Mincemeat, traditionally served at holiday meals in pies, cookies and tarts or as a side dish, contains chopped apples, raisins or currants, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and suet. Sometimes mincemeat also includes finely chopped beef, as well as brandy or rum. If you make some adjustments to the ingredients, you can healthfully include mincemeat on a diabetes diet.
Ingredients
To keep mincemeat diabetes friendly, omit sugar called for in recipes. Use artificial sweeteners if the natural sugars in apples and raisins aren't sweet enough for you. In order to cut down on calories and fat, replace suet with green tomatoes. Opt for fresh fruit over candied fruit, as fresh fruit contains fewer carbohydrates and calories. Substitute apple cider vinegar for brandy or rum. If you prepare mincemeat with beef, choose a lean cut trimmed of fat.
Meatless Recipe
Mincemeat doesn't demand exact measuring. You can play around with ingredients to suit your taste. Just throw everything in large pot and simmer until the mixture thickens. Cook on a low heat and stir frequently. Sample ingredients to include in a diabetes-friendly meatless recipe for mincemeat include chopped green tomatoes, chopped tart apples, currants, raisins, ground cinnamon, ground gloves, allspice, ground ginger, apple cider vinegar, orange zest and orange juice.
Recipe with Meat
If you like meat in your mincemeat, use extra-lean hamburger and skim off visible fat as it cooks. Remove as much fat as possible before adding other ingredients. If you have a meat grinder or food processor, substitute cooked roast beef for the hamburger. For extra fiber, leave the skin on the apples and include orange and lemon rind as well as chopped citrus fruit. Walnuts and pecans provide fiber, protein and healthy oils and, if you need a flour to bind the ingredients, choose whole wheat flour. Season to taste with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ground pepper. Let simmer on the stove for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Considerations
According to the American Diabetes Association, you should consume approximately 45 g to 60 g of total carbohydrate per meal. Keep in mind that mincemeat is rich in carbohydrate, even when you use a no-sugar-added recipe. This is largely due to the fruit content. One cup of sliced apple, cooked, contains approximately 23.32 g of carbohydrate and 1 oz. of raisins contains about 22.45 g of carbohydrate.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Making Healthy Food Choices
- InformationAboutDiabetes.com: Support, News and Information about Diabetes -- Homemade Mincemeat Recipe
- Just Great Recipes: Beef Mincemeat Recipe
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Sugar and Desserts
- United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database
