Have you ever wondered what to give your diabetic friends as gifts for Christmas, birthdays, Easter and other much-awaited holidays? Knowing that some of your friends have diabetes you would usually limit yourself to clothes, kitchen items, tools, toys, and other non-edible effects. But for some people the joys of giving food is truly immeasurable.
In reality, you need not really worry too much about giving food to your diabetic loved ones. You can actually give diabetic gift baskets filled with goodies that are not harmful for their restricted diet if you choose the right items. Here are some ideas on what to fill your diabetic gift baskets with:
Wine Glass Cookie Cutter
1. Include diabetes-safe sweeteners in the basket. Your diabetic friend will always need the staple products that most diabetic people would use, so it would be wise to add to the basket things that your friend might use, even for everyday. Natural sugar substitute such as Stevia powder, agave syrup, brazzein, curculin, erythritol, fructose, glycyrrhizin, glycerol, mabinlin, maltitol, miraculin, monellin, pentadin, sorbitol, tagatose, thaumatin and xylitol are definitely welcome gifts so that your friend would not have to buy them anymore.
You may also consider putting some artificial sweeteners such as AceK (Acesulfame potassium), Alitame, Aspartame, Aspartame-Acesulfame salt, Cyclamate, Dulcin, Neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, Neotame, P-4000, Saccharin, Sucralose and Isomalt - but be aware that there is some controversy as to whether these actually result in other serious health problems.
2. Add some diabetes-safe treats and sweets. Thanks to the no-carb, lo-carb, and sugar-free mania, diabetic people no need to just drool at sweets and other treats, they can actually take part in the indulgence, with much control of course. You can fill your gift basket with sugar-free cookies, biscuits, brownies, pies, tarts, cakes, pastries, candies, chocolates, taffy, lemon bars, macaroons, pudding, gelatin, and other desserts and treats that diabetics usually have to shun. You can also include diabetes-safe drinks like sugar free juices, sodas, sparkling drinks, ale, and the like. These are things that your diabetic friends may partake instead of the usual sugar-laden desserts and drinks.
3. Gift basket foods do not really have to be sweet. Holiday food is definitely not limited to sweets and desserts only, people do like to feast on savory treats as well so you definitely may include non-sweet foods in your diabetic gift baskets. You can give luscious foods such as cheeses, unsweetened ham, foie gras patés, caviar, smoked salmon, nuts, uncooked pasta, pasta sauces, canned soups, gravy mixes, crackers, imported/gourmet sardines, herbal tea and other delectable foodstuffs that your diabetic friends will appreciate. This can help make the holiday celebrations really sumptuous and truly memorable.
4. Gift baskets are not all about food. Who says you can only fill a gift basket with food? You can definitely put in your diabetic gift basket other items that your diabetic friend will be able to treasure and use. How about including a sugar-free, carb-less cookbook? A good cookbook is worth hundreds of meals more than actual food itself. You can also put there some tools used for food such as can openers, decorative cork screws, wine glasses, cheese cutters, silverware, china, and other things that accompany eating. To show your care, you can also include books about diabetes management, lifestyle, diabetic magazines, and other great publications you think your diabetic friends would enjoy.
Filling a diabetic gift basket is not really that much of a difficult task. If you know things that your diabetic friends can use, enjoy, and treasure, you can really put a lot in the basket and be sure to give something that your friends will truly appreciate. You really do not have to boggle your mind about what to put in the basket but of course you have to make sure that whatever is there is safe for diabetes or else your friends might not be able to use them, or worse, you might endanger your friends' health. Most important of all is to fill the basket with love, because this is truly what giving is all about. Now all you have to do is to wrap the basket in decorative plastic, tie nice, pretty ribbon, and you are all set.