A hamper for an Aunt & Nan who is Diabetic??

princess_moomoo

Hi want to make an Hamper for an elderly Aunt and a Nan who are both diabetic and has to have a low fat diet too! :eek:

Any ideas what to put in?? Doesnt have to be all food.

I would prefer to spend about £20 on each.

Also (sorry i am an complete novice!) but i guess i buy a basket and i saw that you can buy the cellophane from the florists.

Any tips on where to get the baskets from?

Thank you in advance for any tips XX :T

tinselfairy

Not food related but how about a book of stamps, handy to have in the house, maybe some nice writing paper and envelopes to go with them.

sugaJen

Hat, scarf and gloves, puzzle book, some kind of foot care kit,

Wilko's had a decent selection of wicker baskets, I got a 1 that will beused for a hamper for £3.99, I noticed home bargains had some seagrass ones but didnt see the price.

Jen

recovering_spendaholic

I think all of the above are nice, plus maybe a diabetic cookbook - you can pick them up for under a fiver in the likes of the Works and so on. Just don't do what I did last year!! I bought a lovely box of sugar free chocolates for a girl I work with who had just become diabetic at 50. They looked fab and clearly said no sugar. She was thrilled and spent all day Christmas Day nibbling on them and then was up all night on the loo because apparantly sugar free chocolate and sweets are laxatives if you eat more than one or two of them!!

Prudent

Boots have a range of diabetic food and often have some nice things at Christmas. I often by some things from them for a family friend.

princess_moomoo

thank you everyone x I have now made a list of your suggestions and shall hit the shops in the next couple of days XX

Smickan

A chemist is a good place to find chocolate etc sutiable for diabetics - or rather my local one is, hope it's some use

Justie

most of the diabetics I know don't see the point in 'diabetic chocolate' they'd rather eat small amounts of 'real' chocolate as part of their over-all intake - obviously everyone's different though.

My Mum, who is diabetic, has the occasional bit of dark chocolate - green and blacks or other premium brands are good and try to get 70% (green and blacks do trys of little chocolates that are good for portion control)

She's also partial to red wine :beer: although has to watch how much she drinks.

Good snacks are nuts and seeds that have been toasted (dry roasted in the oven or in a dry frying pan) and you can add chili or other spices to liven them up a bit.

bekkithedevil

I agree on the non-diabetic food front. I got diagnosed this time last year at the grand old age of 21 and had diabetic chocolate from every angle at christmas. Try eating it - it tastes rank! Most diabetics I know (me included) prefer "normal" food - anything in moderation is fine!

Diabetic chocolate in particular is useless. It still has the same carbohydrate value (needed for insulin users), the same fat and cholesterol levels (important as diabetics are more prone to heart problems) and generally tastes worse. Plus it's more expensive, there's not as much range, and as you mentioned - it has laxative effects!

Sorry if I haven't been much help - just thought I'd point out the "benefit" of diabetic food from a diabetic perpective!

Bekki

princess_moomoo

cheers guys. I think i will buy them good choccie like green and blacks but not too much,

so should i buy diabetic jams or are they gross too... Biscuits too????

thank you for your input X

bekkithedevil

To be honest I think it's completely down to taste. Could you sneak a look in their cupboards and see if they already buy diabetic jam and things?

Not sure if you remember but not too long ago the Co-Op caused a huge fuss because they've stopped selling diabetic food. Even Diabetes UK says it's no different to normal stuff. Some people (like my former Psychology lecturer) prefer the taste even though there's no real difference apart from cost.

Have you got an Au Natural near you? they do really nice baskets and general storage things that aren't too expensive.

Hope you find something nice! x