How to have a diabetic-friendly Thanksgiving meal

By Marissa Harshman

The Columbian

Thanksgiving is, for many, a day of indulgence. But for those with diabetes, overindulging could lead to a carbohydrate overload and high blood-sugar levels.

With that in mind, the food services and diabetes nutrition staff at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center hosted a free cooking and tasting event, aimed at showing people how to cut the carbs from their Thanksgiving meal.

“The average Thanksgiving meal is over 300 grams of carbs,” said Robin Hammon, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Legacy Salmon Creek. “What we’ve shown, you can get your carbs down to under 90 grams — and that’s with wine and dessert.”

Hammon and dietitian Danielle Swearingen demonstrated for about 30 people how simple substitutions could make holiday favorites more diabetic friendly.

“Even if you take just some of the ideas here, you’ll have a payoff,” Hammon told the group.

Appetizers of chips, crackers and fruit, Hammon said, can quickly eat up a person’s carb budget. So she offered a tasty spin on another snack staple: veggies and ranch dip.

The recipe, Easy Ranch Baby Carrots, uses a homemade ranch seasoning rather than creamy dip. Hammon tossed the baby carrots in olive oil and the ranch seasoning and roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes.

A serving of the ranch carrots has only 4 grams of carbohydrates, she said, as opposed to 15 to 30 grams in most snacks.

Vancouver resident Susana Delacruz is hosting friends for Thanksgiving this year and plans to try the new recipe. Her 17-year-old daughter, Esperanza Delacruz, who attended Thursday’s event with Delacruz, gave the dish a thumbs up, too.

“I want to see if my grandson will eat them,” Delacruz said.

Delacruz decided to attend the event because she was recently diagnosed with diabetes after having her pancreas removed. Her health keeps getting worse, so she’s trying to take the steps to turn things around, she said.

Delacruz also plans to try another of the recipes featured Thursday at her holiday feast: Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Rather than potatoes, which pack a lot of carbs, the recipe uses cauliflower.

Delacruz has tried making a cauliflower version of mashed potatoes before with success — “My kids even like it,” she said — but the new recipe turned out creamier than her version.

The Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes call for a steamed or boiled head of cauliflower, a tablespoon of cream cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Puree the ingredients in a food processor or with an immersion blender.

The cauliflower, Hammon said, offers a “tremendous savings” in carbs. A 1/2 -cup serving of mashed potatoes has 22 grams of carbs. The mock version has just 8 grams.

Lloyd and Judy Goodpaster of Vancouver were impressed with the cauliflower dish and plan to serve it at their Thanksgiving, too.

“The grandkids may not be convinced,” Judy Goodpaster said, “but they can try it.”

The couple attended Thursday’s event because Lloyd is diabetic, as is his mother-in-law who lives with them.

“I’m diabetic, and she cooks for me so I had to bring her with me,” Lloyd said of his wife.

“And it’s the way everyone should be eating,” Judy added.

In addition to those dishes, Hammon and Swearingen demonstrated diabetic-friendly versions of cranberry sauce, bread stuffing, green bean casserole and even pumpkin pie with whipped topping.

The comparison of the two meals — traditional and diabetic-friendly — showed the alternative recipes can cut the calories down from 2,200 to 1,530 and the carbohydrates down from 318 grams to 89 grams. With those changes, people with diabetes can still enjoy the holidays without sacrificing flavor or their health, Hammon said.

“We wanted to show them it could be delicious,” she said.

Easy Ranch Baby Carrots

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 20 minutes.

16-ounce package baby carrots, patted dry

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

For the ranch seasoning mix:

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried dill

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.

2. To make the ranch seasoning mix, combine dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, dill and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Place carrots in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and ranch seasoning mix. Gently toss to combine.

4. Place into oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tender. Stir in butter until melted, about 1 minute.

5. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

—Recipe courtesy of Damn Delicious

Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 6 minutes.

1 medium head cauliflower

1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives, for garnish

1. Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.

2. Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.

3. In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper until almost smooth.

4. Garnish with chives and serve hot.

— Recipe courtesy of George Stella, Food Network

Pumpkin Pie with Almond Walnut Crust

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 50 minutes.

Crust:

1 cup walnuts, shelled

4 vanilla wafer cookies

1 cup roasted almonds, chopped

3 tablespoons salted butter

1 teaspoon sugar or erythritol (sugar substitute)

Filling:

1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin or one 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup heavy cream or light cream

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. Whirl the nuts and vanilla wafers in a food processor until crumbly. Pour into small bowl and add 1 teaspoon sugar or erythritol. Melt butter and add to nut mixture. Mix well.

3. Press mixture into a 9-inch glass pie plate and bake for 10 minutes until golden. Remove and let cool completely.

4. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together.

5. Pour into cooled nut crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

6. Served topped with fresh whipped cream.

— Recipe courtesy of Food.com

Fresh Whipped Cream

Prep time: 10 minutes.

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Place a metal mixing bowl and a metal whisk in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Place sugar in the mixing bowl and add whipping cream. Whisk just until the cream reaches stiff peaks.

— Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown