World Diabetes Day

Friday, November 14, was World Diabetes Day. Who knew? No one at our house anyway. It's my bad, I guess, for not paying more attention to the news stories on the home page for this account, but we might wonder how much coverage the day actually got in other news outlets (snark intended).

In the meantime, the good news was that we had a party on that day. With two diabetics in the group, menu planning was something of a challenge. Fortunately, Big Kid Cousin had a big (kid?) hand in making sure that most everyone involved had a clear understanding of the need to pay attention to the dietary issues that the diabetics (and others) faced.

And it was a success!

There were two birthday cakes (birthdays being the occasion for the party). One was an animated "cake" that had what looked like a Cabbage Patch granny popping in and out, singing "Happy Birthday." The other was a sugar free concoction, made with a Sweet-and-Low cake mix. Everyone got to enjoy some cake one way or another.

The rest of the table was delicious and (mostly) low carb. I made frog eyes (yes, they turned out fine). BKC assembled some impressive hors d'ouevres of cocktail sausages, cherry tomatoes, and cubed Colby Jack on a toothpick. Little Sister brought not only the cake, but some fried chicken sticks (they looked like french fries) with a beef and cheese dipping sauce for them. Family friends brought queso and chips. An aunt brought her special "pie" with hash browns for crust and assorted veggies for pie filling. We set out some cashews and a plate of pickled items (the pickled mushrooms were a big hit).

While there were some carbs on the table, it was possible to avoid them and still fill your plate. The funnest part was Mama, who opined that this was the "best ever" table of refreshments. If Mama's happy, we can all relax.

Let's hope that we are more aware of World Diabetes Day next year. It's a good opportunity to educate others about the issues. We did have a little discussion about some diabetes issues (especially hypoglycemia) at the party, but that was mostly because one of the diabetics started having problems because she didn't get to eat soon enough. We need to do better, and that starts with education.