Diabetes Cookbook Recs Needed!

So, my husband was diagnosed some time ago with Type 2 Diabetes but he's been extremely terrible about taking care of it. I mean, negligent to the Nth degree awful. His meds sat in a bowl in our dining room for over a year as I watched him eat himself silly with all kinds of crap, binging on untold amounts of whatever he could get his hands on when I wasn't in the house. Boxes of crackers would disappear in 3 days. Gallons of milk gone in less than a week. Ordering McDonalds from Uber Eats for lunch instead of eating the groceries I purchased (and then gaslighting me about it). I could go on but, you get the picture.

Mind you in the past 5 months, I myself have been really great about eating better, have lost almost 25 pounds (actually I'm off 35 from my all time high) and eat completely different than I used to. When I'm home making meals he eats much better but alas, I work full time and he's basically retired so he's alone a lot to do what he will do without me.

Anyhoo - I finally had enough and read him the riot act and he saw the doctor today who smartly knew I read him the riot act LOL. Needless to say he's back on his medications now and has recommitted himself to taking them and trying hard to eat better.

I pretty much know what the right things are that he should be eating but, could use a recommendation for some good cookbooks geared specifically for diabetics. I thought, if I made some meals in advance, froze some of them, that perhaps if he knew that there was permissible yummy food that his hunny make for him (because he does love my cooking) that maybe he'd be more inclined to eat that and not binge on the junk that he's been gravitating towards. That and for me to learn what are appropriate snacks to have on hand - I've never been much of an inbetween meal eater at all, so that aspect is kind of a mystery to me.

I figure that has to be at least a couple of people here dealing with diabetes if not themselves, some family members. Thanks very much in advance!

sivyaleah said:

have lost almost 25 pounds

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congrats!!

sivyaleah said:

because he does love my cooking)

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smart man

America's test kitchen/ Cooks Country has a diabetes cookbook - it might even be on sale

Furballsmom said:

congrats!!


smart man

America's test kitchen/ Cooks Country has a diabetes cookbook - it might even be on sale

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Awesome - I LOVE their recipes! I will go look!

Look up whole 30 and Paleo meals too. Both are low carb, non-dairy and low sugar which is also good for diabetics. The original Whole 30 cookbook has some tasty options.

I don't have any cookbook recommendations but I hope your husband continues on the straight path. My manager has been in the hospital for two weeks now and her diet was atrocious. She was still eating like a very active teenager, never seen her eat anything that was healthy. She is now in congestive heart failure, is on insulin and there is something going on with her kidneys. They won't discharge her until they get almost 30 pounds of excess fluid off of her and the deal with her kidneys have slowed that down. She has to start going to a Cardiac Rehab Clinic after she is discharged. She is only 53 which is young for these issues. If he starts to backslide tell him her story.

Tell him that if he neglects his Type II Diabeties, that the resulting neuropathy will make him impotent.

Check your library for cookbooks. A local bookstore will have cookbooks that you can browse through and then either decide to buy or not or to find at the library to borrow and then decide to buy or not.

There are web sites just on diabetic recipes and menu plans.

https://www.thekitchn.com/rachael-hartleys-diabetesfriendly-5day-meal-plan-194068
https://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/diabetes-friendly
Diabetic Recipes
Recipes
Healthy Diabetic Recipes

The American Diabetes Association has a section on food, nutrition, recipes, etc: Food

Okay, my husband and I both have type 2 diabetes, and we have totally opposite ways of caring for it. Roger used to deal with it by taking long walks. The exercise was very effective at lowering his blood sugar. But since he's now unable to do that (unable to walk at all without a walker) Roger "deals" with his diabetes by pretending he doesn't have diabetes, which is an effective way to kill yourself. Dealing with his diabetes is further complicated by the fact that he also has Reynaud's syndrome, probably secondary to his gout and the fistula he has to facilitate dialysis. As a result, his hands tend to get very cold, and blood flow to his hands is limited, which makes it very difficult for him to take his blood sugar.

I, OTOH, take my diabetes very seriously, and deal with it by a combination of watching my diet, taking my blood sugar frequently, and using the proper medications. I'm afraid that I'm not much of a cook, and no, I haven't found any really good cookbooks for diabetes, but I would recommend going to Amazon and searching in Kindle books for "diabetes cookbook" (without the quotes, of course). Then go through the results and check all 3 star reviews. When the 3 star reviews read like 1 star reviews it's a bad book, and when they read like 5 star reviews you need this book. Of course, once you've found the books you want you don't have to buy the Kindle version - that's just the easy way to find reviews. After that, go to your bookseller of choice to buy the actual book.

