Print
The holiday season is often marked with parties and occasions for dining out. Sometimes it can be tough to find healthy options when eating out, and for people with type 2 diabetes it can be even more difficult, particularly during the holidays. Research shows the average person gains nearly one pound between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
Basketball legend Earl “The Pearl” Monroe is helping people with diabetes eat smart this holiday season. One of the greatest players in the history of basketball, NBA All-Star Earl Monroe was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. And, more than ten years ago, Earl was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Earl knows how challenging it can be for the 24 million Americans who suffer from diabetes to manage their disease. That’s why he has teamed up with Merck on the first-ever Diabetes Restaurant Month program to challenge restaurants to create diabetes-friendly menu items.
“As a professional basketball player, I ate many meals on the road and quickly learned how hard it was to stay on a healthy diet,” says the former New York Knicks and Baltimore Bullets star. “With type 2 diabetes it can be even more difficult, especially around the holidays, but I want to show people that it’s possible to enjoy foods at our favorite restaurants and stay healthy at the same time.”
Earl has learned how to maintain a diabetes-friendly lifestyle with a healthy diet and regular exercise, and aims to inspire others to do the same by making a few small changes in their daily lives, including making smart choices while dining out.
With these few simple tips available at MerckDiabetes.com, people with type 2 diabetes can maintain a diabetes-friendly lifestyle:
1. Ask your server how a dish is cooked; don’t be afraid to ask for foods to be prepared the way you want them – you don’t have to eat exactly what’s on the menu – for example, you can ask for broiled or steamed instead of fried;
2. Request healthy substitutions like raw, steamed or sautéed veggies instead of creamed; creamed adds an excessive amount of calories and saturated fat;
3. Order a side of vegetables in place of rice or potatoes to help keep track of carbohydrates;
4. Ask for sauces on the side to avoid excessive amounts of butter, oil, cream, and sodium; if a sauce is cream- or butter-based, it probably has a high amount of saturated fat and calories — ask for the sauce on the side or make another choice;
5. Watch your portion sizes; when ordering your meal, ask for a half- or lunch-size portion, or have your server package part of your dish to go before it even arrives at the table;
6. Save room for dessert: Dessert isn’t always a bad thing. A lot of restaurants offer seasonal fresh fruit plates, sorbet or frozen yogurt. The sugar content in sorbet and frozen yogurt varies, so be sure to control portion sizes. If you’re a choco-holic, try sharing the dessert with a few friends; and
7. Get active with at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, such as walking or bike riding, or everyday activities such as gardening or cleaning your house.
People with type 2 diabetes should talk to their doctor about treatment options and other small steps they can take to help make diabetes management a slam dunk! For more information, including Earl’s winning tips on physical activity and healthy restaurant choices as well as some of Earl’s favorite diabetes-friendly recipes, visit MerckDiabetes.com.
One of Earl’s holiday favorites: Pumpkin Pie Light with Traditional Crust
Ingredients (serves 8)
• 1 pie crust, ready-made, 9″
• 16 ounces can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup liquid-egg substitute
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated skim milk, canned
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Place pie crust according to package directions
• Mix the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and pour into the crust
• Bake until knife comes out clean from center, about 45 minutes. Refrigerate and slice in 8 wedges
• Optional: Serve each wedge with nonfat whipped topping
Nutrition Information
• Calories: 220
• Calories from Fat: 70
• Total Fat: 8g
• Saturated Fat: 3.5g
• Cholesterol: 5mg
• Sodium: 190mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 32g
• Dietary Fiber: 2g
• Sugars: 17g
• Protein: 7g
• Vitamin A: 180%
• Vitamin C: 6%
• Calcium: 15%
• Iron: 8%
Diabetes Restaurant Month is a program created by Merck to help people with diabetes to better manage their condition. Visit MerckDiabetes.com for nutritional advice, exercise tips and flavorful recipes.
Email Page
