Diabetic-friendly football snacks that are also good for eye and teeth health
Dr. Gary Vance
| 4 min read
Football season is upon us, and regardless of whether it’s you or your significant other who loves the sport, most people have found themselves watching a few games. In honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite diabetic-friendly football snacks that are also good for your teeth and eyes and are guaranteed to not get in the way of you watching the game.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of lean boneless pork chops, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing
- 2 tbsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp fennel seed
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 24 (6-inch) wooden skewers (soak in water for 30 minutes before using)
Directions:
Place pork cubes in resealable plastic bag; add salad dressing, red pepper flakes and fennel seed. Seal bag; refrigerate for at least 1 hour to overnight to marinate pork. When ready to cook, thread pork, peppers and onion on skewers. Discard marinade. Place kabobs on greased broiler pan and broil 5 inches from heat, or grill over medium-hot coals, for about 5 minutes per side.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 ½ teaspooons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup granulated sugar (or ½ cup Splenda baking sugar or 1/3 cup Truvia baking sugar)
- 1/3 cup Brummel and Brown, softened (or other butter substitute variety that you know bakes well)
- ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed (or ½ cup Splenda brown sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 can (15 ounce) pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1½ cups finely shredded carrots
- Cream cheese topping (recipe is below)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan or a 13-by-9-inch pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the following ingredients in a small bowl: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a larger mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter substitute and brown sugar until crumbly. Then add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin and carrots to this sugar mixture and beat until well blended. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly, then spread into prepared pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of cream cheese topping over the batter and swirl mixture with a spoon.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before serving. It can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Remember, it is all about serving size! Try to make each bar 2″x2″ in order to control your sugar intake.
Cream Cheese Topping
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces light cream cheese (aka Neufchatel)
- ¼ cup of granulated sugar (or ¼ cup Splenda baking sugar or 1/8 cup of Truvia baking sugar)
- 1 tablespoon of milk
Directions:
- Blend all three ingredients above thoroughly until mixed through completely. Now it is ready to be swirled into the pumpkin carrot batter.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and drained
- 1 small carrot
- 1 celery rib
- 1 small onion, halved
- 1 small fennel bulb, halved
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 preserved lemon—pulp discarded and peel finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
- In a saucepan, cover the chickpeas with water. Add the carrot, celery, onion, fennel, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over low heat until the chickpeas are tender, about 1 hour. Let the chickpeas cool in the liquid to room temperature, then drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Discard the vegetables and herbs.
- Set aside 1/2 cup of the chickpeas. In a food processor, puree the remaining chickpeas with the reserved 3/4 cup of cooking liquid and the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape the puree into a large bowl, stir in the parsley, preserved lemon peel, lemon juice and the reserved 1/2 cup of chickpeas and serve.
- Similar to the other recipe, be sure to keep an eye on the amount. Try to keep the serving size to 2-3 pieces.
Next time you are invited to watch the big game, skip the typical football food and try out one of these healthy diabetic-friendly recipes that we know everyone will love!
You can find more posts on diabetes at AHealthierMichigan.org and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Pinterest, and like us Facebook.
