Do it Yourself Diabetes Recipe

Turn Favorite Cake Recipes into Healthy Ones!

I really hate the term diabetes recipe. Afterall, people with diabetes are free to make choices and eat anything. But since you're searching for healthier things to eat using this term - voila, here it is. As a dietitian and diabetes educator, oh yes, and as a person with diabetes, I've messed around with my  fair share of recipes.  Below I share the trick for turning most cakes into healthier treats. Also included is the low down on how to make fabulous healthy (yes, diabetes recipe) chocolate zucchini cake.

The Diabetes Recipe Tricks

The following substitutions will provide you a higher fibre cake (barley flour is loaded with soluble fibre to help reduce cholesterol levels); lower fat cake and MUCH lower calorie cake. (See the nutrient comparisons below.) By the way, barley flour is not gritty. It is a smooth flour with fibre that is easily tolerated for texture by kids and picky spouses. You've got to try it. It's easy to plop into cookie and cake recipes.

• 1/2 the flour as barley flour (or more!)
• 1/2 the fat as low fat yogurt or low fat sour cream or applesauce (eg. applesauce is great in carrot cake). Please use nonhydrogenated fat for the remainder.
• 1/2 the sugar as Splenda.
• For eggs, substitute egg beaters (eg. a boxed liquid egg product that is lower in cholesterol and saturated fats).

So you don't want to test drive one of your own recipes just yet. Fair enough. Test drive this one below.

Diabetes Recipe: Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Cake

• 2 cups barley flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
• 1 package (42 grams) Jello-O fat free instant chocolate pudding (it's sweetened with aspartame. If you don't like that then use the regular one but of course the carbs and calories will go up some.)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup egg beaters (or 3 eggs)
• 3/4 cup Splenda (the next time I make it I'll try 1 cup Splenda and 1/2 cup sugar)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup plain no fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups finely grated zucchini ( I think I acutally used 2.5 cups. Mess around)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, yogurt,  and blend in the dry ingredients. Fold in Zucchini and choc chips. Divide evenly between 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.  Bake 350 degrees one hour. ( I did 340 degrees convection oven for 50 minutes). Cool in the pans. Enjoy and share!

Compare Diabetes Recipes for this Cake to Normal Recipe

Below is the nutrient analysis for this healthy diabetes recipe, plus the recipe if you omitted the nuts and chocolate chips and the regular recipe when normal flour, sugar, oil, eggs, etc were used.

WOW! What a difference! Go ahead. I dare you to experiment with your favorite recipes. My family didn't even know I'd made the cake healthier. Well, not until I told them. Experiment with your favorite cake to turn it into a more healthy diabetes recipe.