Summer Drinks and Diet with Diabetes
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Written By
Aaron Smith
Aaron Smith
Aaron Smith is an LA-based content strategist and consultant in support of STEM firms and medical practices. He covers industry developments and writes about all things Diabetes. In his free time, Aaron enjoys swimming, swing dancing, and sci-fi novels.
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Chris Stocker
Chris Stocker
Chris Stocker is a financial services professional and licensed insurance agent. He's also Owner and author of The Life of a Diabetic as well as Type 1 Detour. He's been writing about Diabetes related topics for over 10 years, and has been featured in HealthLine, Diatribe, Diabetes Advocates and JDRF.. He's been writing about Diabetes related topics for over 10 years, and has been featured in HealthLine, Diatribe, Diabetes Advocates and JDRF.
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Last Updated on December 11, 2024
Summer is all about fun. It’s about inflating beach balls and soaking up the sun. It’s about dusting off the folding chairs and enjoying the warm evenings. The kids are home, the swim trunks are out, and the season is ready to be enjoyed. Summer has a unique vibe, and with it comes seasonal drinks and fantastic recipes. Maybe it reminds us of our childhood, or maybe we’re trying to build those memories for the little ones. Regardless, these beautiful recipes should be enjoyed by everyone, even those managing type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is a chronic condition that more than 122 million people in the US manage every day, whether it’s type 1, type 2, prediabetes, or gestational diabetes. Although it is very well studied and manageable through diabetes medication, lifestyle adjustments, and self-management, it is still not a condition to be taken lightly. With that said, having diabetes doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. It doesn’t mean you have to flat out say no to all the things that make you happy.
What diabetes does do is hold you accountable, as it requires you to manage your own day-to-day blood sugar levels and work with your medical care team regularly. Note that the information here is not intended to replace guidance from your primary care physician and is for informational, inspirational purposes only.
Here we will explore recipes, tips, and different tricks so that you don’t have to spend all your time micromanaging what recipes you enjoy this summer. We want to have fun. Here are some foolproof ways to achieve that.
Quick Article Guide
Here’s what we’ll cover in this post:
How to Modify Recipes
Modifying recipes to fit your lifestyle is just as much art as it is diabetes control. When we first get the diagnosis, the looming notion of not being able to enjoy things we used to starts to sit heavy on our minds. With a little creativity, we can kick that to the curb and not feel left out.
Moderation
Moderation is the name of the game when it comes to modifying recipes. If you are not sure what moderation means, it generally means cutting the amount of an insulin-spiking ingredient in half. For instance, if you’re used to cooking a lot of things in butter with a lot of bread, use something like organic coconut oil and ditch the breading.
Explore New Flavors
Summer evokes a lot of different fresh flavors. A lot of us tend to just add a sprig of mint to a recipe and call it fresh. Why not use recipes from different countries in your meal planning?
Explore the different spices and flavor combinations from different cultures. Look at regions that don’t have a high rate of diabetes and see what they’re doing in the kitchen. Having instant access to nearly every recipe ever made means you can pick and choose flavor profiles that are exciting, fresh, and potentially low glycemic.
Make Busy Drinks
If you’re going to add sweeteners to a drink, add them to one that already has its distinct flavor. Think of coffee. Coffee is easy to add 0 calorie sweeteners to because it already has a robust, bitter flavor profile. When it comes to things like lemonade where the sweet factor is the highlight, it may be a little bit more difficult to not notice you’re using a diabetes-friendly sweetener. Making mocktails and concoctions is more complex and always serves you better than trying to substitute sugar water.
Glycemic-Friendly Sweeteners
Sugar is tasty. There is no debate about that. Unfortunately, we have to look for certain workarounds. In this day and age, we have so many different options to choose from. Here are some of the hits.
- Sweet terpenes and Diterpenes are some of the best flavor enhancers on the market. They are natural products synthesized by plants and fungi. They’ve been around for a long time And have a massive role in traditional medicines and aromatherapy. You might’ve heard of the Stevia plant. Terpenes are what give Stevia its concentrated, fantastically sweet flavor.
- Sucralose is a sugar substitute that’s made its way into every coffee shop in the world. If you have ever asked for Splenda, you’re ingesting sucralose. The great thing about sucralose is that it is readily available, inexpensive, and can be mixed into any drink that already has a distinctly strong flavor.
- Erythritol is also making its way into the market. Now, unlike sucralose and terpenes, erythritol does have calories. What it has over all the other sugar alcohol derivatives is that it causes less bloating and gastrointestinal upset than its counterparts xylitol and mannitol.
Recipe Ideas
Mocktails and smoothies are the cornerstones of summer glass clinks. The idea here is to keep the ingredient list fairly high so that the sweet component has a supporting role at best.
Mojito
Mojito‘s are arguably the perfect summer drinks. You have the sweet, the citrus, and the mint. Make it ice cold and we have a party in a glass.
¾ cup fresh lime juice (from 6 limes)
- Juice from 6 limes
- ½ cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 2 strips of lime zest
- 4 cups of ice cubes
- 2 cups sparkling water
- Low-calorie sweetener
- Lime slices and mint sprigs, for garnish
- Put the lime juice, sweetener, mint leaves, and lemon zest in a pitcher.
- Get a muddler or a wooden spoon and mash it all together. Do this until the mint leaves and lime zest are floating in tiny pieces.
- Add a tiny splash of sparkling water and mash some more.
- Put the rest of the sparkling water in and stir.
- Throw in the ice and add additional sweetener to taste.
- Garnish glasses with a lime slice and mint sprig and you are done.
Citrus Mimosa
A Citrus Mock Mimosa is another way to get the most out of some of the same ingredients you made the Mojito with. Serve this with brunch and people will be begging for more.
- ¾ cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- ¼ cup lime juice
- Low-Calorie Sweetener
- 12 oz of sparkling water, chilled
- 1 curled citrus peel for garnish
- If you are expecting guests, combine the citrus juices and sweetener. Cover with foil and place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 24 hours.
- When guests arrive, pour the citrus concoction into champagne flutes and add the sparkling water.
- Stir lightly and garnish.
Tracking and Accountability
Summer fun with diabetes is doable. It just takes a little bit of creativity and some planning. You know your target random glucose measurements. From experience, you know the things that will spike it and things that your body can tolerate just a little better. When researching recipes and mixing drinks, know that you are in control of your own body. Diabetes doesn’t have to be the enemy of fun. On the contrary, it proves how creative and conscious you are. It pushes you to be more fit and soak in as much life as possible. Don’t let anything stop you from a healthy, memorable, joy-filled summer. Cheers!
Aaron Smith
Aaron Smith is an LA-based content strategist and consultant in support of STEM firms and medical practices. He covers industry developments and writes about all things Diabetes. In his free time, Aaron enjoys swimming, swing dancing, and sci-fi novels.