I have tried a couple of diabetes cookbooks. One was desserts, which I got because it had DIY "milk" chocolate in it; I have concluded that the author didn't know what she was talking about. Another, by the same author, was a bread cookbook - none of the recipes in it produced anything worth eating. Later tonight I'll try to find those two and give you their names; I'm running short on time right now.

I do know a few useful things:

• Berries are astonishingly low in carbohydrates for something that's inherently quite sweet. I.e. berries = good.
• Tomatoes are astonishingly high in carbohydrates for something that is inherently not sweet. I.e. tomatoes = bad.
• Grains, potatoes, and milk are all high in carbs. I.e. grains = bad, potatoes = bad, milk = bad. However, milk is so high in things like calcium that it may be worth drinking, on condition you take the appropriate medication with it.
• No matter what the FDA says about it, aspartame is dangerous. This is especially true for diabetics - for some reason diabetics who rely on aspartame to satisfy their sweet teeth tend to have higher A1c results.
• Stevia is both safe and delicious, on condition you get a good brand. I recommend either Now Better Stevia or NuStevia from NuNaturals. NuStevia is mixed with maltodextrin to make 1 teaspoon equivalent to 1 teaspoon of sugar (though I believe you can special order the pure stevia powder from them); Now Better Stevia powder has nothing added to it so it takes very little; I believe that 1/32 of a teaspoon is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of sugar. You can, however, get it in packets (useful to keep in purse or pocket) which are mixed with maltodextrin or something equivalent so that 1 pack is equivalent to 1 pack of sugar.
• You can cook with stevia and it won't break down under high temperatures, unlike aspartame. It is not, however, an effective substitute for sugar in yeast breads since the yeast requires sugar to divide and grow.
• Unsweetened cashew milk is an extremely good replacement for cream in coffee, and has virtually no carbs. Don't forget to shake vigorously before pouring.
• Every diabetic needs a good glucometer, and needs to take a class in how to use it. In particular, there are useful tricks to reduce the amount of pain involved. Insurance can be a big problem when it comes to glucometers; typically the health insurance company will say "You're entitled to a new glucometer every two years. Here's the brand we'll pay for..." and the brand will be a very expensive glucometer, with equally expensive test strips, and insurance covers enough test strips for you to check your blood sugar just twice a day, which is not enough!!! The Kroger chain of grocery stores carries an excellent glucometer named OnSync for approximately $10. Test strips for it are currently running at around $23/100 strips. I use the OnSync glucometer and buy my test strips out of pocket; that way I can take my blood sugar whenever I think I need to. If you don't have a Kroger near you, try other grocery store pharmacies and ask about the store brand glucometer.

More later; I'm currently running late for something else.

Margret

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and, very helpful hints.

First, some good things. The doctor said he does not have to monitor himself daily anymore. He feels that if he just takes his meds and eats better he'll get it under control within a couple of months; caveat being of course this has to be a permanent change. He can't slack off ever again. Hopefully, if his numbers improve and he gets into safer blood levels he can then get off the meds, sticking with a healthy diet and moderate exercise.

So that was encouraging to hear.

As for changing his diet he isn't able to do very low carb since he has kidney problems, has his whole life and high protein diets wreck havoc on the kidneys. So, he'll just join me in eating a normal diet that is moderate in all respects; lower in fat, healthier carbs than the ones he's used to, more vegetarian meals (which we're already doing), less using drinking his calories (no more downing glasses of milk like he's a 5 year old) and, pay attention to calories in and out because in the end, that's the way things work. We've also cut back dramatically on potatoes in past months - I hardly ever cook them anymore having learned already just how empty of nutrition they are and the effects they have on glucose levels. Same with pasta - it's a rarity now. We tend to eat dals (Indian lentil dishes) as our sides to proteins, or brown rice, quinoa, etc.

Milk will be a tough one. We drink 1% as it is. I've tried using alternative "milks" but I personally have trouble with some of them myself and well, he just doesn't like them. The only one we both agreed was "ok" was oat milk but...then I found out that it's higher in carbs and calories so that was that. He's just going to have to learn to cut down on it. There's no two ways around it. Moderation.

