What can a diabetic eat at Thanksgiving dinner?

Non-starchy veggies should fill half of your plate (plus, the veggies will add festive color to your meal!) and lean protein, like turkey or plant-based proteins, should fill one quarter. Finally, fill up the last quarter of your plate with carbohydrates (carbs), such as mashed potatoes or whole grains.

What Thanksgiving food is low in calories?

Breast meat is generally the lowest in calories. But no matter which part of the bird you go with, consider ditching the skin. Not only is that where much of the natural fat sits, but also many people slather the outside of the bird with butter or oil before roasting.

What are the three meals for diabetics?

Eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast followed by a substantial lunch and a small dinner — the so-called "three-meal diet" (3Mdiet) — promotes weight loss and significantly improves glucose control in type 2 diabetes, a randomized, controlled trial suggests.

What happens when you quit keto?

Without carbohydrates to build up glycogen stores, or muscle fuel, muscles will run out of gas. And when you don't have the energy to work out, muscle loss can occur . This is especially true since carbs are necessary to renew and repair muscles.

Should I break keto for Thanksgiving?

If you're unfamiliar with a keto diet, here's the quick explanation: It's extremely low in carbohydrates and high in fat. Meat, including turkey with skin, is fine to consume, but other Thanksgiving staples aren't . Mashed potatoes are off limits, along with bread stuffing, rolls, sugary cranberry sauce and desserts.

What happens when you cut carbs cold turkey?

You Might Feel Dizzy and Have Headaches It will switch to breaking down fat into ketones, an alternative to glucose. This puts the body into ketosis, or a state with elevated ketones, which have side effects such as dizziness, weakness, fatigue and headaches.

What is the popular alternative to turkey on Thanksgiving?

Cornish game hen, goose, duck, ham, beef, salmon, and mushroom recipes make worthy centerpieces for holiday meals. This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors.

What is the unhealthiest food on Thanksgiving?

“Bacon, sausage, mince meat, giblets, and a variety of similar ingredients find their way into many a stuffing, which takes an already unhealthy dish — often topping 500 calories per serving, depending on the recipe — to an entirely new level of unhealthy,” she said.

What is the healthiest meat for Thanksgiving?

Turkey . Turkey is an inherently healthy meat so long as you don't toss it in the deep fryer.

Can a diabetic enjoy Thanksgiving?

“For people with diabetes, it's different. A Thanksgiving meal with all the usual trimmings can raise their blood sugar to a very high, unhealthy level .” Depending on their individual needs, people with diabetes should try to consume 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal.

Can diabetics eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

A six-ounce serving of turkey has only six grams of carbohydrates and roughly 185 calories and 30 grams of protein, this will not cause a drastic spike in blood sugar by itself , the beverages, sides and desserts are the items we really want to focus on for optimal blood sugar control which brings us to our next topic.

Can a diabetic eat stuffing at Thanksgiving?

Stuffing can pack a calorie, fat, and carbohydrate wallop . The main ingredients in dressing are bread and butter. Understandably, if it's your favorite side dish and you look forward to it all year, by all means, take some, but try to keep your portion in check (about 1/2 cup).

Can diabetics eat turkey stuffing?

For diabetes-friendly stuffing: Use whole-grain bread. Add generous amounts of chopped vegetables (such as celery, carrots, onion, and cauliflower), nuts, and pumpkin, chia, or sunflower seeds. 6.

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (2024)

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving .

Just because Thanksgiving is commonly known as a day of eating, it does not mean that you have to break the carb bank doing it.

I truly believe that followers of a low carb and/or sugar free diet can still enjoy Thanksgiving.
This is because there are plenty of great food ideas out there that do not call for consuming a lot of carbs. However, you can still wear the elastic waist sweats if you choose to! 🙂

By the way, you should know that the majority of carbohydrates that are consumed are not coming from the turkey itself.

When baked plain, turkey nets out at about zero, or close to zero, carbs.
It is the bread and the dessert that you probably be worried about however!

Here are some tips for anyone asking how do you make Thanksgiving dinner easier.

Obviously, most anything that you can do or make in advance to make your Thanksgiving day flow by easier helps. This mean making what you can make a head of time and freeze or store is so very helpful!

Here are some more helpful tips for you.

Designate what you can. That is, if someone asks if they can bring an appetizer, let them. It will not only make your life easier with one less thing to have to think about, it will make that person feel useful and thus, good vibes will be known. By the way, you can always suggest or provide your own low carb or healthy appetizer to serve in addition to theirs.
Planning is essential. That is, plan your menu in advance and then make a list of all of the ingredients that you will need for that menu. Shop for what you can a week ahead of time because, we all know what the grocery stores look like the week of Thanksgiving. uuugggg... I should also remind you that because low carb and sugar free diets often need special ingredients, you should get those ingredients in advance rather than at the last minute.
Do just what you need to do and not necessarily to impress the masses. Seriously, those folks that you see on TV or in magazines with those amazing Thanksgiving dinners with everything that you have never made or even tried, have put that visual together for the op. Think more about the folks and the memories and not so much about having to spend the entire day in the kitchen.
Think about clean up before you even make the mess. Moms know that you clean as you go when you are working in the kitchen. Those photos and memes that you see with the Thanksgiving dinner dishes stacked up all over the kitchen probably did not take place when a mom was in charge in the kitchen. To be honest, I am way to tired to clean up the kitchen after I have eaten my Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving Recipes that are Sugar Free or Keto Low Carb friendly.

