| I was diagnosed in April so this is my first "holiday" season with Type 2 diabetes. In my experience, you don't have to quit the things you enjoy - you just have to compromise. For example we have an old family recipe for Pumpkin pie that calls for brown sugar and dr. pepper. It may sound strange but it's absolutely delicious - the only kind of pumpkin pie I'll eat. Anyway, a couple weekends ago I made a test run of the recipe using brown sugar substitute and diet dr. pepper. It was absolutely delicious and didn't adversely affected my BG levels. My family loved it too - they couldn't tell a difference at all. I smiled EVERY time I took a bite of that pie because I was so happy that it tasted so good and wasn't bad for me. I've done the same thing with other favorite recipes throughout the year and plan to do more experimenting as we move into my official "baking" season. I'll still make some old favorites for friends and family but I'll have some "good for me/can't tell the difference/doesn't affect my BG levels" treats so I won't feel deprived.  | 
