Sugar Free

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1

Sugar Free

Oh I hate those words. Sugar free is what my aunt called her cake. She took meticulous care to bake a cake with no sugar, in those days she used saccharin as her sugar substitute, she mixed it carefully and even used it in her whipped cream frosting. Decorated with coconut the white cake looked so good. Oh my goodness that stuff even tasted good. Wait Ricky you took a small little bit don’t you want a second piece? It is after all sugar free.

Sugar free, it was on the package of Apple Butter at the market. Deep and rich, it smelled so good when the lady was handing out the taste on the cracker. Lots of diabetics buy this because it is sugar free. We use a special process and blend it with cinnamon and sweeten it with sucrose. It is sugar free and it is so good you may want three jars to take home.

Sugar Free, this chicken hasn’t got a single bit of sugar in it. All I do is take the chicken and dip it in buttermilk and then I roll it in these cornflake crumbs. I figure no more than half a cup of corn flakes for each breast and then I deep fry it. When it comes out I sprinkle some paprika on it to give it that little kick. See it is sugar free, so you can have as much as you want.

Sugar Free, That is what the package said of the chocolate candy laced with sorbitol. It is true, if you eat too much of this you may have a bad side effect, but it is sugar free. In fact even if the taste is downright awful it is still chocolate, I mean what do you want? After all it is sugar free.

Oh this whole meal is sugar free. Enjoy the mashed potatoes, fried zucchini, croutons, breads, tarts, and puddings it is all sugar free. Take more, eat more, enjoy more, it is all sugar free.

Every single diabetic who has been one for more than a month has had these or similar circumstances, and if you have not, get ready for it this holiday season. It happens at Churches, Cub Scout dinners, little league gatherings, Brownie troop gatherings, and everything in between. It will happen at family dinners and at the supermarket checkout.

Every one of these is either innocent (most family members mean well) or subversive (meaning that manufacturers are trying to capture the multimillion dollar, diet and diabetic market. Those products may contain the usual suspects, (Fructose, Sorbitol, Corn Syrup, Mannitol, Xylitol, Isomalt, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates or Sugar Alcohol) or some kind of more normal sounding product (Honey, Molasses, Evaporated cane juice, or Sucrose), they are sugar like and the body responds in the short or long term like they are sugar.

Even worse, even if food contains just a small amount of these sweeteners it is carbohydrate that really counts. We all know a product, like my grandmothers chicken for example, that contains loads of carbohydrates is just as difficult to cover as one that contains Corn Syrup. Or as my mother once told my grandmother, “listen lady fix me something that is carbohydrate free and I will eat it”.

Oh yeah I am still looking for carbohydrate free food. Cheese I believe is the best one I know. So this fall when Aunt Margret says pass the sugar free cookies, hold your tongue and pass them along. Just be really careful eating one. Instead you might say pass the cheddar or the turkey. But do stay away from my cousins famous sugar free, sugar cured ham. That stuff is gross; no I mean it, that stuff is gross.

What are you favorite sugar free items to avoid?

-30-

Rick

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I am insulin dependent and my mother in law is on oral meds, but she isn't well controlled. She swears that brown sugar is safe for diabetics because it's more "natural". She puts it in everything and all her meals involve enormous amounts of white carbs-boxed mashed potatoes, "cream style macaroni"(noodles, brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter and pepper), rolls, etc. I can't imagine why she is consistently in the 300's and I get left with her overcooked meat and the veggie tray and starve whenever I visit. I tried explaining it to her more than once, but she didn't believe me about carbs-in her mind she only has to restrict white sugar. She thinks I'm the crazy one and I'm being overly obsessed about my diet and what I can eat-lectures every time I visit. I haven't seen her in 6 months-the best 6 months of my 19 year marriage so far!

3

how about yogurt which is fat free or 0 % fat but plenty of sugar & says low calorie food or dry cereals that say less sugar but with artificial sweeteners
don't they know how to make natural things anymore?? ;((

4

hahahaha,,, Krabby I am afraid I have been there and got the merit badge. An acquaintance relative of mine served Fresh fruit. Ahh fresh fruit as in from the can with heavy syrup. I pointed out that heavy syrup meant not good. She pointed out it was fine. She rinsed it off. You have to forgive and forget, maybe. Brown sugar, I love that one. hahahahahahaha

5

OMG when I was first dxed, my mom got these fruit candies that were labeled sugar free. So she brought them to the hospital for me. I didn't read the label especially about the fact they contained sorbitol that horror filled sugar substitute with the very nasty side effect. I spent the entire week sitting on the air conditioner in my hospital room, scared to death the gaseous emissions were a side effect of diabetes. Eventually I read the label fully and never ate those things again, but wow talk about bad memories of sugar free crap.

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hahahaahahahahahahahaha,, Sitting on the air conditioner. I ate to much once and well,, not a good time to ask girls out. LOL

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How in the world did you get up on the air conditioner?? lol!

I enjoy your style of writing Rick and your odd quirks inbetween. :D

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It was a window air conditioner but the windows were very low to the ground. I didn't actually sit on it, but I spent the week, with my back to it hoping it would blow away the stench.

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Clare I used to sit on Air conditioners but not for the same reason. I sat on them in order to look cool. hahahaha A metaphor in action. I was cool so I looked cool. Actually since Indiana was cold most of the time and these were room package unit ventilators I was trying to look hot. If you look hot, of course you are. LOL how dumb is that?

Terrie, thanks for the nice vote of confidence. I am trying to improve my writing, I have an idea for a book (no not a fun one, a boring one) and would like to be a better writer before I try something like that. I think this is post number 76 and I have committed to writing 200 before I finish the four day a week schedule. Obviously I appreciate TuD because they are letting me do it. I do not know who else would do something like that.

10

My sister always gets me "Sugar Free" Cookies but in reality there are more carbs in them than regular chips ahoy cookies!! I showed her that so she stopped bringing them. I live on cheese sticks and celery for snacks which I love!

11

Eddy's ice cream. It really made everyone sort of sick. I stopped with the sugar free stuff when I saw that most had more carbs and sugars than the non sugar free items. It was so confusing at first and then I just quit. I don't have it all together. I wish I could do better for my son but it's hard. No excuse, I know. But I love the way you put it all together. You reminded me of conversations at our home.

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sure, it's not the sugar that does it but the carbs & how it affects your body & bg

13

One of my friends brought me a can of Rum and sugar free cola. I thought I would give it a try, what's the worst that could happen. Oh I was so wrong. After drinking the can we decided to go for a walk. Halfway bewtween my house and the middle of nowhere I began to feel low, we rang my aunt and she came and got us. While in he car going home i began to shake like i was starting to have a fit but i was fully concious. The next thing i remember is waking up in hospital almost a day later. Sugar free and alcohol DO NOT MIX! Turns out the alcohol makes your BG go extreme high and then drops extreme low! and because of the sugar free there was no sugar in my body to bring my level to at least an accebtable low. I will be staying well away from anything with those dreaded words "sugar free".