He already uses Stevia in his coffee and likes it so that's a big help. We don't eat dessert in the house like, ever anymore so I'm not worried about that aspect of his eating. I can't stop him from walking up the block to get a doughnut anyway - I'm not his mom and I'm not about to monitor him like that. I'm against all fake sweeteners, always have been so I'm glad he enjoys the Stevia. I tried growing it one summer but meh, doing it yourself not as good as buying it already manufactured LOL. It was actually pretty terrible.

He already knows the negatives about diabetes all too well. His own daughter has it, and has wound up in the hospital more than a few times this year alone with blood sugar levels of over 600 twice. She's totally unable to manage herself for various reasons not worth getting into. Scary to say the least and yet, here he was ignoring is own situation and trying to tell her what to do. The only saving grace, honestly, is I have been cooking SO well for us that it probably was off-setting his own poor habits a lot - it probably would have gotten much worse if he were single, and alone.

Anyway, I bought the Cooks Country book on Kindle as a start. I looked over the recipes and lots of them looked interesting and quite edible and easy to prepare so I'm sure I'll make use of it.

sivyaleah said:

Milk will be a tough one. We drink 1% as it is.

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Next time you're in the grocery store, try comparing the carbohydrate levels of whole milk versus skim milk; I think you'll be very surprised. The higher the fat content of milk, the lower the carbohydrates. This is why I drink 2% rather than the skim milk I prefer.

You may want to discuss this with your (and your husband's) doctors; for a very long time we were told to avoid fats as much as possible and instead load up on whole grains (remember the food pyramid?), and it now appears that fats aren't nearly as bad for us as they thought and that even whole grains are so high in carbs that the extra fiber of the whole grains can't overcome it (though oats appear to be an exception to this rule).

Also, cheese (real cheese, aged cheese, rather than processed cheese food) has virtually no carbs at all, as well as being free of lactose (hmm, lactose, ends in "ose" which means it's a sugar, yep! these two facts are connected).

Margret

I have been Type 2 for 14 years, still managing with diet, exercise and oral meds. There is a great, great resource for diabetics and their families, the American Diabetes Association community forums.

They do have a food forum where you can share food tips and recipes. Also if you have a library card, check to see if they participate (and most do) in the RB digital online magazine library, which allows you to “check out” and read a huge selection of monthly magazines online, everything from gossip magazines to craft and home magazine. They have a great healthy eating magazine selections including Diabetic Living.

Type 2 diabetes is basically the inability of a body to handle carbohydrates, so look for recipes that are lower in carbs. It also helps to have a carbohydrate counter book to estimate carb intake. Fat and proteins don’t affect blood sugar in the same way so for blood sugar purposes there is no need to limit those. Of course they can affect overall weight though.

Lastly, exercise is just as important in managing blood sugar. It immediately lowers glucose and helps it stay down. It doesn’t need to be vigorous, even a short walk after eating will really help.

And forget what his doctor said about not needing to monitor himself any more. Even if you eat well and exercise daily and do all the self care, diabetes is also a progressive disease and can flare back up when you are stressed, are ill or as time passes. He may not need to test as often but regular enough to be able to detect when his control is slipping.

I have been reading lately that carbs are the real culprit behind high bad cholesterol levels. It used to be thought that fat led to high bad cholesterol levels. I very rarely drink milk though I do occasionally indulge in a little ice cream and I do like cheese. I use almond milk for some things and dairy milk for others. I can't do whole milk anymore after using 1 percent for years, it tastes like cream to me. I have switched to 2 percent. This all came up about 30 years ago with margarine and butter. For years people used margarine because it was supposed to be healthier then there was the beginnings of people saying that butter was better health wise. You are right, moderation is key. Eating huge amounts of butter is not a good thing, a little butter here and there is better then a little margarine here and there.

Margret said:

Next time you're in the grocery store, try comparing the carbohydrate levels of whole milk versus skim milk; I think you'll be very surprised. The higher the fat content of milk, the lower the carbohydrates. This is why I drink 2% rather than the skim milk I prefer.

You may want to discuss this with your (and your husband's) doctors; for a very long time we were told to avoid fats as much as possible and instead load up on whole grains (remember the food pyramid?), and it now appears that fats aren't nearly as bad for us as they thought and that even whole grains are so high in carbs that the extra fiber of the whole grains can't overcome it (though oats appear to be an exception to this rule).

Also, cheese (real cheese, aged cheese, rather than processed cheese food) has virtually no carbs at all, as well as being free of lactose (hmm, lactose, ends in "ose" which means it's a sugar, yep! these two facts are connected).

