Diabetes requires thoughtful meal planning, prep

As promised, the health page is tackling tricky food issues in these weeks of the winter holiday season. This is a time of year when, more than ever, family and friends come together in large groups with food and beverages at the center of most celebrations. So it’s important to accommodate everybody’s special health needs.Last week we talked about gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. This week’s topic is diabetes.When I was a kid, diabetes seemed to be a problem that mainly plagued older people. It seems that, more and more, even very young people are affected by it.Howard Shapiro is a New York City doctor who has published several health/cookbooks whose goal is to help people make better food choices. He’s an old friend but, friendship aside, I’ve found his books edifying and useful. His newest title is “Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture Perfect Weight Loss.”Shapiro’s books are wonderful in their simplicity. Relying heavily on photos, they put side-by-side image of small amounts of foods that are popular but fattening; and large amounts of food that are healthy and delicious and have the same amount of calories.This new book increases the fun with side-by-side food photos in the form of a quiz (I love quizzes). Which has more calories, a mozzarella stick (not fried) or a plate of 10 olives? I guessed the olives but in fact it’s the cheese, which has twice as many calories as the olives; which is good news since I love olives and don’t like mozzarella sticks.Another: Which has more saturated fat, a small portion of feta cheese or half an avocado? It’s the feta. The avocado (an intoxicatingly rich food) has 2 grams of saturated fat and the feta (which is a fairly dry, ascetic cheese) has 8.5 grams of fat. The avocado also is cholesterol-free and has fiber and phytonutrients, which are good for your heart. The book distinguishes between healthier sugars and those that are not so good, so you get a combination of advice on how to lose weight and how to lower your blood sugar levels.The importance of weight loss is explained at the beginning of the book: “Anyone who is obese or even overweight is at risk for the disease,” explains Shapiro. He goes on to note that the U.S. government estimates that 64 percent of Americans are overweight and points out that all those people (about 129.6 million of them) are at risk. The strategy for helping keep weight and blood sugar at a healthy level is laid out in the beginning of the book in a food pyramid. At the teeny top are sugars; at the wide base are vegetables.Shapiro sums up the pyramid by saying that “raw or cooked, from a can or a package, in soups or stir-fries, vegetables should be the foundation of your eating.”Next up is protein, preferably from beans and legumes, fish and soy products. In level three are starches. When possible, get them from starchy vegetables and whole-grain breads that are light in carbohydrates.Fats are up in level two. Get them from canola, flax and olive oils as well as from nuts, seeds, olives and avocado when possible.At the top of the pyramid are sweets. In a perfect world, you’ll satisfy that craving with fruit and some products that have their own sugar only, without any added on.Individual chapters offer food ideas and comparisons for each level of the pyramid. Since this is a guide to healthy holiday eating, some ideas that I liked included the Beat Diabetes Chocolat Fondue. Dip fruit into a pot of melted unsweetened chocolate flavored with coffee, soy milk, a packet of sugar-free chocolate pudding mix, vanilla extract and (if you’re feeling festive) a smidgen of rum or brandy (or a flavoring such as maple or orange, if you’re not).Instead of dipping marshmallows and bread into the fondue, dip fruit. If you’re trying to decide which dip to serve before dinner or at a cocktail party, old favorites that are full of “bad” fats are bacon dip, cheese dip, ranch dressing and blue cheese dressing. Healthy and delicious alternatives are guacamole, hummus, creamy Italian dressing and Dijon vinaigrette.For the main course, well, let’s not mess with the traditional Christmas and Hanukkah menus. But New Year’s Eve is up for grabs from a culinary point of view. I always like to cook seafood, because I’m somehow under the impression that it will bring me good luck throughout the year (I still haven’t seen much hard evidence of this but I’ll keep trying).Shapiro and his co-author, chef Franklin Becker, have collected some really beautiful recipes from chefs across the country but have also created many of their own. This one, for sea scallops, I found especially appealing and not too intimidating. Sea scallops and seasonal root vegetables Adapted from “Eat and Beat Diabetes” Serves two Extra-virgin olive oil, six jumbo sea scallops, coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chopped chervil, 1 turnip peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 1 parsnip peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 2 carrots peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 1 stalk of celery trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 1 clove of garlic, crushed, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives.Preheat your oven to 325. Heat some olive oil in a skillet (a tablespoon or even a little less should do the trick). Add the scallops and saute them until they are golden brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add butter and lemon juice and cook for approximately 8 minutes, or until the scallops are medium rare (they should have some give when you press them lightly with your finger). Add the chervil just before you turn off the heat. Remove the scallops to a separate plate that has a paper towel on it, to drain the excess oil.In the same pan, with its cooking juices still intact, add the vegetables and garlic. Saute them for a few minutes, then cover them and cook until they’re tender, about 10 minutes. Return the scallops to the skillet with the veggies and brown them all in the oven for 5 minutes, until the scallops are fully cooked (there will be almost no give when you press them with your finger).Divide the scallops and veg onto two plates. Sprinkle with the chives and add a little drizzle of olive oil.