THE
EVERYTHING
Guide to
Cooking for
Children
WITH DIABETES
From everyday meals to holiday treats
how to prepare foods your child will love to eat
Moira McCarthy with Leslie Young, MD
Copyright 2009 by F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-4405-0023-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0023-7
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0024-4
Printed in the United States of America.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO COOKING FOR CHILDREN WITH DIABETES
Dear Reader,
I can remember my first visit to a supermarket in the days just after my daughter had been diagnosed with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. So intimidating were the aisles, I actually sobbed in the middle of the popcorn and snacks section. Food, you see, had in my head become the enemy. Carbs lingered around every corner. Bad choices stared me down at every pass. How carefree the job of feeding my family had been B.D. (before diabetes), I thought.
The good news was I learned that in today's world, food is no longer the enemy, and with good planning, some smart cooking, and the support of a good medical team, my daughter's life didn't have to be dramatically changed. In fact, I realized, diabetes might help bring my entire family to a better place. If I could learn to prepare fun, interesting, and healthy meals that any child or family would love and benefit from, wouldn't that be a good thing? This book is an effort to help you, the parent of a child with diabetes, do just that.
I hope that if you are new to diabetes, this book will help you with some ideas that will keep that supermarket trip from being so upsetting. If you've been dealing with a child with diabetes for some time, I hope it opens up some new ideas to you.
I hope you'll try and enjoy the recipes in this book. I hope some of them become family traditions. I hope you encourage your child to learn to cook them along with you. Because one day, diabetes will be cured, but we'll all still need to eat healthy. Happy Cooking!
Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series!
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten. You can choose to read from cover to cover or just pick out information from our four useful boxes.
Alerts
Urgent warnings
Essentials
Quick handy tips
Facts
Important snippets of information
Questions
Answers to common questions
When you're done reading, you can finally say you know EVERYTHING!
PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan
DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
EVERYTHING SERIES COVER DESIGNER Erin Alexander
LAYOUT DESIGNERS Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace
Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com
To Lauren and to all the kids with Type 1. May the cure come soon.
Acknowledgments
As always, I salute my daughter Lauren for the years and years of brave battle she's put up in the face of Type 1 diabetes; her sister and my daughter, Leigh, for being a good sport through it all; and my husband, Sean, for setting the healthy eating standard in our house. So, too, do I thank the many volunteers and staff of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International who give me hope and faith that one day, none of this will be necessary. In particular, I thank Heidi Daniels, Joana Casas, Bill Ahearn, Benita Shobe, Susan Sobers, Maryanne Jacobson, Cynthia Ford, Katie Clark, the Glass Family, the Bennett Family, Kristin Maresca, Jennifer Fishkind, Jessica Meltzer, Kassy Marsha Brady Helme, Andrea Hulke, Red and Marinda Maxwell, Renata Lanoix, and all those other great people who refuse to give up. Thanks also to Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and his amazing staff for being a friend, supporter, and inspiration all these years to Lauren. You've made a wonderful difference in her life. And a special thanks to my friend Anne D'Angelo and family. You were so supportive all the years I've had to deal with this. It breaks my heart to welcome you to this world, but together, we can find the cure. Go to www.jdrf.org to learn more.
Introduction
Once you get past the diabetes diagnosis and the needles and the shots and the finger pricks, it's the main thing on your mind:
How and what am I going to feed this child?
Common knowledge tells you that when it comes to diabetes, it's all about the food. And in a way, it is. After all, from here on in, you'll need to count and study every single carbohydrate your child ingests and make a medical decision on how much insulin needs to be matched with that.
That's daunting. But the good news is this: Kids with diabetes can eat almost exactly the same as all children should eat (emphasize should there, good parent). That wasn't always the case. As little as a decade ago, there was no such thing as rapid-acting insulin, and children with diabetes were forced to eat on a meal plan and schedule, eating the exact same amount of carbs at the exact same time, day in and day out, with nary a change in that schedule.
But today, with pumps and rapid-acting insulin and continuous glucose monitors to manage it all, kids with diabetes are free to explore food choices almost the same as all other children. Heading to a birthday party? You can absolutely let him have a slice of that cake (as long as you know his blood glucose-to-carb ratio and then give the insulin for that). Planning a party yourself? You can go the traditional route, or better yet, be creative and make the food at that party more healthy but just as enjoyable, proving to all the guests that healthy can be fun and delicious.
Next page