Caregiver's Kitchen: Appeasing The Incurable Sweet Tooth

As a former nurse aide, since Dad died I returned to the traditional work world through the familiar. For a month, I cared for an elderly gentleman out near Amish country while his family was strategizing how best to honor his wish to stay at home. Let’s call him Will. Strong will. And an even stronger sweet tooth. Oh, did I mention he’s a diabetic who needs insulin injections three times a day?

Due to a temporary medical problem, he had been in the nursing home his wife is in. He was miserably unhappy there, even though he enjoyed being with his wife. She needed to be there, he didn’t. He lives to eat, one of the few joys he has left. He could not abide the doctor’s prescribed diabetic diet. Will went on a hunger strike. This only complicated his health issues. Yes, some institutional food is bland and has been cooked to death. But doctor’s orders are doctor’s orders.

His family was frantic to get his weight back to normal. I was hired to prepare all his meals with the goal of reducing his dependence on insulin and playing to his taste buds. I fed him the meals I was present for and prepared “personal chef” meals for him to eat in my absence.  I cooked fresh carrots and glazed them with Splenda and maple extract; served him a BLT with applewood-cured bacon; made full-flavored meals from fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and meats, all according to an informative book called Foods That Combat Diabetes by Dr. Maggie Greenwood-Robinson. He raved about my cooking, especially when he thought it contained real sugar (instead of stevia, Nutrasweet, or other sweeteners I was experimenting with). But, when left to himself, he would seek out a box or package full of simple carbohydrates. His insulin needs only declined when I was able to monitor and influence what he chose to eat. Will’s family placed no restrictions on his selections, yet I was there specifically to cajole him into more healthy choices. When I was there, he ate well.

Maybe it's the male psyche. One pastor I know confessed that even though his wife prepared carefully labeled single-portion refrigerated meals with easy microwave reheating instructions when she was visiting her parents, he made do with a box of cereal and a jug of milk the whole week. Why?

Sympathetic relatives enabled Will by supplying his sugar fix. I came in to find the cupboards and refrigerator stocked full of contraband. For budget reasons, the family scheduled me twice a day, hoping to bridge all three insulin checks. The following day, in the unguarded moments, Will ate seven donuts of the dozen his daughter had bought for him. “But that’s okay; they’re only cake donuts,” he told me. I mildly protested. “One, okay; two, maybe, at most. But Will!” He rolled up his sleeve and stuck out his arm before I even took his blood glucose level. “That’s fine. Just give me the insulin.” To Will’s way of thinking, he takes the insulin to be able to eat whatever he wants. Four whole units! I lived in fear thereafter of finding him in a diabetic coma whenever I returned.

Now, I have a wicked sweet tooth. Since my mother was a diabetic, I should be more careful. But, like Will, I throw caution to the wind when it comes to my own health. My weaknesses instill in me compassion for others and the impetus to find a more acceptable answer. Since my sweet tooth is so gourmet, I figured if I liked it, he’s sure to like it. My next line of defense was to make his favorite snack: oatmeal cookies. Sprinkled with white raisins and sweetened with Truvia, they were similar to his favorite packaged variety, only better. More crumbly, they still satisfied. Will gobbled up half a batch while I was gone, even though I hid them in the freezer and placed three decoys out on the table to slow him down. Clever guy. Can’t outfox Will.

Will’s family has now worked out complete coverage. Each of the children and adult grandchildren who are within an hour’s drive take turns checking in on him. He’s happy to be able to do what he wants when he wants, damn the torpedoes. I warned them that more supervision would be advisable, given his definition of “Willpower.” He’s so much like Dad in personality that I miss seeing him. He eventually may find himself back in the nursing home because his family is unable to control his diabetes at home. He has earned the moniker: Indomitable Will.

Here is my second attempt at a satisfying oatmeal cookie using only one packet of plain oatmeal and no sugar or sugar substitute (to avoid the inevitable chemical aftertaste). Only sweetened by fruit: banana for potassium and cohesion, white raisins for regularity, and unsweetened applesauce for soft cookies.

"Just Enough" Oatmeal Cookies

Mix one packet of plain unsweetened oatmeal with 2 heaping tablespoons of flour, a pinch (1/8 teaspoon) of baking soda, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice (nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon). Mash 1/2 of a ripe banana and stir in 1 teaspoon of unsweetened applesauce and a dash of vanilla flavoring. Stir into dry mix. Stir in 1/8 cup (coffee scoop) white raisins and 1/8 cup walnut pieces. Drop by teaspoon onto lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes, or until light brown. Remove immediately from sheet to plate. Makes 8 small cookies. Enjoy two cookies with meal. If anyone can create a better original dietetic oatmeal cookie recipe, please send it to me at alzheimerannie@yahoo.com and I will try it. Winner will receive an autographed copy of my next book, Caregiver's Kitchen: Tips and Recipes, when it is published.

The Three Es of Diabetes:

1 Encourage drinking water.

2 Experiment with sweeteners.

3 Exchange healthy complex carbohydrates for simple carbohydrates.

Happy Eeeting!