healthy treats Archives - Defying Diabetes

Halloween Pumpkin Pie!

29th October 202324th October 2023 christinasmithdd

This year my Halloween recipe is a delicious pumpkin pie! This recipe is perfect for spooky season, and another way to use the leftover pumpkin flesh after carving!

Serves 8-10

Macros: (based on 10 servings)

Calories: 235
Carbohydrates: 31g
of which sugars: 19g
Fat: 10g
Protein: 4g

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

150g plain flour
50g icing sugar
75g unsalted butter
1 egg yolk

For the filling:

750g cubed pumpkin flesh
120g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 medium eggs beaten
25g unsalted butter
175ml milk
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 22cm pie dish with butter.

2. Add the pumpkin chunks to a large saucepan and cover with boiling water. Let this boil for around 1 minute and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes (until it is soft). Strain out the water and leave the pumpkin to cool down.

3. For the pastry, add the flour and butter into a large mixing bowl and crumble together until it looks like fine crumbs. Then stir in the icing sugar.

4. Next, add the beaten egg and continue to mix. If the mixture is not holding, add 1 tbsp of water at a time until it holds together. Once combined, wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

5. For the filling, add the cool pumpkin to a blender and blitz into a purée. Next, add the caster sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a crack of salt in a new mixing bowl and stir. Add the beaten egg, milk, melted butter and pumpkin purée, continue to mix until fully combined. Set this aside for later.

6. Now get the cooled pastry and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll to about the depth of a pound coin. Lay it in the pie dish and remove the excess pastry spilling over the sides.

7. Put a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans. Bake this for 10 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for another 12 minutes.

8. Once the pastry shell is baked, remove it from the oven and pour the pumpkin filling in. Now bake it for a further 30-35 minutes (until the filling has started to set).

9. Leave the pie to fully cool, then dust with icing sugar, cinnamon and Halloween decorations if you wish!

10. Serve with ice cream and enjoy! 🙂

Thank you for reading my Halloween Pumpkin Pie recipe! Be sure to subscribe and follow me on Instagram!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out Halloween pumpkin soup recipe!, Healthy Halloween Rocky Road Recipe! and Spiced Pumpkin Cappuccino Cake!

Diet, Recipes

Turmeric Latte Recipe

21st January 202320th January 2023 christinasmithdd

Here is a turmeric latte recipe which is delicious and perfect for the winter months! This is also a great coffee alternative if you are looking to cut down on caffeine.

Turmeric and ginger have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, providing many health benefits! Cinnamon adds an earthy flavour, while aiding blood glucose balance by promoting insulin sensitivity.

Serves 1/2

Macros:

Calories: 72
Carbohydrates: 9.6g
of which sugars: 7g
Fibre: 1g
Protein: 1.5g
Fat: 3.5g

Ingredients:

350ml almond or oat milk
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp organic honey
Grind of black pepper (which aids the absorption of turmeric!)

Turmeric Latte Method:

1.Put all of the ingredients into either a milk frother or a saucepan.

2. If you are using a saucepan, continuously whisk on gentle heat until the milk is hot.

3. Now pour into your mug.

4. Next, enjoy! 🙂

Thank you for reading the Turmeric Latte Recipe, make sure you give it a go! Be sure to subscribe and follow me on Instagram!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out Coffee and diabetes and Spiced Pumpkin Cappuccino Cake!

Education on Diabetes, Top Tips

Restaurants and Diabetes 101

15th October 202215th October 2022 christinasmithdd

Eating in restaurants can be challenging for people living with diabetes, due to unknown ingredients, generous portions and long waiting times can cause problems.

Despite these challenges, it should not stop you from enjoying a meal out! Here is what to consider when eating out to help keep your sugars stable.

Look them up

The first thing I do before eating out is look at the menu to get an idea of the food, and to get excited! 🙂

This way you can prepare earlier in the day if you need to. For example if you know it will be a carb heavy meal, you might decide to stay active and get some cardio in.

The majority of chain restaurants have macros available online which you can use to carb count. Also double check on apps like MyFitnessPal which has macros listed on there.

Of course independent restaurants may not have this information, so you’ll have to wing it or ask them before/when you arrive.

Timing

Knowing when to inject can be difficult when you don’t know the wait time.

I have a few methods which might help!

1.If my sugars are running slightly high, I’ll order something lower carb to start and a higher carb main. I’ll inject 10 minutes (ish) after ordering.

2. If my sugars are normal or running slightly low I’ll order a starter and main with carbs. Again I’ll inject around 10 minutes after ordering, but I will also order a drink with sugar and/or some bread to keep me going.

Ask the waiter what the wait time will roughly be so you can prepare and enjoy your food!

Different Ingredients

Restaurants often use more flour and sugar in recipes and sauces, so this means more insulin may be needed than usual.

Sometimes it is worth injecting a few extra units to account for this, and if you start to go low, you can always eat/drink more! Make sure you test regularly during the meal!

Asian dishes and tomato sauces often contain a lot of sugar – so bear this in mind!

Final tips

I really like to go for a slow walk after eating. This can help with digestion, keep your levels stable and it is sociable!

Always remember to account for alcohol in your insulin (if it is sugary), and if you are drinking a lot, eat carbs with it to prevent a hypo!

Enjoy yourself… If you are running slightly high (not so much that you feel bad), inject a correction dose and forget about it. You deserve to have a nice meal out every now and then.

Thank you for reading Restaurants and Diabetes, I hope this was useful! Be sure to subscribe!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out 5 ways to handle high carb meals and Been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes? Here’s what to do!

Recipes

Healthy Cheesecake Recipe!

16th July 20226th July 2022 christinasmithdd

Here is my healthy cheesecake recipe which is the perfect summer dessert! Be sure to give this super easy recipe a go!