Margret

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This was something I learned with the nutritionist I was seeing. The only reason we still have the lower fat in the house is preference, he's not a fan of higher fat milk nor am I as I grew up on skim milk so that was a good compromise for us.

He does like 2% though and since I don't use milk as a beverage any longer, perhaps we'll go back to that. I do use half and half sometimes in my coffee since it requires such a tiny amount of it to do the job. It is a balancing act though - if he could get a handle on drinking more of a higher fat milk it wouldn't matter as much but going through a gallon + a week is a LOT of extra fat (and carbs) no matter how you look at it and being he's now past 60 heart disease is always a concern too.

Cheese, we never went low fat. Ugh how awful. We both would prefer less of the real thing than more of the icky thing because cheese is too yummy to compromise on. Good cheese is still one of my go-to special snacks in small amounts

denice I hear you on the butter/margarine too. We don't use margarine. Again would rather have smaller amounts of butter. Actually I cook with olive oil mostly. We sometimes use Smart Balance but not for cooking but as a finishing aid like baked potatoes. Gosh, years ago I'd go through a stick of butter a week or less now? A stick of butter can sit in the fridge for weeks. I usually wind up tossing it before it's used up. Bagels still get cream cheese just a LOT less of it LOL

susanm9006 - thanks for the reminder about exercise. We're happy Spring is here and looking forward to getting back to taking walks. He does enjoy doing that, long walks not only are good for the body but for him help him clear his head out too. I'm lucky that I commute to work and have quite a bit of walking in my daily routine but he does need to build that back into his after a winter of being indoors a lot.

Adding that your local library may offer digital books for loan via your Kindle. You probably need to download an app first. A librarian can help you get set up. My local library has digital cookbooks including some of the new ones such as ATK's Vegetables Illustrated.

I cannot make any cookbook recommendations, but wonder if you could ask your doctor about any cookbooks he or she might think worthwhile for you? Not just diabetes cookbooks, but heart-healthy cookbooks, too.

My sister was recently diagnosed with Type II; my BIL has been Type I forever. She took it seriously and I think she's dropped about 25 pounds now. I mean, she looks great. She also got her A1C down a ton, just by dropping the weight and doing a bit of walking. She doesn't cook, so when they go out to eat, she tries to make better choices.

I use the Light and Tasty Cookbooks and Healthy Cooking Cookbooks, both by Taste of Home. It's an annual cookbook that used to be called Light and Tasty and is now called Healthy Cooking. It might help you because it has the nutrition information (including carbs, sodium, diabetic exchanges, etc) for every recipe in the book. I've gotten some truly excellent recipes, too. They're healthy and they're really good.

With my last doctor appt, I also had bloodwork done. I was more than a little worried about diabetes because of my sister (and the fact that Mom was and my brother is Type II). Ironically, considering all the baking that I do, my sugar was well within normal range. I swear it's because of the walking I do. My doctor even told me, "Pam, do NOT ever stop walking! Ever! It's what's saving your butt!"

I wish you the best of luck with your husband; it's not easy. And kudos to you for the weight loss! You rock!

ETA: Depending on what kind of insurance you have, you might be able to contact them for advice about cookbooks. On the plan we have, we could contact a "coach" person who is there to cheer us on, if we need it, or work with us with weight, sugar, etc. It might be an idea.

This is a terrific thread - LOTS of good information!

I have two cookbooks....Healthy Homestyle Cooking and More Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole that taught me a great deal about how to doctor or change your cooking or even just your favorite recipe to be more healthy.Gives calorie count,carbs,sugars,cholesterol,etc. with every recipe.I also have Heart Smart/Sugar Wise by Mary Stangl,and it was a big help also.My husband was diagnosed as type 2 three years ago,and I'm proud to say he's keeping his a1c steady at 6.1 and his glucose below 130.He basically eats the same foods as he always did,except for honey,and that's a rarity these days,but when it comes to high carb foods,he eats less than he used to.I did change to whole wheat pastas,we do eat more veggies and salads and I do make my own bread and use regular sugar (2 T. for 2 loaves).He will not use any artificial sweeteners at all,so I have had to adjust my baking to what will be good for him.Sweets have always been his weakness and that's not gonna change,so I'd rather do what I can,see how it affects him,and we go from there.I make his favorite apple pie and use 6-8 Fuji apples and 1/2 cup of sugar.If the apples are really sweet,I use a bit less,and I do roll my crust a tad bit thinner.Instead of eating half a pie in one sitting,he now has a small slice.The oatmeal cookies I make for him...for 4 cups of flour I use 1/2 cup of sugar.I add some raisins or dried cranberries,grate in an apple or carrot (not all in the same batch) and I have been known to add some mini semi sweet chocolate chips on occasion.But...this batch makes over 120 cookies....they are small (1 T. dough per cookie) and he can eat 2 or 3 and they don't bother him at all.I've learned that there are a lot of things you can bake and cut way back on the sugar and they turn out fine.Sometimes not so much,but it's trial and error.I know that by using almond flour in some recipes,it is not metabolized the same as wheat flour,which is good,but it's so expensive!I've discussed all that we do with our doctor,and she's very pleased with how he's doing.I hope this helps!

