Fear of making the wrong decision is why people hoard food and/or anything else collectible - special diets

People hoard food, animals, cardboard boxes, newspapers, plastic bags, cans, clothing, or anything else collectible because of a fear of making the wrong decision. We read about compulsive cat collectors in the news, but what about when it comes to hoarding food or the other side of the coin--a fear of making the wrong decision about what to serve to dinner guests when some are on diabetic diets or other special menus?

When it comes to choosing a menu for a special diet, what do you serve for Thanksgiving? Let's look at a sample Thanksgiving meal for diabetics and those with metabolic syndrome or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar swings and/or high blood sugar swings caused by insulin resistance to a meal high in simple carbohydrates, vegetable sugars, fruit, or starches).

What's the major reason people hoard food or anything else? It's the fear of making the wrong decision. The same fear applies to fear of making the wrong nutrition decision. What foods can be served for Thanksgiving that are customized to special diet needs? What foods can be tailored to be healthy for an individual or the whole family and also that individual?

Should you serve slices of traditional turkey or serve a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal? What if some dinner guests are vegetarian and others are not? For the turkey eaters, try the numerous Thanksgiving recipes at the Diabetic Gourmet Magazine. For example, the Citrus Roasted Turkey recipe is about roasting a turkey with red onion, lemon juice, lemon, orange, and lime peel, mint, cumin, cinnamon, and thyme. You can leave out the honey and olive oil, if your special diet requirements require those for controlling diabetes.

For a vegetarian Thanksgiving, start with the white bean dip recipe, featuring cannellini beans, sage, vinegar, and onions without cheese. Or try the chili with cheese (chile con queso) recipe. For the main dish, try the mixed garden casserole recipe which is all vegan. Alter recipes to customize them to your special diet needs. For example, if you have low blood sugar due to insulin resistance, why add brown sugar to a vegetable casserole when you need a small amount of protein to balance your blood glucose levels? In an all vegetable casserole, you can add a little tempeh (fermented soy beans) or any other healthy protein. The idea is to adjust the recipe to your health requirements.

For example, include the eggplant, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper (or use your own addition of red pepper), tomatoes, but leave out the recipe's brown sugar and butter or margarine ingredients in the recipe and instead substitute other flavorings you like instead of sugar and butter or margarine that's in the recipe. One example could be instead of sugar, how about a pinch of stevia? And instead of margarine or butter, a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled or even a teaspoon of sesame, avocado, walnut, or macademia nut oil, if you want oil on your vegetable casserole?

The biggest emotional problem regarding nutrition choices is the fear of making the wrong decision about what food is healthiest for your own body. For a salad, try the Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette recipe. You mix avocado with red grapefruit cut up, then dress the salad with a tablespoon of almond, walnut, or olive oil mixed with apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar. The magazine's source for that recipe is Source: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes, by the American Diabetes Association.

If you're not diabetic, you can still serve recipes from cookbooks or publications for people with diabetes because they are healthy recipes. Just customize them to your individual health needs for special diets. For example, what if you're not diabetic, but just have metabolic syndrome or low blood sugar possibly caused by eating too many sweets for too many years coupled with stress responses? Or what if you have insulin resistance? Compare the recipes your doctor gave you to the recipes in diabetic cookbooks. How are they similar or different?

To solve the problem of what to serve on Thanksgiving to guests with special diet needs, one way of overcoming the fear of making the wrong decision when it comes to preparing food, is to look for variety but not be overwhelmed by too much variety and too many choices available. See the site, "Menu - A Family Thanksgiving." Although the site features more than 800 diabetic recipes and diabetic menus, you only need to look at the first few to get the big picture.

That site's recipes come from award-winning cookbook authors. Everyone with diabetes, their family, and friends will love these recipes. And you can serve these foods to people who don't have a health condition.

• Mushroom Bisque
• Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy
• Low-Sugar Cranberry-Apple Relish
• Old-Fashioned Bread and Sage Dressing
• Roasted Squash
• Green Beans and Glazed Onions
• Sweet Potato Pie

Also view these sites for more Thanksgiving menus and recipes for diabetics. The recipes also are good for those without diabetes. That way, all your guests can be eating healthier on Thanksgiving. When it comes to dessert, if there's room, nuts with cinnamon, fresh fruit, or pie made with a crust made of flax seed meal is healthier to serve anyone than a pie crust made of white flour and lard. Use common sense. Here are some resourceful sites.

Diabetic Recipes - Menus

A Diabetic at the Thanksgiving Table - ABC News

Thanksgiving Recipes - Traditional, international, diabetic, vegan...

Diabetic Thanksgiving Recipes: Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake - Associated ...