Serves 14

Macros:

Calories: 296
Carbohydrates: 21g
of which sugars: 8.5g
Fibre: 1.3g
Protein: 3.5g
Fat: 19g

Ingredients:

250g GF Nairn’s chocolate chip biscuits
100g coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
400g mascarpone cream cheese
200g greek yogurt
250g Oatly whippable creamy oat
5 tablespoons organic honey
Strawberries for the top

Method:

1.Use coconut oil to grease the bottom of you1r loose-bottom tin. Next, place the Nairn’s biscuits and pulse until they resemble crumbs.

2. Pour the crumbs into a bowl with the melted coconut oil and stir until combined. Tip this mixture into the tin and use a spoon to press it down to form a firm base layer.

3. Next, place the cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla and honey into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the whippable creamy oat and continue beating the mixture until it is combined and smooth.

4. Pour the mixture on top of the base and smooth over with a spoon.

5. Chop up the strawberries and decorate the top of the cheesecake.

6. Leave the cheesecake to set for at least 6 hours (overnight is ideal!)

7. Next, enjoy! 🙂

Thank you for reading my Healthy cheesecake recipe! Be sure to subscribe and follow us on Instagram!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out my Strawberry jam cake recipe and my Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Recipes

Lemon and Almond loaf cake

6th November 20214th November 2021 christinasmithdd

Here is my delicious lemon and almond loaf cake recipe! This is a gluten free recipe, if you are not gluten free, replace the flour with either self raising or brown flour. Also remove the xanthin gum.

This loaf cake is one of my all time favourites, it is sweet, zingy and has a beautiful earthy taste from the almonds. It also is fairly low in sugar, so it’s great as a treat!

Macros: (based on 12 servings)

Calories: 187
Carbohydrates: 21g
of which sugars: 14.5g
Fat: 10.5g
Protein: 2.5g
Fibre: 0.6g

Ingredients:

100g Gluten free self rising flour
100g soft brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthin gum
2 medium eggs
100g coconut oil
30g almonds (halved)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon

For the icing:

70g icing sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and line your loaf tin with baking paper.

2. Weigh out the coconut oil and melt in the microwave for around 30 seconds.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, xanthin gum, brown sugar, eggs and melted coconut oil. Mix until well combined.

4. Next, stir in the almonds, lemon juice and zest.

5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for around 35-40 minutes, or until springy.

6. In a small mixing bowl, combine the icing sugar, lemon juice and zest. Keep mixing until smooth.

7. Pour the icing over the loaf while it is still slightly warm. This will let the icing soak in – it is absolutely delicious!

8. Next, enjoy! 🙂

Thank you for reading my lemon and almond loaf cake recipe! Make sure you give it a go, it is so easy to make! Be sure to subscribe and follow me on Instagram!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out my Banana Loaf Recipe! and Halloween pumpkin soup recipe!

Recipes

Banana Loaf Recipe!

24th April 202125th April 2021 christinasmithdd

This week I am sharing my banana loaf recipe! If you have some brown bananas and fancy a treat, definitely give this recipe a try!

The banana loaf is fairly high in carbs, but using wholemeal flour will help to slow digestion and decrease sugar spikes. For decoration, I like to crush some walnuts and sprinkle 🙂

Serves 12

Macros:

Calories: 184
Carbohydrates: 18g
of which sugars: 10g
Protein: 2.5g
Fat: 10g

Ingredients:

100g wholemeal flour
100g soft brown sugar
2 medium eggs
100g coconut oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 large mashed banana
2 tsp vanilla essence
30g dark chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees, grease the loaf tin and line with baking paper.

2. Cream the sugar and coconut oil until combined. Next, mix in the eggs, flour and vanilla essence.

3. Once the mixture is combined, fold in the banana and chocolate chips.

mix chocolate and banana into bananaloaf

4. Pour the mixture into the tin, and bake for around 40 minutes or until springy.

5. Next, enjoy! 🙂

Thank you for reading my banana loaf recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do! Make sure you subscribe and follow me on Instagram!

If you liked this blog, be sure to check out my Apple and Blackberry Crumble and How to handle a hypo mid-workout!

Diet, Recipes

Ginger Cookies you have to make this Christmas!

12th December 202011th December 2020 christinasmithdd

This week I am sharing a ginger cookie recipe you have to make this Christmas! These ginger cookies are absolutely delicious and are great for getting you in the Christmas spirit!

The macros are listed below, this recipe is fairly low in sugar and primarily made with wholemeal carbohydrates. The fat content is slightly high, but will help with slowing down digestion, and it is the festive season so it is absolutely fine to have a treat!

I added 1 tsp of fresh ginger for a more subtle taste, but if you prefer a stronger taste, I recommend adding at least 2 tsp of fresh ginger to your cookie mixture.

Makes 12 cookies

Macros:
Carbohydrates: 15g
of which sugars: 4.5g
Protein: 2g
Fat: 7g

Ingredients:
100g butter
1 tsp golden syrup
50g soft brown sugar
100g oats
75g wholemeal or rye flour
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger

Method:

1.Turn the oven to 180 degrees to preheat.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar and syrup together while stirring.

3. Once the mixture is melted and combined, add the oats, flour and fresh ginger to the mix, and fold until the dry ingredients are completely covered by the melted mix.

4. Next, take small handfuls of the oat mixture and shape into 12 oat cookies.

5. Bake your ginger cookies in the oven for 15 minutes until golden and crispy.

6. Now, enjoy 🙂

Thank you for reading this weeks blog! Let me know if you try this recipe and I hope you find the cookies as delicious as I did!

If you liked this blog, be sure to check out How to stay on track this Christmas! and my Healthy Halloween Rocky Road Recipe!

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