Help please - I have a diabetic house guest coming to stay for a week - what should I have in the fridge?

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lizaanne

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I won’t have an opportunity to speak with him directly, so need to be as prepared as I can without buying out the grocery store. :rolleyes:

I will have a priest and one of the sisters from his convent staying with us in about a week. He is insulin dependent, and must watch his diet. I want to ensure I have the right things in the fridge - mostly for breakfast and lunch. We don’t know his evening plans, or really even the rest of his schedule at this point, only that we are hosting him and sister in our home for a week.

I’m a wreck with considering how to prepare for them - I just want to make them feel as comfortable as possible given our tiny home.

Thank you for any pointers! 🙂

~Liza
 
If you keep some simple, “healthy” things on hand, you should be fine. For breakfast, I’d keep some EggBeaters, 2% or skim milk, and unsweetened fruit juice in the fridge, and some whole-grain cereal, oatmeal, and whole-wheat bread in the pantry. For lunch, some lowfat lunch meats, lowfat cheese (the 2% stuff is pretty good but the fat-free stuff is nasty!), salad fixings, reduced-fat/sodium soup, and unsweetened canned or fresh fruit should suffice. Things to avoid would be concentrated sweets such as cakes/pies/cookies/donuts/etc., and other things with added sugar such as syrup-packed canned fruit, etc.

Dealing with a diabetic diet is new to you, but he is used to it. As long as you have a decent variety of food choices for him, he will know what to eat and what to avoid. And he will certainly appreciate your consideration of his special needs! God bless you, and have a wonderful visit!
 
If money is not an issue, I think Seattle Sutton’s has a diabetic option.
They do all the work, you get to relax and enjoy your visit.

In fact, why not order from them for the entire family too, so you get a break, and more time to visit.

And, no I dont work for that company. I just heard one of their radio ads when I was reading your thread. Just a thought.
 
Thank you Carrie - that is all very helpful! It really is how I shop anyway actually, so if I just do some fresh shopping right before he gets here we should be all set I guess!

Thanks! 😃

~Liza
 
Don’t know a lot about this, but I understand that pretty much all simple carbs are a bad idea. Not only white sugar, but white flour too. So white bread, white-flour pasta or tortillas, etc. would be bad ideas. I guess they all can spike blood sugar.

Whole grains, fresh veggies, and proteins are all better. From what I have been told, diabetics even have to limit fruits, healthy as they are, because of the high sugar content.

For recipe ideas, check this out: allrecipes.com/Recipes/Healthy-Living/Diabetic/Main.aspx

allrecipes.com is one of my favorite sites, and I was pretty sure they had a diabetic section.

And of course, an artificial sweetener for his coffee or tea, but you may have to wait until he arrives to ask him which he prefers. Or, you could buy a small supply of all 3 (Equal, Sweet n Low, and Splenda) and then donate the unopened ones to the donut & coffee crew at your church, if there is one. (I guess to a food bank if your church doesn’t do donuts and coffee.)
 
Hellisreal said:
If money is not an issue, I think Seattle Sutton’s has a diabetic option.
They do all the work, you get to relax and enjoy your visit.

In fact, why not order from them for the entire family too, so you get a break, and more time to visit.

And, no I dont work for that company. I just heard one of their radio ads when I was reading your thread. Just a thought.
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Sadly both DH and I have to work all week, so there won’t be too much visiting except in the evening, and I’m not so sure he doesn’t already have plans. Need to get this all sorted out before he gets here.

I have considered Seattle’s before, but I think for guests it would seem a bit “pre packaged” and not terribly welcoming, so I think I’ll just shop appropriately and hope that covers it.

Thanks!!

~Liza
 
If there’s a branch of the (I guess in your case) American Diabetes Association listed in your phone book, you might give them a call. They may have some advice to offer. Up here in Canada years ago, my Mom faced a similar situation, gave the Canadian Society a call, and they were most helpful.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
A lot of it would depend on him and how he treats his diabetes. I would ask him. There are two main diets for insulin dependant diabetics. One uses what is called an exchange system. Where he basically eats the same amount of exchanges at each meal. You should be able to find this on the American Diabetes Association site. The other system is is what is called carbohydrate counting. He basically eats an overall healthy diet and adjust his insulin based on the amount of carbs that he takes in. If he is is on the carb counting method, there isn’t anything really special that you need.

I personally get offended when I visit people and thy try to make me eat certain things because I’m diabetic. I understand why they are doing, so I am gracious and won’t tell them I’m offended, but that doesn’t change the way that I feel.

So to reiterate, just ask him.
 
Relax and try not to worry too much! As another poster said, plenty of wholegrain foods, fresh veggies and protein such as chicken, fish etc should do it. Remember your guest knows what is good and bad for him.
Hope the visit goes well and you all enjoy your time together.
God bless,
Pat
 
As long as you base meals on protein and not carbs, you’re ok. No pasta with garlic bread and cookies, for example. 😉 But you know that! You’ll be fine.
 
Ask him.

It’s probably a good idea to have some hard candy or a few cans of sugary soda in the house, in case his insulin level drops suddenly. He probably carries hard candy or packets of table sugar with him for just such an emergency.
 
Katie1723 said:
Why don’t you ask the priest what HE would like??

Kathy
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As I said previously - I can’t do that. I don’t have access to him until he arrives, and I want this done before he gets here. He is out of the country right now.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I have been able to get some details from the woman who is coordinating his visit and she did give me very similar suggestions, as well as some specific things he does like. So with her recommendations and yours I think we should be all set!

It’s all very exciting - I’ve never been host to a priest and a nun before! We are very blessed to have them. 😃

~Liza
 
I believe Puzzleannie lives with diabetes–perhaps drop her a line?

Also, for a sugar “substitute” (although it’s much, much sweeter than sugar) that I believe is safe for diabetics, have you looked into using Stevia, the plant derivative? I got it from a health food store & love it, even though I don’t have diabetes.

Have a great visit!
 
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