Managing Your Diabetes This Easter: How to Celebrate

#SugarBalancedLiving

Easter is almost here - bringing spring fun, family time, and TONS of chocolate eggs. With all of that chocolate, it can be a really hard time for those with diabetes to resist temptation and/or manage those blood glucose levels; what do you do about all of that sugar? Never fear; with the right planning, mindset, and approach it's totally possible to enjoy your Easter while keeping your diabetes in check, and here's how to do it!

Easter Sunday is right around the corner! It’s getting ready to hop on by, bringing with it positive spring energy, time for family gatherings, spring cleaning goals and, well you’ve been craving it: a whole ton of chocolate in the form of chicks, bunnies and eggs!

Who else is egg-cited for Easter?

These chocolate Easter treats, likely popping up in every shop you go to, BUT this can be kind of tough if you have an iffy relationship with sugar, especially if you have diabetes.

Easter is a special time, you shouldn’t have to be afraid, worried, and stressed about picking foods for the special day, going grocery shopping, or the actual Easter celebration itself.

Living with diabetes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying Easter.

Don’t get me wrong; I know how incredibly important it is to eat a healthy diet, without sugar and processed carbs. The connection between sugar’s effects (and those of bad diets in general) and many health issues including type 2 diabetes is undeniable, with evidence clearly proving that high amounts of sugar and types of processed carbs can affect your blood sugar levels negatively.

And… reducing sugar, most types of sweeteners, and types of carbs, and creating specialized clean diet CAN not only control but actually reverse type 2 diabetes. While type 1 diabetes is rarely reversed, the right dietary changes can help you see major improvements in blood sugar levels. You can read more about how you can naturally control and even reverse diabetes here, but for now let’s focus on the temptations of Easter.

With a little extra attention, focus and planning it can be easy enough to enjoy the Easter period, without stress, difficulty managing blood glucose levels, or putting yourself at risk of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.

So what do you eat during Easter when you have diabetes? Like, what you do about chocolate?

To ensure you have a good time without putting yourself I've summarized some helpful tips for navigating Easter with diabetes, that you can take on board. Let’s not have diabetes stop you from doing the things you enjoy, and celebrating this lovely, pastel colored, bunny filled, blooming time of year with your loved ones.

Eat The Right Foods

Don’t let your diet go out the window just because it’s a holiday. When you’ve got diabetes it’s really important to keep making healthier food choices, which includes choosing healthier fats, and being smart about snack choices.

Over Easter, I want you to keep with your usual breakfast routine and make sure you include good fats and protein at breakfast. The good fats will stabilize your appetite, help keep your energy in check, and reduce cravings during the day.

Some good nutrient-rich options for breakfast include eggs, yogurt, ricotta, cottage cheese and nuts.

Keeping up your healthy morning routines will also help you help keep your energy in check and your body and metabolism moving. If you need some inspiration for your morning routine, check out my blog on My Favorite Morning Habits for Happy Weight-Loss! 

Diabetic Chocolate and Sugar-Free Easter eggs

If you’re thinking about opting for diabetic Easter eggs as an easy way around your temptation dilemma, you shouldn’t. Diabetic chocolate is not much better for blood glucose, and just as high in fat and calories as ordinary chocolate. AND is more expensive than regular chocolate. In fact, saying that a food is a ‘diabetic food’ is now against the law, because there isn’t any evidence that those foods will provide any special benefit.

Now… about those sugar-free or sugarless Easter eggs.

Store bought sugar-free Easter chocolates usually use sugar alcohols, such as maltitol, xylitol, and sorbitol, which actually have a negative impact on blood glucose levels and when eaten in larger quantities, can have the same effects on you as laxatives.

Making your own diabetes-friendly Easter Chocolate

Take some stress off the Easter Bunny this year and fill your own Easter basket with homemade sweets which are made sugar free using pure, natural, and less blood sugar spiking sweetener.

Avoid sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar, as these options are still very high on the glycemic index.

The Best Diabetes-Friendly Sweeteners for DIY Easter Chocolate

Instead, choose stevia. I only ever use natural pure stevia extract, because it is the purest and healthiest sugar-free sweetener out there. I also find it doesn’t make you crave sugar either, as long as you only use it in moderation. My favorite is the Vanilla Crème Drops by Sweetleaf. If you’re looking for a totally natural sweetener though, you could sweeten your foods with whole fruits like bananas or berries.

You don’t need to feel overwhelmed about the idea of whipping on an apron, even if you’re not talented in the kitchen or just have very basic skills; there are a ton of super easy and tasty sugar free treat recipes using only fruit or pure natural stevia.

Making your own Easter goodies is a fantastic option making your Easter goodies, because you’re going to be able to have complete control of the ingredients you add and you´ll no-doubt receive a lot of admiration from friends, family and the Easter bunny. 😉

And… if you’re here because you have children or are in a family with children that have diabetes, whipping up healthy Easter treats is a fantastic opportunity to involve the kids in baking and can be a great bonding activity during the holiday weekend.

