Dietary problems - all help very gratefully received...

pickle

I've had to change our whole diet since my husband found out he has high cholesterol. These are the dishes I make now which are tasty. Firstly, olive oil and avacado is great for reducing the cholesterol (not sure about G.I. though) as is any fibre. You'll have to check the suggestions against diabetic recommendations.

Dolmades - mix 4 oz rice, 8 oz lean lamb mince, 2 sml tomatos finely diced, 1 sml onion finely diced, 5 tbsp chopped parsley and 5 tbsp chopped fresh mint, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt and pepper, 1 tsp all-spice. Then soak some vine leaves (about 20)in boiling water for 15 mins and then rinse. Then spoon about 1-2 tsp and wrap in a vine leaf (like a sml cigar) and do this until you have lined the bottom of a large pan. Firstly,line the pan with vine leaves. Then add juice of about 5 lemons and 1/2 cup water, then cover with plate upside down and put lid on pot. Simmer for one hour. Then put dolmades in container and again add juice of two lemons and a handful of fresh mint chopped and generously drizzle in olive oil. Then refridgerate (best cold the next day!!). I serve with hummus (don't forget to add a little plain yogurt (0% fat yogurt) to the hummus).

Chilli beans with rice (if on G.I brown rice might be better) and guacamole

Shepards or Cottage pie - boil the lamb or beef mince to extract the extra fat then cook as usual. I add a lot of diced veges for extra fibre or kidney beans. Just mash potatos - don't add butter.

Home made pizza - I use the half-kol cheese (avail. at ASDA) - has half the fat and the hm pizza is made with olive oil.

Sushi - Usually I make with smoked salmon or chicken breast or cucumber.
Tuna cakes - do not add butter and fry in olive oil.
Chicken Fajitas
Vege burgers.
pasta with ham and tomato sauce. Wholemeal pasta is better.
Turkey Schnitzel - a bit naughty as coated in egg (I dilute a bit with skim milk) but if really feeling like junk food this is great. Fry in olive oil and coat in wholemeal breadcrumbs and serve with roasted potato wedges and avacado salad.

Vege Curry

For treats I buy the skinny cow icecreams which taste very good and the cadbury highlights hot chocolate drink. This covers the sweet cravings.

If making a roast I roast the meat in about a cup of water and cover in foil. Then potatos/veges are done in olive oil, or could be steamed. Then I use the instant gravy mix (do not use the pan juices as this is full of saturated fat).

I think the food we eat now is much tastier but I admit it can be a bit labour intensive sometimes. Hope they give you some ideas, good luck!

piglet6

Hi mummysaver and pickle :hello: - thanks for your ideas and support.

I will look for AWT's cookbook when I am browsing Amazon this evening for the other books that have been mentioned so far. Thanks for posting all those recipe ideas, pickle - they sound lovely (especially those dolmades - will definitely be trying those!!:drool: ) and there are some really good tips there that I'm going to use - never occurred to me to boil mince first before "cooking" it to reduce the fat...:doh:?! Also, I've never thought of making sushi with chicken breast, so will give that one a go sometime as well, because it sounds lovely.

Thanks again:A. For some reason I can't see the "thanks" button on my screen so I can't press it to say thank you (has it gone again?!) - but I will be keeping an eye on this thread and if it comes back again, I shall certainly be recording my gratitude properly!!:T

Piglet

P.S. Having a chef for an OH is lovely...:happyhear, although it comes with a bit of a downside - when we married 10 years ago, I had to have my size 12 wedding dress taken in because it was too big:p . Today I'm a size 20-22...ooops:rolleyes: !! Too much of a good thing, I guess!!! :rotfl:

husard

Hi Piglet, so sorry to read about your Father.
My good friend has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 and so for what it's worth I will pass on what I have found out for Alexander. Did you know that the chef Anthony Worrall Thompson apparently now has diabetes and he has done a couple of cookery books especially for the disease which are available on Amazon UK. Diabetes UK is the leading authority for Type 1 & 2, they have a magazine, support groups and masses of literature, just google the name for their website. Alexander has been managing to control his blood sugar with diet and takes supplements with advice from a nutritionist. He is slim and fit so this came as a very nasty shock as it must have done for your father.
The best advice came from his consultant which was - everything in moderation. I am currently looking up 'vine leaves' because apparantly these can be a help in controlling blood sugar but I have not read up enough yet.
Hope your father will really enjoy his birthday.
Husard

ubamother

My dad, who is now also 74, found out in his fifties that he had both very high cholesterol and was at risk from diabetes. He was, and is, a very fit, active man who liked his food and my mum was, and is, a great cook, especially of sweet baked things. She also knows (manages!) dad very well. Over a period of a year she got his cholesterol and blood sugars down to a healthy level. She gently moved from beef to chicken, from cream sauces to stock-based sauces, cream biscuits to oatbased ones, butter to 'good' spreads or oils, victoria sponges to fruit and bran loaves. Now for a man, my dad's a pretty bright bloke (sorry men!) but he didn't even notice and was very surprised when his trousers started falling down and he had to buy a new wardrobe!

morganlefay

Sorry to hear about your dad; it is a shock to start with, but it will all settle down. I was diagnosed at 60 and now have to take insulin (I say this not to scare you - I am hugely overweight - but just to say that I have got used even to that and it's all fine now). Good suggestions above about A Worrall Thompson's books, and Low GI diets, and you could look at the Diabetes UK website which has lots of practical ideas and help (and recipes). Diabetic eating is not like it used to be - we now eat sensibly, and not 'strangely' - no need to eat diabetic choc or jam or anything else - just normal food in sensible (smaller) quantities. One big trap to avoid is the hideous habit of supermarkets and food manufacturers of labelling their products as 'healthy' when they well may be heavily sugared. Diabetics need to avoid extra sugar, and if overweight need to watch their weight, but do not automatically need to eat a low-fat diet. And it is still possible to eat a nice pud occasionally, or have a bit of chocolate, or a mince pie - it's just not something that you can eat lots of. I hope the holiday goes well - I am sure you'll be able to make it a real treat for him, and if you follow AWT's recipes you'll be able to make lovely food which is healthy and he'll never know he's eating 'healthily' ! It really isn't the end of the world - there are lots of us out here and we manage fine. Good luck !