Best wishes for good health! Sounds like you're on the right path.

My mom cannot hear, even with all of her hearing hardware, and so, I go with her to the appointments. It's also good for your nurse relative go (as a healthcare professional), so that the medical group(s) know they can talk with her to get him on board with things. Or to translate. I do that a lot with my mom. It's good to have someone on your side, and both the group/patient will see that about her.

I just think you're right on with what you've already started and wanted to let you know, this does happen, and we're here if you have any questions.

A friend on another GW forum has diabetes and has mentioned a number of recipes and they all sound very good!

Here is a site specifically for diabetes with recipes and information

Here is a link that might be useful: Diabetic recipes and info

Since it sounds like he's not an enthusiastic cook, he might be like a lot of guys and prefer making one pot things that can last 4-6 days. Stews are great for this. Chili con carne (no beans). One pot chicken and vegetable roasts. All of these can be made without any starch or flour.

I don't know a lot about cooking for diabetes, but it seems to me that meals based around a dish that's naturally meat and vegetables makes portioning easier, and precise measuring just needs to be for the rice or potatoes or whatever starch is added. If that is true, I'd think it would be psychologically easier than all of a sudden having to measure every little thing (that could take all the pleasure out of a meal, which is dangerous in its own way).

Another (cynical) approach would be to look for community help. There are a lot of older ladies with no man to cook for who might be enticed to help him out. :) Does he dance? If not, would he be willing to learn? It's good exercise, which is good for the body, social, which is good for the spirit, and there are scads of women who will cook for a man if he'll just dance with her!

Have you explored Meals on Wheels? Great program, usually very low cost, and they will prepare the meals based on health issues, such as diabetes. They prepare and deliver 1 hot and nutritious meal at noon Monday through Friday.

The clients still have to prepare or have someone prepare their meals the rest of the day and weekends, but it could help ease some of the cooking/diet issues for this gentleman.

I have brought this up at least once before, but here it is again. I'm sure that all of the advise or recipes will be useful particularly if this relative is a Type A personality. But most of us would prefer to be a little more relaxed and not over-react and then burn out from minor or major failure to maintain a stiff diet. I am certainly not an expert, but I spent many years with the group that is currently known for study and naming of Syndrome X, a set of conditions that often lead to type 2 diabetes. In addition, my supervisor was a type 1 diabetic.

I am sure that current ideas for good diets for diabetics, most specifically low glycemic index foods, is the best approach. But that doesn't mean that one is required to eat those foods all the time. Moderation In All Things! Low glycemic foods are those that are low in sugar and slower to turn any starch into its sugars. The point is to keep blood sugars from rocketing up from a quick sugar dose. Therefore, cake and ice cream are mostly Out.

Even there, moderation is the point. My supervisor's wife was the best baker of cakes. I guess he would have a very small slice and leave the rest for some family and bring it to the lab the next day for the rest of us to finish off. Occasionally, he would forget to bring lunch. He would then put a regular Coke in an ice bath to keep it cold for hours as he consumed it over several hours.

I note pillogs mention of chili without beans. I doubt that the beans would be a serious problem. A slightly greater issue might be the brown sugar. Even there, the real issue is not over eating of that chili. One can eat cake too, if it were consumed like the slow Coke.

Everything in moderation; a little more activity; a little less food (unless underweight); snacking ok if total is the same.

Good points!

Just for clarification, I said without beans to make identification of proteins vs. carbohydrates easier in case he's supposed to log foods or something--and I've never put sugar in chili! Beans in general have a kind of ideal distribution of protein, carbohydrates and fats, and also have nice minerals. :)

I agree with chas, I don't think the beans would be a problem.

Dad was diabetic, as was my grandmother (his mother). Dave's brother is a Type 1 diabetic and my brother in law (my sister's husband) is diabetic. My sister and stepdaughter are both "pre-diabetic".

Everyone's metabolism is different. A plate of spaghetti would send Dad's blood sugar higher than a piece of apple pie.

Many doctors will advise a mix of carbs and proteins, and regular snacks along with small meals. So, as mentioned, nothing is completely out, but some things are mostly avoided.

Those things include white bread and pasta, sweets, the usual suspects. A single man who doesn't cook a lot very well may want to make a large pot of chili, or bean soup, or a series of omelettes containing whatever was leftover from prior meals.

Freezer meals are a good idea too, if there is freezer space available, as it's easier to just grab a meal out and heat it up.

Meals on Wheels may also be a good option, as Prairie Rose mentioned. Here, though, there are no options for special meals, you get whatever the meal is. It's normally pretty healthy and would be mostly safe for diabetics, but no special exceptions are available. You may want to check with your local organization, as well as the area's Commission on Aging or similar.

Annie

Annie

Thank you all so much. Good food (pun intended) for thought! I don't think we had even thought about a Meals on Wheels option just yet, but that's a great point to consider if it is needed.

And Chas0545, you are absolutely right, and bring up a point I guess I believe in myself, that moderation in all/most things is good. Yes, he needs to watch his intake, probably both portion control and to get this under control. He's never going to change what he likes to eat or be a 4-star chef, but he can at least be more aware of what he's eating and the 'usual suspects' as Annie said. And yes, DD is cooking extra these days and freezing portions for him already.

Sugar in chili? Not the way we make it either. But you never know what you get when you eat out.

So, I was googling around for examples of menus where the decisions are made for you. For some, this may appeal when getting started on a new way of eating. Here is a link to a sample one week menu.

He could run some of these by his doctor/nutritionist for approval.

Here is a link that might be useful: 7 Day Diabetes Meal Plan

I know my dad if left to his own devices would pig out on junk food all the time, day in and day out. So I think the larger issue is finding ways to get diabetic friendly meals to him, or to motivate him to fix healthy things. An old guy living on his own is not going to do it, sorry to say. Not saying there wouldn't be exceptions to that, but I think that issue is going to be the biggest one to deal with, not the recipes or food tips. There are tons of ways to eat a diabetic friendly diet, but getting someone to use and follow the resources is often the tricky part.

Oh, one more thing. If your relative is now just on Metformin or nothing but a suggestion of a responsible diet, then carry on; but if he is now on insulin, then the most important issue is to eat after the dose and regularly. Insulin will put one on their keester and even old experienced diabetics may not feel it coming before it is too late. In many situations, this can simply cause one to pass out in a chair for hours and wonder where the time went. The 'drunk state' before total collapse, unfortunately sometimes leads to turning to basic learned behaviour. One would hope that your relative would remember to drink some fruit juice for example, to bring glucose levels back up; but if everyone now emphasizes that he should not normally be drinking lots of (or any) juice, then he may refuse to drink what would immediately make him recover.

Thanks kd. That looks like a good plan.

Yes, lpink, I kwym about getting an old guy to change his habits. If my DH was in this situation and I had to leave him to do his own meal planning, I know what would happen. He might follow some of it, but he's go back to his 'meat and potatoes' diet real quickly.

Chas, I believe he's on Metformin. I'll check and make sure my DD knows this too.