Winchester said:

I cannot make any cookbook recommendations, but wonder if you could ask your doctor about any cookbooks he or she might think worthwhile for you? Not just diabetes cookbooks, but heart-healthy cookbooks, too.

My sister was recently diagnosed with Type II; my BIL has been Type I forever. She took it seriously and I think she's dropped about 25 pounds now. I mean, she looks great. She also got her A1C down a ton, just by dropping the weight and doing a bit of walking. She doesn't cook, so when they go out to eat, she tries to make better choices.

I use the Light and Tasty Cookbooks and Healthy Cooking Cookbooks, both by Taste of Home. It's an annual cookbook that used to be called Light and Tasty and is now called Healthy Cooking. It might help you because it has the nutrition information (including carbs, sodium, diabetic exchanges, etc) for every recipe in the book. I've gotten some truly excellent recipes, too. They're healthy and they're really good.

With my last doctor appt, I also had bloodwork done. I was more than a little worried about diabetes because of my sister (and the fact that Mom was and my brother is Type II). Ironically, considering all the baking that I do, my sugar was well within normal range. I swear it's because of the walking I do. My doctor even told me, "Pam, do NOT ever stop walking! Ever! It's what's saving your butt!"

I wish you the best of luck with your husband; it's not easy. And kudos to you for the weight loss! You rock!

ETA: Depending on what kind of insurance you have, you might be able to contact them for advice about cookbooks. On the plan we have, we could contact a "coach" person who is there to cheer us on, if we need it, or work with us with weight, sugar, etc. It might be an idea.

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I find most doctors are good a dispensing instructions - but not actual followup advice. He mentioned he should see a nutritionist - however, I've already done that myself and took my husband with me and he basically poo pooed the session he went to so he'll never go on his own /smdh
Men are impossible.

This may sound gross to you, but I have done this is the past and it's not that bad. If you and hubby do not like the thicker texture of a 2% or 3% milk, you could add water to the higher fat milk until it reaches the consistency you enjoy. It changes the texture of the milk without changing the carbs, as it is not being processed, just watered down. And it allows for more water intake which is good.
My sister also did this when her children were still drinking 3% milk. Although she did it to save money. It was more cost effective to water down 3% milk then it was to buy the higher fat milk for the kids and have 1% or skim for the adults.

Jem Good tip - but he won't need that as he drinks a ton of water a day as it is lol.

As for an update - things went MUCH better than I expected and I have to give him kudos for getting on board with the program he needs to. After much complaining and moaning at me he stayed up very late one night and actually educated himself completely about diabetes. So he fully understands now the consequences he faces if he doesn't take care of this and, the right way he should be eating and, how bad some foods are for him.

I actually invited him to come with me grocery shopping which I normally hate but he was great. He read labels, made suggestions, allowed me to make suggestions based on what I already know for alternatives to foods he shouldn't be eating now. He was open to trying some things that he supposedly said he didn't like in the past and lo and behold, I cooked some of them already and he likes them lol. I made a quinoa side dish with roasted veggies and a bit of olive oil in it that he loved. Win. He found breads that meet the nutrition guidelines he has to follow and didn't even joke (much) about all the foods he can't be having now.

Although unhappy about having to dispense with such things as bacon for breakfast and burgers and fries, he does enjoy veggie and turkey burgers so there are substitutes.

What we need to work on is making him realize it isn't that he can't NEVER have all those beloved foods again, it's just he can't eat them daily or weekly. Now and then as a treat and in moderation if fine. But not as a daily diet. I think he now does truly "get it" so I'm hopeful although I expect a slide back or two as we all go through when making big changes. But, I'm encouraged as is he so yay for that!