Bittersweet season for diabetics

I will admit right off the bat that I am a diabetic. I will also admit that I began controlling my diabetes by watching and controlling what I ate. However, as time went by, I became dependent on oral medicine and then was transferred to insulin and trying to control my glucose levels.

Christmas is not a friendly time for people who are diabetic. As the season approaches, mandarin oranges appear on grocery shelves. The aisles become piled high with chocolates, foil wrapped chocolates, candy canes and hard candies. There is a temptation down every two feet of aisleway. I will admit to a sweet tooth, something that probably contributed early in life to my becoming a diabetic. There are more temptations than ever. “Nuts and Bolts” were dropped off at the house and they are a temptation. Christmas snacks are a temptation.

Now with the approach of Christmas, the music of the season is found in every store and when the Santa Claus Parade rolls down Scott Street, hot chocolate with marshmallows dances in my mind. With Christmas music playing in the background, the garland was hung from the stairs and the Christmas tree was brought up from the basement. The delights of Christmas were in the air.

But in our house, I have been removed from the temptation of Christmas Plum Pudding and Christmas cakes, and butter tarts and sugar and gingerbread cookies. In previous years, my wife has baked squares and tarts for my sons and merrily mailed them off looking after my health and temptations. It is part of her getting ready for Christmas. But I have missed the smells of ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg floating through the air and last Friday I decided to make an old family favourite, Christmas Cake.

And Saturday morning, the sweet smells of ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg wafted through our home as the cakes baked in the oven. Part of the Christmas season was restored. And on Sunday my wife made batch after batch of peanut brittle. The sweetness of the sugar filled the air and as quickly as the candy was made it was packaged to be given away to friends. The cakes are preserved having been glazed with lemon, sugar, and brandy, wrapped in plastic, and consigned to the freezer.

I may have tasted the batter of the cakes, but as for the peanut brittle, it was removed from temptation’s way. I don’t know if my blood glucose levels rose on the aromas floating across the room or just on the excitement that a sugar fix was not that far away. Enjoy the treats and special foods found in this holiday season.