Eating Season

Halloween marks the beginning of the season I refer to as "eating season."  Coming on the tail end of birthday season, it begins with the candy and any Halloween party treats.  It continues into my daughter's early November birthday, for which there are usually a couple of different food-heavy celebrations.  We then move to Thanksgiving which includes for us a big dinner at our church, a feast at school and then the actual day.  And the subsequent days of leftovers.  Which rolls us (literally) right into Christmas cookies, holiday parties, and Christmas dinner.  We round out each year by eating our way through New Years Eve and day with dear friends.

I really like good food.  I like to cook it, read about it, and eat it.   I've raised a child who, despite her food-phobic compatriot diabetes, enjoys her food as well.  So this is a season of anticipation, but also of challenges.

She's excited to try the candy she salvaged out of her trick-or-treat bag.  She's already wondering what kinds of pies will be at Grandma and Grandpa's on Thanksgiving.  We're working out a date for her best friend to come over to decorate gingerbread cookies with us.  We're on the lookout for a new idea for New Years Eve dessert.

But it's time to dust off that carb book and reaquaint myself with the food index in her glucometer.  At the moment, I'd be hard pressed to guess how many carbs in a cup of flour to math out a recipe, or in a slice of apple pie.  This time of year I find my estimations are rustier than they will be after a month of eyeballing plates of turkey/potatoes/stuffing/cranberry sauce and coming up with a reasonable number. 

It's challenging, especially at the beginning of this season, to put in the work required to keep diabetes highs and lows at bay while enjoying the fabulous foods of the season.  It s a different way of living with diabetes than we usually abide by.  The measuring cups, package reading, and focus on healthy choices fall by the wayside a bit this time of year.  There's more educated guessing and much more testing to make sure we've guessed correctly.

But denying my child that slice of great grandma's home-made pie, or a second serving of stuffing is out of the question.  So it's time to study up, stick the carb book in my purse, and make sure we have a good supply of test strips.