I’ve gathered recipes, tested, and put them into my 7 Best Sugar-Free Easter Treat Recipe Guide that are totally easy to make, diabetes friendly, clean of high-glycemic level spiking sweeteners, but are still sweet, delicious and that’ll have you NOT missing out at all! Click here to get it!

Actually its also a good idea to clean up your whole Easter brunch with healthier, less blood-sugar-level-spiking options, as even your savory brunch will contain hidden sugar.

For example, the glaze on the ham and veggies or on those hot cross buns will often be high in sugar. But you don’t have to sacrifice taste for health.

To help you with this I’ve found some great healthy dish swap-outs for Easter dinner that still taste just as good, but with great-for-you benefits.

I'm vegetarian, but I’ve still included meat-based Easter dinners for you -  approved by some of my carnivore friends - & vegan dishes of course.

It’s called my ‘Make Your Easter Healthy and Delicious: 21+ Easter Brunch & Dessert Recipes’ guide, and it has 21+ traditional and non-traditional Easter recipes, with variations friendly for vegans, vegetarian, and meat-eaters alike + bonus Easter treat recipes for recreating all of your favorite Easter desserts at home with better-for-you ingredients! Click here to get it!

Remember to keep an eye on how much of your sugar free treats you eat, as too much of anything can be bad. Carob is still high in saturated fat and calories, and fruit still contains quite a bit of natural sugar.

Diabetes: What To Do About Treating Your Self to Easter Treats?!

Can some-bunny have a treat, for peep's sake!?!

Though you need to be careful here guys.

If you strictly manage blood glucose levels for your diabetes, and then go ahead and start eating a ton of chocolates and candies spiking those levels in a major way very quickly, it’s clearly is not a good idea.

HOWEVER, some people with diabetes can tolerate eating small amounts of chocolate or candy without having a detrimental effect.

Yes, I know you may be working on controlling or even reversing your diabetes, but it is okay to let go a little, release yourself of guilt with heavy moderation and treat yourself at Easter - as long as you’re safe with your choices.

For those of you who can tolerate eating small amounts sugar, your key to success is sugar balance. Eat small portions, spread out throughout the Easter period, and make sure you go for the best quality/healthiest stuff.

Dark chocolate over milk or white is your best choice, as dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids, and usually will contain less added sugars, and a lower amount of carbs, meaning it won´t affect your sugar levels as much as your other standard chocolates.

Just make sure that if you’re joining a family or friend’s Easter-egg hunt, ask everyone to keep the packaging to help with carb and sugar counting. Yes, don’t forget to include carb - every person who has diabetes needs to be careful to include carb in their carbohydrate counts and not to go overboard.

A bit of chocolate is, at Easter, usually fine for most people with diabetes.

But it really depends on your diabetes. Different people’s different diabetes react differently and in different ways. Only eat chocolate after being strictly advised that this is OK by your healthcare professional.

Most Importantly Practice Moderation

In know, I know… I've been mentioning it a lot, but I can’t enforce it enough; MODERATION IS KEY.

Your average Easter treat can be suitable for an adult who has well-controlled diabetes and has an understanding of their blood sugar levels, but still I advise spreading out the treats over the whole Easter holiday. Don’t go binging all on Easter Sunday. I know Easter goodies are a big temptation and but keeping portions small is smart.

Another seriously important note for you is that Easter doesn’t mean your usual portion control of savory foods should go out of the window! Easter is the perfect time to put moderation to practice.

The foods that’ll be at the table over the Easter holiday won’t be part of a normal diabetes clean eating diet that can control and even reverse diabetes.

For example:

• Hot cross buns will be high in processed carbs from the white flour and sugar from the frosting and dried fruit.

• The ham and veggies will be slathered with butter and brown sugar.

• Fluffy breakfast biscuits will again be high in processed carbs from the white flour and so will the pastry crust for your quiches.

• Easter fruit bowls will be glazed with blood sugar level spiking honey.

• Potato dishes are high in starch and no doubt buttery fats.

Can you see now, why these foods aren’t so clean and can seriously hurt a diabetic friendly diet?

That is why you need to pay close attention and chose mini options - maybe have half of a hot cross bun, less ham and plain veggies. Really work on keeping your carb (especially processed carb) intake in check.

And… remember if you want some healthy dish swap-outs for Easter dinner, I got you covered with my FREE healthy dish swap-outs for Easter dinner that still taste just as good, but with great-for-you benefits.

When learning to moderate, I find that this exercise helps: try pretending you’re a chef, and plan to savor the taste of your chocolates or treats over the Easter period instead of trying to cram down everything you can during your ‘flexible eating’ period. Whenever you take a bite of your moderated portion, focus on the flavors, the way it tastes and makes you feel.

If you’re unsure on how to track your blood sugar levels, then carry out blood tests. First, test your blood sugar. Then eat some chocolate. Then test your blood sugar again. Eventually you’ll realize what works for you.

Swap Eating for Easter Fun Activities

The best way to prevent over-eating, breaking a diabetes friendly diet process or keeping child living with diabetes from feeling left out is to swap focus. Change your holiday focus from eating on Easter to Easter activities - and there are plenty of alternative treats.

