Know Your Christmas Dinner

KNOW YOUR CHRISTMAS DINNER

We all love a Christmas dinner and there’s no reason why people living with diabetes should miss out, but are you aware of how much you are actually eating? This information will allow you to decide what and how much you are consuming in carbohydrates and calories, all the details have been taken from the Carbs & Cals Carb & Calorie Counter book.

MEAT (all 100g unless stated otherwise)

Type	Carbohydrates (g)	Comment	Calories
Turkey	0	Dark meat	177
		Light meat	153
Chicken	0	Dark meat	196
		Light meat	153
Duck	0		195
Goose	0		301
Beef	0	125g	278
Lamb	0	125g	300
Pork	0	125g	269
Partridge	0	Roasted meat only	212
Pheasant	0	Roasted meat only	220
Rabbit	0	Stewed meat only	114
Venison	0	Roasted	165
Salmon	0	130g	273

POTATOES AND VEGETABLES 100g unless otherwise stated

(80g approx 2 tablespoons = 1 portion)

Type	Carbohydrates	Comment	Calories
Roast Potatoes	26	In oil	161
New Boiled Potatoes	10	65g	44
Mashed potatoes	16	With butter	102
	16	With semi-skimmed milk	70
Sweet potatoes	28	Baked	115
Brussels	3	80g	28
Brocolli	2	80g	22
Cabbage	2	80g	14
Carrots	5	80g	23
Cauliflower	3	80g	23
Green beans	3	80g	21
Parsnips	15	80g	125
Peas	8	80g	63
Sweetcorn	11	80g	62
Spring greens	1	80g	16

SAUCES AND OTHER ACCOMPANIMENTS

Type	Carbohydrates	Comment	Calories
Horseradish	2	13g = 1 tbsp	20
Mint	3	16g = 1 tbsp	16
Mustard	0	English 1 tsp= 5g	7
	1	Wholegrain 16g 1 tbsp	22
White Sauce	12	100g	158
Cranberry	8	20g =1 tbsp	30
Stuffing	13	Packet mix 65g	63
Yorkshire pudding	20	80g	158
Pigs in blankets	2	Chipolata 20g Streaky bacon 1 slice	59
	0	Chipolata 20g Streaky bacon 1 slice	30
Gravy	11	230g	69

DESSERTS

Type	Carbohydrates	Comment	Calories
Xmas pudding	60	106g	302
Mince Pies	25	42g	158
Custard	30	180g	171
Ice Cream	18	Vanilla 18g	135
Cheesecake	35	100g	294
Cream	0	Single 15g 1 tbsp	29
	0	Double 15g 1 tbsp	74
	1	Clotted 30g 2 tbsp	176
	1	Whipped 30g 2 tbsp	114
Creme Fraiche	1	30g 2 tbsp	113

SO, WHAT WILL YOUR CHRISTMAS DINNER LOOK LIKE?

Complete a table of what you are going to have and then consider if you want to make any changes. Remember nothing is off limit but in moderation. Apologies to those who eat an alternative meal, but you will be able to use some of this information in deciding your meal.

Create a table for yourself something like this example:

Food	Amount	Carbohydrates	Calories	Sugar
Turkey	100g light meat	0	155
Potatoes	38g	10	61
Cauliflower	80g	3	23
Peas	80g	8	63
Carrots	80g	5	23
Brussels	80g	2	28
Stuffing	65g	13	63
Yorkshire	80g	20	158
Gravy	230g	11	69
Mince pie	42g	25	158
Custard	180g	30	171
TOTAL		127	972

Are you surprised how much it all adds up to? Now you know how much you are eating; in this example this one meal is using up a lot of your daily calories: for men (Average 2500kcals) and women (average 2000kcals), these are the calories you need to maintain your weight. It’s up to you to now decide if you want to make changes. Eating from a smaller plate and reducing the amount and size of food that actually goes on your plate is a good start, especially the yorkshire pudding and stuffing. If you are cooking, consider making yorkshires in muffin cases and the stuffing into bite-sized balls. Having four small roast potatoes rather than two large gives the illusion of lots of potatoes. Mince pies are best home-made and again can be made without a lid or just a star on top. Mini-size ones are even better. Serve with cream rather than custard if you are counting your carbs. Eat slowly and be mindful of every mouthful, only eat until you feel comfortably full. It really is ok to leave food and you will feel satisfied and not bloated. Finally, if you are able – and the weather permits, go for a walk. Then you’ll be ready for the next round of food.

The other thing to add to the total is any drinks that you may consume with your dinner but we’ll leave you to think about that.

Have a good Christmas.

Diabetes UK have some great party/snack/dessert recipes and ideas for you to try this Christmas, here are a few examples that you could try. Preparation time, calories, carbs and sugar are shown (per portion):

Mini bagels with smoked salmon spread

10 mins 332kcals 46g 6.2g

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/recipes/mini-bagels-smoked-salmon-spread

Roasted Beetroot hummus

40 mins 149kcals 13.1g 6.0g

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/recipes/roasted-beetroot-hummus

Char Siu Chicken skewers and sweet peppers

25mins 124kcals 6.3g 6.1g

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/recipes/char-siu-chicken-skewers-sweet-peppers

Vegetable pakoras

30mins 106kcals 8.9g 3.0g

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/recipes/vegetable-pakoras