DIABETIC LEMONADE -- A Cool Summer Treat!

Talk about a great "sweet tooth fixer" for summer!

We are in the heat of June, and my husband is a total soda addict. He sneaks "the real stuff" when I'm not watching (which is like drinking poison for a diabetic), but the sugar substitutes in the diet soda aren't good for you, either.

Before I leave the subject of soda, I must tell you that Shasta's diet sodas are made with Splenda. It's really hard to find diet sodas sweetened with Splenda, so imagine my excitement to find a whole line of diet soda sweetened with Splenda! Shasta is a generic brand -- I don't know if it's available in the eastern states, but it's worth finding (or ordering online) if you can't find it where you live. A nurse told us that Splenda is better for you (or should we say "less bad") than any of the other sugar substitutes. I've dealt with enough medical people to know you have to take everything they say with a grain of salt (or sugar, in this case), but for my money, Splenda sits pretty good. I'm pretty sensitive to artificial anything, and Splenda doesn't bother me or make me sick.

OK, back to the diabetic lemonade. This is such an easy, quick drink to make. If you have a naughty diabetic in your life like I do (lately, my husband has been obsessed with gummy worms -- I swear, he chooses to fixate on foods with the highest possible carbs!! This is why my next post will be low-carb gummy worms), if you have a naughty diabetic, this sweet (and carb-free!) drink will satisfy those sweet cravings.

NOTE: Distilled water is GREAT for lowering high blood sugar fast. I keep gallons of it in the house at all times (like I said, I live with a naughty diabetic. We often need to perform some emergency blood sugar lowering). So you can use distilled water with this recipe if you want to. I just used tap water (we live in the country -- don't try that in the city!!) and it turned out fine.

DIABETIC LEMONADE

YOU'LL NEED:

1/2 gallon water

1 cup lemon juice (the store-bought kind in the bottle has no carbs!!)

1 cup Splenda (add more or less according to your tastes. NOTE: Generic substitute Splenda, like the               Walmart brand, works just fine)

Add the lemon juice and Splenda to your water and mix well. (I put it all in a gallon jug and shook it up -- makes it look foamy!) Adjust the lemon juice and Splenda to your taste. This isn't rocket science and you're not going to be graded -- it's done when you like how it tastes!

Keep this cold and handy at the front of your fridge, and the naughty (or lazy...) diabetic in your life will reach for this low-carb lemonade instead of a taboo soda or juice. If you've got a really naughty diabetic, don't tell him (or her) that this is diabetic lemonade -- let him (or her) think it's "the real stuff" and they'll think they got away with cheating on their diet. ;-)

Diabetic lemonade!

Low-Carb Pancakes

When my husband was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, one of the foods I was saddest about him losing was pancakes. He loves eating them and I love making them. I was determined to find a way to keep pancakes on our menu of breakfast foods. But alas, a search through the grocery store shelves turned up nothing encouraging -- even the whole wheat flours were way too high in carbs to make pancake-making feasible; all the pre-made mixes (low sodium, gluten-free, etc.) were also far too high in carbohydrates. But I was still determined to find a way.

Searching online one night, I turned up a few products I'd never heard of before, one of which was almond flour.  Almond flour is simply raw almonds that have been blended into a fine grain. Almond flour can stand alone as a flour substitute or can be mixed with wheat flour. The best part: only 4 grams of carbs per serving (which is 1/4 cup). I eagerly ordered several packages (the downside is the individual bags are very small -- 10 oz. in the brand I bought, so I had to buy several). The upside is you can find fairly inexpensive Almond Flour online; many health food stores carry almond flour, as well. To the right is a photo of the one I ended up with.

Here is a recipe for making Almond Flour Pancakes. This recipe makes four large pancakes or 10-12 smaller ones. These really turn out well -- they hold together great and bubble on top when they're ready to be flipped, just like regular pancakes. There is definitely a bit of an "almond" flavor, but I quite like them. My husband is somewhat of a picky eater, and he's been eating them without complaint, so mission accomplished!

Almond Flour Pancakes 
   
2 Cups Almond Flour
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Water
4 Tbsp. Oil (I use olive oil)
1 tsp. Vanilla (a capful will do)
1/8 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbsp. of the sweetener of your choice (Splenda works fine; I use a product from the health food store called "Just Like Sugar." As you experiment with these pancakes, adjust the amount of sweetener for your own personal taste)

OPTIONAL: About 2 Tbsp. melted butter (liquid butter works fine)

Mix the dry ingredients first. Add the eggs, water and the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Fry like regular pancakes and enjoy!

There may not be a lot of low-carb pancake mixes out there, but there are lots and lots of sugar-free pancake syrups (go figure), so obviously a sugar-free syrup will also greatly reduce the carb count in this meal -- definitely don't let the diabetic in your home use the real stuff, or you've just wasted your time making him/her low-carb pancakes. There are other natural low-carb flours out there (coconut flour, pecan flour...), but almond is the only one I've tried so far. Several Web sites I've read say almond flour works the best as a substitute for the real thing. If you've had success with other low-carb flours, write in and let me know! I'll share your success with the rest of the "Diabetes Eaties" community.

Voila! The finished product. Can't tell the difference? Neither will your diabetic sweeties!

P.S. I also made a cake for our anniversary using the almond flour. Admittedly, not as good as the real thing (but what is when it comes to junk food?). However, I'm not done experimenting. I'll keep you posted!