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Enjoying your food over Christmas, while controlling diabetes in pregnancy, can be a little more challenging than normal. The following tips from our expert team of Dietitians will help you to plan a healthy diet over Christmas and get the balance right!

While you may not be in your normal work or home-life routine, try to continue to have your breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular meal times, as you would throughout the rest of the year. This helps to avoid long gaps, eating very large meals and grazing on extra snacks between meals.

Party food and nibbles

• Choose low carb dips (nut butters, salsa, sate sauce, cheese, guacamole, hummus or cream cheese mixed with herbs or spices).

• Choose low carbohydrate party foods (see recipes below), mixed nuts, olives and veggie sticks (e.g. carrot, cucumber and celery) served with a low-carbohydrate dip instead of crisps and breadsticks.

• Serve vegetable/meat/fish/chicken skewers with sate sauce or chicken wings (not BBQ or honeyglazed) with sour cream, and limit any pastry-based, breaded or battered finger foods (e.g. chicken tenders/nuggets, spring rolls, samosas).

• Be careful to avoid foods that are unsafe during pregnancy e.g. smoked salmon (unless cooked), unpasteurised cheese e.g. camembert, brie and blue-veined cheese and pate.

Drinks

• You should avoid alcohol, non-alcoholic beers (contain sugar), fruit juice and ordinary soft drinks.

• Choose diet soft drinks, slimline tonic or sparkling water with a little mint, lime or sugar free cordial.

Eating out and dinner on Christmas Day

• Choose a vegetable-based starter e.g. salad or vegetable soup without bread.

• Enjoy your main course! (But try not to overdo it with portion sizes).

• Try to limit or avoid “extra” carbohydrate foods with your main meal e.g. Stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, croquette potato, garlic bread, chips/wedges, naan bread, poppadum, prawn crackers.

• Many of the foods in your Christmas dinner won’t affect your blood glucose at all. Enjoy a small portion of the ones that do affect your blood glucose and don’t worry about the ones that have little or no impact on your blood glucose (vegetables and protein-rich foods).

• For dessert, choose a lower carbohydrate option (see recipes), share a regular dessert or choose a savoury option such as a cheese-board (with suitable cheeses).

• If possible, plan a short walk after your meal. This will help to control your blood glucose levels.

Traditional Christmas Dinner
Alternative Christmas Dinner
Roast Turkey with gravy

2 tablespoons carrots

4-5 sprouts

3 small roast potatoes

2 scoops mashed potatoes

1 tablespoons stuffing

1 tablespoon cranberry sauce

 

Roast Turkey with gravy

2 tablespoons carrots

4-5 sprouts Herby green beans (see recipe)

3 small pieces of roast potatoes

1 scoop mashed potato

Total carbs =90g (6 carb choices) Total carbs =45g (3 card choices)

 

Have a look at some recipes that our Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Department have prepared!