Olga Pitcairn, New Hope, Pennsylvania, US
Of diabetic diets, sweet and a little sour
It is a challenge to cook dinner for my diabetic and coeliac-disease friends as they must eat gluten-free foods. Potatoes are off limit, so instead I prepare mashed sweet potatoes (yams), a good source of fibre that also helps lower blood sugar levels, which I serve with roast pork.
My friends’ favourite is a pilaf-style dish made with gluten-free quinoa grains (Peru). The fine grain can be made as a dessert with stewed fruits simmered in Splenda (artificial sugar) or by adding finely chopped cooked vegetables to accompany seafood and fowl dishes. There’s also a quinoa pasta, in lieu of macaroni, great served with tomato-based sauces. A wonderful breakfast dish is gluten-free amaranth flakes, also from Peru, and high in protein.
Gluten-free sorghum or “milo” is cooked like porridge (add stewed fruits!) and is also made into flour for pancakes. From Ethiopia comes the gluten-free grain teff that the natives make into flatbread. Teff has high iron content and one cup of this cooked grain contains more calcium than a cup of milk.
Old-fashioned rye bread has a low glycemic index and high-fibre content and is an excellent substitute for potatoes, noodles or rice with goulash and beef stroganoff.
To everyone in Malta coping with diabetes I say: bon appetit!
Popular Stories
In Discussion
2 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
riccardo borg
Jun 3rd 2011, 16:50
My mother suffered for some forty years as a diabetic. My father was her angel, he attended to most of her needs when it came to injections of insulin.
Needless to say that we, her six children were all brought up with the awareness of this killer disease. When someone comes out with some idea of a diet or an old housewife's tale on how to avoid or care for this disease I make it a point to make a note if it. Who knows?
Only a few days ago I received a strange email which claims to be a form of herbal medicine which had been tried by many and proved to be successful . I'd like to share it with you for what it's worth.
All one needs are a small potato, a small carrot and a small apple - all raw and not pealed but washed thoroughly. Put them in a liquidizer, add a little drinking water, liquidize and drink the resulting mixture every day for six months. To provide a bit of taste add a few lemon drops. Of course, perseverance is necessary.
It is said that the level of sugar in diabetics, that of cholesterol, blood pressure and some other common diseases go down. I am going to try it and check for myself.
Mr C Cassar
Jun 3rd 2011, 15:48
I appreciate your contribution but as you can see in Malta, few are interested in a heathly way of living. Hence the fact that the Maltese are the most obese in Europe and have one of the highest incidents of diabetes per head of population in the world. It's probably the only Mediterranean country that doesn't have a Mediterranean (and very healthy) diet.