As a rule, I have tended not to bake since my husband’s diagnosis, which is not of great concern to me (or anyone else for that matter) as I have never been much of a baker. About the only good thing that could be said of my many contributions to PTA events during our daughters’ time at primary school, was that at least they looked homemade! I remember well one particularly ignominious occasion when our youngest wanted to set up a ‘Bake for Children In Need’ stall, in the playground after school, with her best friend. Said best friend’s mother is an amazing, creative and practiced baker whose beautiful contributions sold like the proverbial hot cakes, while my offerings were shown many a cold shoulder. Even the four year olds weren’t keen.
Anyway, the reason for this post, is that there is a place for home baked goodies in a diabetic’s life. In my husband’s case, they were actually an essential part of his early regime during the first six months or so following his diagnosis. Most of the elements for a healthier him were in place: exercising twice daily, porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch and something healthy and home cooked for supper. I should add that, at the time, he was working and living in London and away from the family home for three or four nights of the week. His job was incredibly demanding and didn’t leave much time for cooking, but with a little slow cooker for one and frozen portions of many of my meals, he was managing to eat well most of the time.
The dip in energy levels which typically beset him around four or five in the afternoon were a potential pitfall that needed to be plugged if he were to remain on track. So, I started baking low sugar, low GI, low fat and high fibre snacks that were easy to freeze in individual portion sizes that he could take with him up to London each Monday and keep in the office fridge, ready for the late afternoon snack attack. They are not pretty but they work, they’re easy and they taste surprisingly good. So much so that he always had to take triple rations as they proved irresistible to several of his colleagues! The kids loved them as a morning snack, or even breakfast, too…..though I wouldn’t recommend them in a contest with my daughter’s friend’s mum’s Pudsey face cupcakes.
Date and apricot bars
- 175 g Chopped, stoned dates
- 100 g Chopped, dried apricots
- 150 ml Water
- 250 g Flora Light
- 25 g Soft brown sugar
- 175 g Plain wholemeal flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 200 g Rolled oats
- Place the dates and apricots in a small pan with the water and simmer for 10 minutes until soft and blitz quickly with a wand.
- Meanwhile, melt the Flora and sugar in a pan then stir in the flour, baking powder and oats. Press half this mixture into the base of a lined 23x28cm baking tin and cover with the fruit paste.
- Using your fingers, crumble the remaining oat mix over the top to cover evenly and press down.
- Bake at 180 degrees c (350 F, Gas 4) for 30 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack and cut into 16 (roughly 225cal) squares. Wrap each in cling-film and freeze.
Banana loaf
- 175 g Stoned dates
- 100 ml Water
- 1 Egg
- 225 g Self-raising wholemeal flour
- 1 tsp Ground mixed spice
- 450 g Peeled, ripe bananas
- 100 g Chopped walnuts
- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (or in my case, squirt Fry Light on the inside of a silicon one).
- Simmer dates and water until dates are soft and blitz to a paste. Cool slightly before beating in the egg.
- Mix the flour and spice and mash the bananas until smooth. Mix everything together then stir in the walnuts.
- Put in the tin, cover with foil and bake at 180 Degrees C (350F, Gas 4) for about an hour, or until a skewer comes out clean: remove foil for last 15 minutes if you want it browned.
- Cool and cut into 10 (c230cal) slices, wrap and freeze.
Bran and pear muffins
- 60 g All-Bran
- 50 g Wheat bran
- 375 g Plain low fat yoghurt
- 240 g Plain wholemeal flour
- 8 tbsp Sugar substitute
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 125 ml Skimmed milk
- 60 ml Rapeseed oil
- 1 Egg
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 Pears, cored and chopped
- Combine cereal and wheat bran with the yoghurt and let stand for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients.
- Add milk, egg, oil and vanilla extract to the bran and yoghurt mixture and then stir it all into the flour mix, finally folding in the chopped pear.
- Divide batter between 12 greased or paper lined muffin cups and bake at 190 degrees C (375 F, Gas 5) for about 25 minutes, until browned and tops are firm to the touch. Cool, wrap and freeze: about 160 cals per muffin.
Blueberry bars
- 90 g Large rolled oats
- 90 g Plain wholemeal flour
- 40 g Wheat bran
- 8 tbsp Sugar substitute
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- 120 g Flora Light
- 1 Egg
- 275 g Frozen blueberries
- 60 ml Water
- 2 tbsp Sugar substitute
- ½ tbsp Grated lemon rind
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 Corn flour
- Bring blueberries, water, sugar substitute, lemon rind and juice and the corn flour to the boil and stir for 2 minutes or so until bubbly and thickened.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then mix in the Flora until it looks like a coarse crumble topping, before stirring in the egg.
- Reserve enough mixture to sprinkle over the top and press the rest into a lined 20cm square tin.
- Spread the blueberry filling over the base and crumble the rest of the oat mixture over the top, pressing down lightly.
- Bake at 180 degrees C (350F, Gas 4) for 30 minutes until golden. Cool, cut into 10 (c140cal) bars, wrap and freeze.