Diabetic nephew and Thanksgiving

[BelleWDW]

The oldest nephew-in his 30's-called grandma and tried to coax her to change her recipe for Candied Yams using spenda



My SIL and I had the same reaction-complete panic!

WE LIVE for Thanksgiving day just to get a searving of her legendary dish-topped with pecans-its like eating CANDY-sweet, sweet sweet! No way, no how would it taste the same.


Now, rest assured-she'll probaby make a small serving for the above nephew-so dont flame me

 

[MIGrandma]

Your last sentence was exactly what I was going to suggest.

Then everyone will be happy.

 

[VillageMama]

That's nice of your grandmother to make a separate Splenda-yam dish for your nephew.

Ahh... family harmony! I can just see how the scene goes down in Grandma's house on Thanksgiving:

OP: We want our yummy, super sweet candied yams!

Nephew: But it will kill me!

OP: Have a salad!

I hope that everyone enjoys your grandmother's cooking on Thanksgiving!

 

[Jennasis]

I hope your calling him "whiney" was tongue in cheek. The guy has a disease and would like to enjoy Thanksgiving just like you, but without becoming very sick or dying...

Glad to hear grandma will accommodate everyone's needs.

 

[allison443]

I also think it is nice of grandma to accommodate the nephew. It's good to try new things!
Do you really consider his request whining, or were you kidding?

 

[punkin]

I have 4 vegetarians and a child with severe peanut/tree-nut/soy/milk allergies coming. I will accommodate everyone. Nothing ruins a Thanksgiving dinner like a child going into anaphylactic shock...except maybe a 30 yo going into insulin shock!

What exactly is the point of this thread?

 

[puffkin]

That is very nice of the grandmom to make him another dish with Splenda!

As the wife of a Type 1 diabetic and growing up with a brother who was Type 1 diabetic, I can honestly say no one in our family would EVER make accomodations like that for the diabetics and the diabetics would NEVER ask. I think the biggest misconception with diabetes is that you can't have any sugar! That is so untrue. In this situation, my DH would have taken a small serving if he wanted and just cut back on something else. All in moderation! Most of the diabetics I know tend to avoid the sugar free and alternative sweetner products as much as possible and eat the real thing....just in moderation! The carbs are a MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger issue with him and he has to be more careful with those. Just wanted to throw out that perspective....

 

[RunningGirl]

I hope your calling him "whiney" was tongue in cheek. The guy has a disease and would like to enjoy Thanksgiving just like you, but without becoming very sick or dying...

Glad to hear grandma will accommodate everyone's needs.

I also think it is nice of grandma to accommodate the nephew. It's good to try new things!
Do you really consider his request whining, or were you kidding?

Note at the top of OP's post:

I'm pretty sure that indicates it's meant to be light hearted.

 

[Jennasis]

Note at the top of OP's post:


I'm pretty sure that indicates it's meant to be light hearted.

Ah. I see. I don't find it humorous at all....and I find pretty much everything funny.

 

[legalsea]

That is very nice of the grandmom to make him another dish with Splenda!

As the wife of a Type 1 diabetic and growing up with a brother who was Type 1 diabetic, I can honestly say no one in our family would EVER make accomodations like that for the diabetics and the diabetics would NEVER ask. I think the biggest misconception with diabetes is that you can't have any sugar! That is so untrue. In this situation, my DH would have taken a small serving if he wanted and just cut back on something else. All in moderation! Most of the diabetics I know tend to avoid the sugar free and alternative sweetner products as much as possible and eat the real thing....just in moderation! The carbs are a MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger issue with him and he has to be more careful with those. Just wanted to throw out that perspective....

I subscribe to this statement. I am Type I and I do not ask my family to do anything special. I sometimes take my own sugar-free dish, but otherwise I watch what I eat. Simply because there are a dozen pies on the table does not mean I have to eat a dozen pies. If I avoid other carbs during the meal I may have a small piece.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Life or death or simply a food aversion, I think it is unfair to call someone whiney just b/c they would like to enjoy the food offered.

Especially for those where it is a life or death circumstance.

My only beef with the nephew is expected the whole dish to be modified. That's not right.

I don't have any life or death issues-but there is a couple of food prep methods that I prefer not to do b/c they upset my tummy. So if there is an easy way to "segregate" my food, there is no harm in asking. I.e. no butter in my mashed taters--I just ask for a small dish to be set aside and that is an easy fix.

