Diabetic advice, please


 
R

Rita Y

TVWBB Emerald Member
I’ll be cooking chicken for a group on Wednesday and there will be a diabetic in the group (also milk and wheat allergies).

1. Can I substitute equal parts Splenda in the following? Or would it be best to just leave the sugar out?
2. This brine works well for me with the sugar (45-60 minutes) -- if I leave out the sugar, will it become too salty? Would Splenda provide a proper balance? Equal volume of Splenda for the sugar?
3. I was going to coat the chicken with the sauce when I reheat, but I’m assuming that the ketchup in the sauce would not be advisable. I could reheat some chicken without sauce separately, or can I rework the sauce?
4. Are there any other ingredients below that I should adjust?

Thanks,
Rita

BRINE:
4 quarts water
1 cup (10.0 oz) table salt
1 cup sugar

SAUCE:
1/2 cup ketchup (??)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 clove garlic
1/4 small onion, cut in hunks
1/4 cup fresh cranberries (??)
1 dash salt
1 dash pepper

RUB (per chicken)
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sugar (Splenda??)
 
There seems to be quite a division over Splenda between the maker and some in the medical community as concerns diabetes safety, not to mention other groups as concerns health safety in general. You might need to ask the diabetic in question their experience with it first.
 
You would really have to ask the person. I know my BIL is diabetic, but he can still have a small amount of sweets and did eat the apple brined turkey I made for Thanksgiving (we had a choice of smoked and regular oven roasted). Does anyone know how much of the sugar actually gets absorbed into the chicken?
I don't think I would substitute with splenda. Maybe you could make some with sugar and sauce some without (maybe try a different rub without sugar).
 
I'm not a doctor so this is not medical advice. I do know that Splenda works just fine in rubs,brines and for curing buckboard bacon.
 
I am what the classify as a Type 2 diabetic. So far I do not shy away from anything. I have 2 meds I take twice a day. The best thing is to check with the that person. For as useing splenda I do beleive they use it 1 to 1 ratio or for what the recipe calls for. In a earlier post there was recipe for BBQ sauce for Diabetic use.
 
Did a quick looksy. In Rubs,sauces, thread recipes on Page 2 I found one by Steve Abrams, Diabetic BBQ sauce.
Page 1 there is a Butt Rub for Splena also by Paul H. Hope these help.
 
Wow! I'm getting lots of good advise. Thanks, everyone!

The problem is that I can't contact the diabetic individual directly. I've checked with the people in charge and can only hope that they can find out by Wednesday if Splenda is OK.

Rita
 
I watched the food network this weekend. Paula Dean did some peanut butter cookies for hubby who is diabetic and she used Splenda. I will see if I can find out anymore for you.
 
Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
1 1/3 cups baking sugar replacement (recommended: Splenda)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar replacement, the egg, and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon. Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. With a fork, dipped in sugar replacement to prevent sticking, press a crisscross design on each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven, and sprinkle the cookies with some of the remaining sugar replacement. Cool slightly before removing from pan.
This recipe is from Paula Deens Show sure hope I can post this. Hopefully this should help you with your decision.
 
I am Type II diabetic, and until recently I have been still been mixing my rubs with Sugar and personally never noticed much difference in my glucose levels. (Of course I have not eaten the bark
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. )
This weekend I smoked Porks butts for the first time, and I switched out the Suger for Splenda. My guests didn't seem to noticed a difference, and I didn't see my glusoce go high.

That being said, every diabetic is different, and their bodies react differently to foods. There are some things don't affect me but cause a friend of mines glucose to go high. Basicaly I would suggest letting the Diabetic make the decision.

Also the Recipe foound in the forum for diabetic BBW Sauce is pretty darn good. Unfortunately the only sugar free Ketchsup I have found is made with splenda also.
 
Check out low carb cookbooks for sugar-free bbq sauce and ingredient recipes. Here's a no sugar ketchup recipe from Dana Carpender's "The Low-Carb Barbecue Book":

Dana's No-Sugar Ketchup
6 oz. tomato paste
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup Splenda
2 T. minced onion
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Put everything in your blender and run it until the onion disappears. Scrape into a container with a tight lid and store in the refridgerator.
Yield= 1 1/2 cups or 12 servings of 2 Tablespoons apiece.

5 grams of carbohydrate per serving with 1 gram fiber, for a useable carb count of 4 grams: 1 gram of protien
 
Gary and Mark, thanks so much for going out of your way for recipes! I guess Paula means to use natural peanut butter, since there is sweetener in regular brands. I might give this recipe a try.

Bob, diabetes is much more complicated problem than I'd realized. Thanks for the insight. I hope I'll be able to get some feedback from the individual concerned.

Rita
 
As a Type 2 I would not wory about the brine. I would serve the sauce on the side warmed for everyone. Most Type 2s and Type 1s look forward to a excuse to go off there diet for one meal. Hell some books tell you to have a cheat day when you can indulge with moderation. By serving the sauce on the side you will not single that person out which alot of us hate. Also a type 2 and type 1 will plan ahead for a treat and limit the carbs and sweets. To be honest with you I have a type 1 friend at work who eats more sweets that I would ever even think of on my worst day. I hope this helps.
 
That's very helpful and good to know that I won't be sending someone into shock and/or the hospital.

These folks will be eating volunteer meals twice a day for 2 weeks (there will be a few restaurant excursions), so they don't have much of a choice. Hopefully all the volunteers will take the dietaryrestrictions to heart.

Rita
 
Hi Rita,

I am a Type 1 diabetic and have been for 8 years now. I would not change your recipe. Just inform your guest so they can adjust accordingly. The brine will absoultely not be a problem. Very little sugar will be absorbed by the meat. Most diabetics count carbs and as long as they know how many carbs they are going to have they will not have any surprises. Most diabetics know that ketchup and bbq sauces have quite a few carbs and use them accordingly.

A piece of bread can be worse for a diabetic than a table spoon of sugar!
 
I have a Westbrae Natural ketchup that is sugar free. It also contains cider vinegar which would make it gluten free. It's sweetened with fruit concentrate, pear/apple, to be specific.
 
That's great, Bill! I found some Heinz One Carb ketchup so I'll make a test run of the sauce using that and Splenda. If it turns out as good as the regular, I'll just make it all that way.

Thanks, Jane. I'll look for that one too.

Rita
 
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. I went with Splenda in the brine, rub, and sauce and I'm happy to say it all turned out great. Everyone loved the chicken - I planned on 4 servings per chicken and threw in an extra bird for good measure. I cut the airline breast halves into 2 portions. There were 4 small pieces left - 1 drumstick and 3 small wingless breast pieces and they went home with someone.

The sauce was a real hit too. I'm anxious to try it on pork.

Keri, thanks again for posting that recipe. It's a real keeper!

Rita
 
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