sugarless iced tea.
In addition, in case their sugar level should plummet, station a few pitchers of fresh, pure orange juice around the room.
Step 3: Use dessert plates…for every meal
Even if you’re not diabetic, a good rule of thumb for limiting portion sizes is to use small plates. Seeing a lot of empty space on our dish makes us feel like we’re depriving ourselves. Likewise, filling up our plate, however small, tricks our brain into thinking we’re getting more, and we’re more likely to feel satisfied later.
Step 4: Don’t skimp on dessert
Diabetics’ worst enemies are often the stuff of dessert tables- chocolate layer cake with fudgy ganache, tiramisu; even seemingly, innocent fruit pies promise to give you a sugar high in record speed.
Make a lovely presentation of grapes, melon, and berries. Serve sugarless yogurt and light whipped topping on the side. Follow up with some skinny wedges of assorted cheeses and coffee or tea.
Suggested Reading:
New Study: Diabetes Drug Metformin Causes Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Study: Gastric Bypass as a Cure for Diabetes?
Hot Celebs with Diabetes: How They Manage
Diabetics, Put On Your Walking Shoes
Sources:
Planning a Dinner Party for diabetics
Holly B. Clegg: 6 Ways To Make Dinner Parties Diabetic-Friendly