I don't find how it is funny to call someone with a potentially life threatening illness (or food allergy for that matter) "whiney".

 

[Imzadi]

The carbs are a MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger issue with him and he has to be more careful with those.

The carbs in yams, even without all the sugary stuff is extremely high. Without looking at the chart, I think it has one of the highest glycemic indexes of all veggies.

But, I'm with you. Even if I can only have 2 tablespoons full, I'd rather have the good stuff than have it messed with with all those chemicals.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I don’t think that a diabetic asking for a dish to be prepared in a way that he can enjoy it is “whiney.” It sounds like making some yams for him with Splenda is easy enough to do.

All my aunts were always nice to me, and now I dote on my own nieces and nephews. I can spoil them too because they don’t live with me most of the time. Being part of a loving family is such a blessing.

But there seem to be some tough aunts here on the Dis! A few months ago, we had this “high class” poster here who started threads just to criticize her nephews. One she called “selfish” for choosing his wedding date when it wasn’t convenient for her, and another she was all up in arms over for lifting weights and going to tanning salons. (I’m not making that up! Someone actually posted that.)

 

[legalsea]

The carbs in yams, even without all the sugary stuff is extremely high. Without looking at the chart, I think it has one of the highest glycemic indexes of all veggies.

But, I'm with you. Even if I can only have 2 tablespoons full, I'd rather have the good stuff than have it messed with with all those chemicals.

Actually, Yams (or sweet potatoes) are actually considered low on the glycemic index (less than 55).

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm


I agree, if you add sugar, then the carb load heightens significantly. Same thing with lettuce.

 

[powellrj]

I have a DDIL with Celiacs, DS with Crohn's, DM with a corn allergy and a diabetic and I would never complain about having to modify my meals. I think having meals everyone can enjoy is a small price to pay to keep everyone healthy.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

and another she was all up in arms over for lifting weights and going to tanning salons. (I’m not making that up! Someone actually posted that.)

I remember that very well.

This is a weird thread. LOL. I'm not sure why it was posted in the first place (and I'm not criticizing... I don't care what people talk about) because I'm pretty sure it was tongue-in-cheek. But I did open it to stick up for the whiny nephew, but it looks like that won't be necessary.

And I would expect that a 30-year-old would know how to take care of himself (but the comments on carbs vs sugar were interesting).

Oh well. Carry on

 

[Imzadi]

Actually, Yams (or sweet potatoes) are actually considered low on the glycemic index (less than 55).

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm


I agree, if you add sugar, then the carb load heightens significantly. Same thing with lettuce.

<gasp!> I gave them all this time because the South Beach Diet I read, quite a while ago, told us they were one of the foods to avoid.

Yippee! They are actually more towards the mid-range, but not as high as I thought. I can have yams again! (No sugar added.) Thanks for the info, legalsea.

 

[pearlieq]

I don't know the guy and what he's normally like, but I think it would take some real cheek to call Grandma up and try to get her to change the recipe to accomodate him.

First off, he's the one who is diabetic. He needs to be responsible for his own dietary needs. Why does he think he's entitled to make Grandma do extra work and to make the rest of the family alter their meal to accomodate his needs? He can bring along a dish or two that he knows is "safe" for him. Pumpkin pie does really well with Spelnda, as would an adapted sweet potato casserole.

Secondly, it's candied yams. This is not a dish that will translate well with Splenda. It won't caramelize or set up correctly.

What he should have done is called Grandma and said "Could I have your recipe for candied yams? I've always loved them but can't have them anymore with my diabetes. I'd like to try to adapt your recipe with Splenda and bring it along."

It's pretty rude to call someone up and attempt to change their menu to fit your own needs.

 

[Laura]

My DH is a type 1 diabetic. He likes to make sweet potatoes for the family for Thanksgiving. He makes two kinds. One with tons of butter and brown sugar and one that is more savory and has chipotle peppers in it. He'll have just a little of the sweet one and as much as he likes of the other. They're both really tasty.

 

[Darsa]

I"m pretty sure that the "whiney" part was about as serious as the "complete panic" part, and I think it's really too bad that even with a winky smiley people get riled up over something that is pretty obviously meant to be silly and a poke at herself.

Diabetic DH will have some stuff specifically geared to him, I am going to make sure of it, and he will be happy and full. I hope the cauliflower mashed potatoes work out!!