1. Home
2. Blogs

Healthy Alternatives For Desi Sweets For People Living With Diabetes

• 
• 
• 
• 0
• 0

Published on October 31, 2023. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Let's admit: Living with diabetes is a challenge in itself, and when the festive season is around the corner, managing the condition becomes exceptionally hard. Indian festivities are celebrated with heaps of sweets and savouries made at home or brought from stores. Not a single festival or ritual can be ticked off without a plateful of mithais high in sugar and tempting in every possible way - the colours, flavours, texture, fragrance and taste - it is hard to say no to those little sinful indulgences. While eating in moderation should be the key, we know it's easier said than done. And, avoiding mithais totally is not an option. So, what should you do? Have them or ban them? Well, if you have diabetes and a sweet tooth that is hard to tame, you can look for healthy dessert alternatives that keep your blood sugars under control and satisfy your sweet cravings, too.

It isn't difficult to find alternatives for sweets or add healthy ingredients to your desi sweets to help keep blood sugars in check. For instance, adding jaggery or dry fruits to your traditional recipes can make your mithais healthier and reduce sugar. However, remember, even with all these precautions in place, practice eating in moderation as even the healthiest foods, when had in excess, can cause you great harm. If you are living with diabetes, consider getting yourself health insurance for diabetes to ensure your medical expenses are taken care of in case of hospitalisation, if your blood sugars shoot up during festivities or if there is an emergency.

Healthy Dessert Alternatives For People Living With Diabetes

We made a list of the top 6 Indian desi sweets that rule the Indian festivities like a king but are little dynamites that can let your blood sugars soar high. So, we found healthy alternatives for these sweets that can satisfy your taste buds and keep your blood sugars in check.

1. Kaju Katli:

Calories present approximately 41 per piece. So, if you consume 2 or 3 a day, your caloric intake can increase. Remember, the store-bought katlis are made in sugar syrup and might contain certain amounts of preservatives, too. Limiting your intake to one piece at a time or looking for a sweet alternative is best.

What you can do: Replace store-bought Kaju Katlis with sugar-free dry fruit barfis, date barfis or the scrumptious anjeer barfi. If you are making barfis at home, include some healthy ingredients like jaggery, sesame seeds to up its healthy quotient. These sweets might be sticky in texture compared to your melt-in-your-mouth kaju barfis, but believe us; it will do you a great deal of good.

2. Jalebis:

Calories present approximately 66 per piece (25 gms). These orange twisters deeply fried in oil and soaked in concentrated sugar syrup are sinful and addictive, to say the least, and who can stop after devouring just one jalebi? Have just two, and you have set the stage for your blood to go up.

What you can do: Instead of jalebis, try some roasted chikkis. You can choose from peanuts, dry fruits, mixed seeds, coconut and kurmura chikkis. The good thing is that these are made from jaggery, a healthy alternative to sugar. Of course, they are no match for the sweetness of a jalebi, but when it comes to your health, they won't ditch you.

3. Gulab Jamun:

Calories present approximately 150 per piece. No festival in India is complete without the heavenly gulab jamuns making their presence felt on the menu and stealing all the attention with their softness and sweetness. But those calories and the sugar spell danger for your blood sugar levels.

What you can do: Instead of Gulab Jamun, try its lesser evil cousin, rasgullas. They can even overthrow gulab jamuns if compared in terms of texture and taste. However, they aren't fried and are made from cottage cheese, an advantage over maida-filled gulab jamuns when choosing festive mithais.

Remember, with diabetes, you have to be cautious about what you eat and make healthy choices. So make sure you choose healthy alternatives to sweets. Complications of diabetes can show up at times when you are least expecting it. It can also ruin your festive celebrations and lead to hospitalisation if you aren't careful with your diet choices. To safeguard your savings during such emergency hospitalisation, have a health insurance policy that covers these expenses.

4. Motichoor Ladoo:

Calories present approximately 204 calories per piece. Ladoos are festive favourite and motichoor ladoos tops the list. But the damage they can do to your blood sugars and cardiovascular health if you mindlessly gobble them is irreplaceable. Ask why? Fried, flour, sugar and all things bad for your health are packed in these sweet orange balls. Don't try to eat 'Just One,' if you have uncontrolled diabetes.

What you can do: If those smooth round ladoos make your festivities brighter and better opt for besan ladoos. They have a low glycemic index and are rich in protein, too. However, remember, even with the healthier options, moderation is necessary.

5. Rice Kheer:

Calories present 150-200 per serving (approx). Rice kheer is a favourite for all dessert lovers. Easy to make, needs fewer ingredients and tastes yummy. But rice and sugar do a great deal of damage to your blood sugars and disrupt your overall caloric intake.

What you can do: If you cannot do without adding kheer to your festive menu, replace rice with makhana and add jaggery instead of sugar. One serving of makhana kheer has 75 calories, even less when prepared with jaggery.

6. Gajar ka Halwa:

Calories present approximately 164 calories per serving. Winters, festivals and gajar ka halwa, sounds heavenly right? Well, no. Not for your blood sugars, at least. The vegetable becomes a gastronomical delight but a devil for blood sugars when mixed with full-fat milk, condensed milk, mawa, and sugar.

What you can do: We know finding a replacement for gajar ka halwa is difficult. So, you can only opt for healthier ingredients to make your halwa, like low-fat milk, jaggery, and ghee. Also, stop yourself from having multiple servings of the healthy version too. Try fruit salad or sugar-less fruit custards if you want to go clean with sugars.

Even with these healthy options, one should keep in mind never to go overboard with sweets. Whether you are living with diabetes or not, having sugar mindlessly can shoot your sugar levels and affect your overall health, too.

Tips for healthy eating during festivals for people living with diabetes

1. Make sure that you are not overeating. Limit your sweet intake to one or two sweets per day.

2. Don't replace mid-time snacks like fruits or nuts with sweets. Instead, make it a part of your main meal or eat it like a dessert.

3. Include healthy ingredients in your dessert recipes like - ragi, besan or nachni flour instead of refined flour; ghee, butter or coconut oil instead of refined oil; honey or jaggery instead of refined sugar. Try to find healthy alternatives to unhealthy foods always.

4. Pick sweets with a good quantity of healthy nuts.

5. With diabetes, it is essential to keep track of your caloric intake and exercise regularly. So, even if you eat moderately, don't become a couch potato this festive season. Walk, jog or go to the gym to stay fit and burn those extra calories you consume through sweets.

The take-home message

The festive season can be a challenging time for people living with diabetes, especially the ones who have a sweet tooth. Well, with little planning and healthy dessert alternatives, you can have your sweet and eat it, too. However, with diabetes, many things can go out of hand if your blood sugars go haywire, so ensure you have medical insurance that can take care of your expenses in such a situation. Despite the assurance of your medical insurance, try to eat right and exercise to keep your blood sugars in check.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

RELATED ARTICLES

Fight the onset of diabetes with these guidelines!

Health Insurance is a Must for Diabetics - Find Out Why on World Diabetes Day

10 Tips for Diabetics to stay fit this New Year

---

• 
• 
• 
•