For diabetic kids:

👉 start Easter themed crafting activities and replace chocolate treats with toys or books, for example.

For diabetic adults:

👉 why not treat yourself or a diabetic friend with a card voucher, flowers, free spa treatment or a day out at a spring festival (although if you’re reading this in 2020, spa treatments and spring festivals are likely out of the options due to social distancing, so instead why not stream some spring movies together or give them a DIY ‘ticket’ for a music festival next year)?

I’m egg-static about it all, because I for-one have been dyeing to color Easter eggs!

More Tips What to Do About Kids with Diabetes On Easter.

I’ve already thrown some great ideas on what to do about kids living with diabetes on Easter, but let go into it with more details.

Easter is a big holiday for kids and we don’t want them feeling left out. There are still some great ways you can make Easter a celebration of fun and really special without sugar spikes:

Put more emphasis and excitement on an active Easter egg hunts and fill the eggs with money, fruit, gift cards, mini toys, stickers and vouchers rather than chocolates.

Just remember that even fruit contains a sugar, so just watch portion size. If allowed you can give them with a special dark chocolate bunny 70% or higher of cocoa as surprise end treat.

Or you can fill their basket with homemade sweets that you can share with the child.

If there are other children, in order to avoid your child feeling left out, keep the candy amount the same in all the Easter baskets. By keeping the sugar portion low for each child, you’ll be keeping all the kids healthier, and the kids are sure to enjoy receiving toys!

Stay Active

Exercise is great for keeping the mind clear, fighting off lethargy, helping with calorie burn, and increasing energy. The metabolic activation and blood circulation from the exercise is what makes staying active so important - especially for diabetics.

Don’t use the holiday as an excuse to sit all day and throw your normal active routine out the window.

Around a holiday (like Easter) I suggest you choose a type of movement that you enjoy, and that doesn’t seem like an exercise based chore. This will help you keep that holiday feeling going and will help keep you encouraged to remain active during the fun.

Also, a great idea is to plan your Easter social events around your movement; perhaps you could get up a bit earlier to go for a spring walk before breakfast, hula hoop and jump-rope in the wonderful spring air, play a game of volleyball, get one of your family members to do a 15 minute HIIT workout with you, or go hiking with a group of family and friends.

If you have a child with diabetes, keep the cartoons off the TV, make sure the Xbox is off and you can make the Easter egg hunt into a sporty activity and plan mini Easter themed sports contests for the kids!

That's all, yolks.… living with diabetes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying Easter!

With Easter just about to hop around the corner, many people with diabetes and their friends and family might be unsure about how the chocolate bunnies, hot cross buns and other treaty foods might affect their diabetes management.

Diabetes doesn't mean you can’t enjoy holiday Easter fun without risking wacky blood glucose levels and putting yourself at risk of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.

Remember, just because you’re working on reversing or reducing the effects of diabetes through diet doesn't mean you can’t relax a little during Easter.

By incorporating my tips and putting a little extra attention, focus and planning on what you eat and what you do over the holiday, you can end up easily enjoying the Easter period without the same amount of stress and worry.

Navigate Easter and diabetes with a plan, and keep a little eye out on the calories, sugar and carb you consume, don’t go overboard and together we’ll make sure that living with diabetes doesn’t stop you from doing the things you enjoy over Easter with your loved ones.

With the right approach it’s possible to manage your diabetes and join in the hopping Easter fun.

Diabetes and Easter: Summing it up

Very moderated amounts of some sugar and processed carbs are okay for most people with diabetes, but it depends on your diabetes. SO, as always, before modifying your diet or insulin intake, you should consult with your nutritionist or a medical professional and ensure that’ll you’ll be able to control your sugar levels at anytime.

I hope that these tips and steps have been extremely helpful and I wish you an amazing Easter holiday with all your family and friends, full of wellness and fun.

Again if you want to learn about how you can naturally control and even reverse diabetes with diet click here, and if you want your really yummy 7 Best Sugar-Free Easter Treat Recipe Guide, full of totally easy to make, diabetes friendly, clean of high-glycemic spiking sweeteners, but still sweet, delicious Easter treat recipes all set and ready to whip up then click here to get it!

And… remember if you want some healthy dish swap-outs for Easter dinner, I got you covered with my FREE healthy dish swap-outs for Easter dinner that still taste just as good, but with great-for-you benefits.

It’s called my ‘Make Your Easter Healthy and Delicious: 21+ Easter Brunch & Dessert Recipes’ guide, and it has 21+ traditional and non-traditional Easter recipes, with variations friendly for vegans, vegetarian, and meat-eaters alike + bonus Easter treat recipes for recreating all of your favorite Easter desserts at home with better-for-you ingredients!

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I carrot believe it's almost Easter, have a fantastic Easter guys!

If you have any tips or questions, let me know in the comments or on Instagram @itsisabellem using #SugarWithIsabelle!

That’s it from me, 👋

P.S… Sorry about all the Easter puns, I couldn’t help-myself, Hoppy Easter!!

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