| Hi there
Welcome to the forum, and its really great that you are so supportive of your girlfriend.
I guess what I would like to add really, is that everyone is different. some people control their type 1 (i say type 1 because dietary issues are very different to a type 2 in many instances) by following a very strict and regimented diet, whereas others find that they can work very well with a 'normal' balanced diet in combination with being active and healthy and avoiding a few key things that they personally find challenging in terms of blood sugar....for me personally i prefer to lead a 'normal' life, i eat plenty of wholegrains, salad, meat, fish , cheese chocolate and wine, but i know that in the mornings unless i just ran, most carbs can make me feel rough and spikey (i have rye bread with cheese now, the cheese slows the absorption enough to make it manageable...)
anyhow the point im making is that people make choices, there are no 'rules' and i personally find the concept of 'diabetic' recipes a bit irksome and un-necessary, a little of what you like is seriously not a problem for most of us (assuming that to be against the backdrop of a healthy balanced diet), and most of us have come out of the dark ages where diabetes was about 'sugar' , not an inability to metabilse carbohydrates. personally i much to prefer to have some simple sugars in my diet than nasty artificial sweeteners and maintain excellent control of my diabetes, talk to your partner about how she feels about these things, its the only way you will know how to support her best.
when i think of what my partner does to be so wonderful and supportive is really to talk and listen and be accepting of my choices. so basically he now has this understanding that my life is a little bit easier if i dont have big carby meals in the evening (otherwise i have to get up and test during the night), and that i can get really high in the mornings if i eat much of bascially anything..., but armed with that knowledge the one thing he doesnt do is judge or complain, particularly if i choose to eat something that he knows will make me spikey and hence moody in the morning. he encourages me by example really, which is very sweet and hard to resist!
oh the other thing i just thought. one of the key things in good control for most people is carb counting. as a partner one of the most helpful things you can do when cooknig is to retain any packaging (things like bread rolls, or any ready prepared food), and when cooking things like rice or pasta or lentils, just to have a basic idea of the quantity you used and the carbs per 100g so she can estimate her carbs. i NEVER weigh my food or ask anyone else to, but iv got pretty good at estimating the carbs in obvious things like rice and bread, even cakes! things that are trickier are the 'hidden carbs' for example, if you are making a marinade and put in some sweet chilli sauce, theres a bunch or carbs in that,estimate the total volume you used and hence the carb count; it will make it a lot easier for her to dose her insulin correctly....
stuff like reminding her to take insulin and test, id pretty much say dont do that. it will feel to her like if someone tells you to wipe when you have been to the toilet, or to brush your teeth. its part of her life and its probably ingrained into her routine. if you have real concerns about her health (for example if her BG is frequently out of line with expectation) then maybe you should discuss your concerns, but not in the context of reminding her to test....thats annoying....
i hope this helps. your support can really make a difference to how well your girlfriend feels, so encourage her to open up and talk about what she wants/needs.
__________________  Lizzie
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