Home made stuff

[Ashtur]

One of the things that comes with being a small town pastor is that I'm ALWAYS getting food shoved at me. It's gone down since my dx but it still happens. My people are good when I say I can't, that it's not in my diet et al. Still though, it got me thinking.

How does homemade stuff, especially baked goods, compare to store bought in terms of carbs? I mean, you can look and see that 1 Chips ahoy has 7gm of Carb, nice and simple. What's a home made Choco chip cookie? I know you can never be sure, but is there a general rule of thumb? Homemade is better? worse? bout the same?

[Katjic]

Good question Ash. I never really thought about that, I know home made stuff tastes better, but how do we know nutritional values of it?
Good thing I don't bake that much lol

[HeatherP]

Well, most cookbooks these days list nutritional info. However, unless you've got the recipe you can't know exactly. Sometimes you have to use generalizations. My food scale came w/ a handy little book that lists general and specific food info incl carb and calories. I think it would be a good idea for you to get a good book and use it as a basis, but not necessarily concrete as recipies can change and differ. My CDE says that as a general rule, 1 oz of bread/starch is approx. 15 gms/carbs. This is also a good guideline however it doesn't work w/ pizza I know by personal experience. You need to learn how to "eyeball" carbs and learn from your own personal experiences. Such as, Mrs. Smith's tuna fish casserole sends my sugars thru the roof, but Ms. Jones's homemade pizza doesn't. Kind of trial and error.

HeatherP

[mg_2204]

... I cook a lot & seldom buy cookies, sauces, etc from the store. I always have my nose in my numerous recipe books and the grocery store provides all the basics I need and not so much ready-made meals and other goodies. For example, I find that home made cookies do less damage to my BG than the ones from the store. But then again, I experiment a lot, I use low fat plain yoghurt instead of margarine, I often reduce the amount of sugar (unbelievable- better results!).

I'd go with Heather's advice; it makes sense! Because eventhough food from the store will tell you how much sugar, how much fat and so on, you BG can go through the roof anyway. So how about having just small portions and then see what happens? You can always ask for the recipes. Women love that! ;) And then you can figure out how it will affect your BG and overall health.

I personally think home made is better. You know what's in it, no artificial flavours, no preservatives, just your basic ingredients. When I was working full time and raising 3 young children, I didn't have much time to cook. My BG was out of control then. Now that I have a lot more time to cook, I could swear BG is better because it's all home made.

Another point I want to make : Eventhough you've been diagnosed, and eventhough you tell people... some will still shove food in your face. I find that sometimes they will try to feed you stuff a non diabetic person would have problems with! There is no malice in it. I don't know why, they just do...

Marie
:)

[DeusXM]

One important thing to remember is that most processed foods and shop sold products actually have a lot more sugar in them than home-made produce. Eat the homemade stuff, especially the cookies! They'll probably taste better and they'll probably have less sugar in. Just keep an eye on your bg. Don't worry. There's nothing you 'can't eat' because you have diabetes. Obviously some stuff might affect bg more than others, but that's what the medication's for.

[vgray77]

While homemade baked goods may have a little less sugar than store-bought, they can still have a significant amount of carbohydrates. The biggest difference will be in the preservatives. You did not mention your dietary goals. How many grams of carbohydrates can you have and still maintain good blood sugar control? I have worked out that I need to have between 25 and 30 grams of carbohydrates six times a day, three meals and three snacks. The big decision is will those carbohydrates be from a nutritious meal or a candy bar. Not all carbohydrates affect the body the same. Do a search on line for GLYCEMIC INDEX. The body responds fastest to simple carbs, like sugar, they cause the blood sugar to climb fast then drop fast. Complex carbs, fiber rich vegetables and fruits, whole grains, take longer to be converted in the body. The blood sugar does not rise as fast or as high. You feel fuller and do not get hungry as fast.
You are in a difficult position, where well meaning members of you congregation can place your health at risk. You could also use your position to influence the eating habits of those very people. If you explain that you need to control your carbohydrate intake and ask your congregation for their help, I’m sure they would try.