Appetizers

Low Carb Cheddar Cheese Crackers

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (2)

These Low Carb Cheddar Crackers kind of remind me of the famous ones that come in the big box
However, these crackers do not have all of the carbs in them like the ones that come in that big box.
Also, you can make these tasty crackers yourself in your own kitchen. This means that you can add the ingredients that you want to add and know exactly what you are adding.

Low Carb Jalapeno Cheese Crisps.

I first discovered my love for crisp cheese snacks the first time that I went on a low carb diet.

This is such an easy recipe to make. What I also like about this recipe is that it can be personalized by adding seasonings and other ingredients to it!

Sugar Free Homemade Peanut Butter.

You may be wondering why I would add peanut butter here.

Bread

Keto Coconut Flour Bread

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (5)

This coconut bread recipe is one of the few bread recipes that are friendly to many kinds of diets.

Because we do not add any sugar to this recipe, this coconut bread is sugar free. However, this bread recipe is also friendly to other diets including low carbohydrate, keto, and gluten free diets.

Low Carb Bread Machine Bread

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (6)

I must say that owning that bread machine was not a bad thing for me to do.
What I mean is that placing all of the ingredients into something that I could set a timer on in order to wake up to warm bread was really nice. Especially nice was the smell of that baking bread on a weekend morning when I was getting out of bed.

Low Carb Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits

This recipe for Low Carb Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits has been a very popular recipe.

I like that this is the perfect biscuit to serve at dinner, especially a holiday or special occasion of dinner. Everyone seems to like this copycat biscuit that can also be made low in carbohydrates.

Sides

Low Carb Cauliflower Gratin

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (8)

A recipe for Low Carb Cauliflower Gratin that tastes good.

This recipe is a great alternative to the usual potato gratin side dish recipe as well.
I love all of the delicious alternative recipes that can be made with cauliflower.

Low Carb Cauliflower Fried Rice

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (9)

Rice has a lot of carbohydrates in it which is why I prefer to make Low Carb Cauliflower Fried Rice.

Plus, I think this cauliflower fried rice is easier to make (yay for lazy!). I will also mention that I had a mom email me to tell me that her kids were all over this recipe!

Pies

Sugar Free Blueberry Pie

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (10)

This recipe does not feature a frozen blueberry pie filling nor is it a no bake blueberry pie.
Technically, this truly is a homemade blueberry pie recipe. Only, it has been modified to be both easy to follow and made without adding sugar to it.

Almost Sugar Free Sweet Potato Pie

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (11)

This Almost Sugar Free Sweet Potato Pie recipe is perfect for your holiday dining table.

I was surprised that this Sweet Potato Pie can be made without all of the added sugar.
This pie is probably not for the low carb diet folks however.

Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (12)

Technically speaking, pumpkins do not have a whole lot of sugar in them by nature.
Once cup of cubed pumpkin has about three grams of sugar in it.
We should also mention that pumpkin pie is really the standard (well, and pecan pie..) pie to seve on Thanksgiving.

No Sugar Added Pecan Pie

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (13)

Because, it is possible to make a pecan pie without adding a bunch of sugar to it.

This pie is by no means perfect when it comes to pecan pies. However, it contains pecans, is a pie, and has no added sugar. Regular pecan pie contains a lot of corn syrup and sugar in it. No added sugar pecan pie does not.

Cookies

Sugar Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (14)

We all know that Snickerdoodle cookies are so popular this time of the year!

However, pumpkins are also pretty popular during the season.
What I like about these cookies, other than the fact that they are cookies, is that pumpkin says fall like Snickerdoodles say holiday cookie baking. This cookie reminds me of a bridge from fall to the holidays (make a double batch?).

No Added Sugar Fruit and Oatmeal Cookies

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (15)

This is a great tasting oatmeal cookie that is made without adding sugar to it.

But, adding a bit of fruit does make this cookie both more colorful and more flavorful.
This is the kind of a cookie that does a good job at pleasing multiple age groups too!

Sugar Free Double Espresso Cookies

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (16)

I like that this cookie does not look or taste like other cookies.

That is, if you are looking for a different kind of cookie to serve, this is a good choice.
Plus, this double espresso cookie is popular with the coffee crowd.

3 ingredient peanut butter cookies

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (17)

This 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies says 'easy' like no other cookie.

When you only need three ingredients to make a cookie, you know that that it is a good day.
Plus, kids like this cookie too!

Sugar Free Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (18)

This Sugar Free Soft Pumpkin Cookie is like an old fashion cookie that grandma may have made.

It is a soft cookie that works well with crowds.
I like how this cookie is different from other pumpkin cookies which makes it an even more interesting cookie to serve up.

The Best Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes for Thanksgiving (19)

This sugar free chocolate chip cookie has been a very popular cookie around here.

It is a recipe that is based upon a basic chocolate chip cookie only. However, my sugar free chocolate chip cookie has options for keto and low carb variations in addition to simply being sugar free.

By the way, I have many chocolate chip cookie recipes.

I like to prove that sugar free, keto, or low carb dies are not a reason to to skip chocolate chip cookies.
You can see my sugar free, keto low carb friendly, chocolate chip cookie recipes here.

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