I can't think a diabetic pumpkin roll is possible if you use white flour for the recipe. White flour will raise blood sugar as quickly as table sugar will. Replacing chemical sweeteners for sugar is just one of the high-glycemic ingredients. It's TOTAL carbohydrates (whatever type) you need to consider - not just sugar.

If I were to alter an existing recipe I'd substitute freshly-milled spelt for white (all-purpose) flour. Spelt is lower on the glycemic index than wheat flour (whole wheat flour AND white flour). Wholegrain spelt flour retains all the fiber, important for the glycemic impact. I'd probably increase the fiber by adding flaxmeal, as well.

I'd substitute agave nectar - a low-glycemic honey-like sweetener. Agave nectar works like sugar in baked goods, unlike chemical sweeteners. It's also sweeter tasting than sugar, so less is needed. Agave nectar browns, retains moistness, and other attributes that sugar brings to a sponge cake.

Tomorrow I'll work on a pumpkin sponge cake for you. What do you usually use for the filling and frosting? The challenge will be getting it rolled. Normally, lots of powdered sugar is placed on the towel. You may end up with a layer sponge cake instead of a roll, but I'll give it a try. I like a good challenge every now and again ;-).

I'll post the results tomorrow.

-Grainlady

Funny that you've mentioned it. I've been thinking about it too. Gourmet had published this recipe a couple of times in their magazine. The recipe is below...

Your friend can substitute any recipe with Splenda in equal amount of regular sugar. I've used Splenda many times baking for my colleagues 'cause some are diabetic. I even use Splenda as powder sugar to decorate cakes.

Pumpkin Roll (from Gourmet Magazine)

PREHEAT oven to 375. Grease & flour 15x10 inch jellyroll pan. (Pam O.K. to use)

CAKE:

3-Large Eggs
1-Cup sifted powdered sugar
2/3 Cup Packed Pumpkin
1-Tsp. Lemon Juice
Cup Flour
1-Tsp. Baking Powder
2-Tsp. Cinnamon
1-Tsp. Ginger
½-Tsp. Nutmeg
½-Tsp. Salt

FILLING
1-Pkg. (8oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1-Cup sugar
6-Tbsp. Butter/margarine softened
1-Tsp. Vanilla Extract
Powdered Sugar

BEAT eggs on high for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in Pumpkin & 1 Tsp. Lemon juice. Stir in remaining ingredients & continue to beat till well mixed.

SPREAD evenly into greased & floured 15x10 inch jellyroll pan. Spinkle with 1 Cup finely chopped pecans.

BAKE for 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen & turn cake onto prepared towel.

TURN out on towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sprinkle the top of cake with powdered sugar. ROLL up cake & towel together starting with narrow end.

COOL on wire rack.

BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter & vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth.

UNROLL cake, remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake & Reroll Cake. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate at least one hour but I prefer to chill overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired. Makes 10 servings.

TA DA... Boy is hubby going to be happy with dessert tonight! I used the recipe linked below, as a guide, which is similar to the recipe posted above. I'm sensitive to Splenda (as many people are), so I avoid chemical sweeteners at ALL costs.

I've used low-glycemic agave nectar for over a decade in my cooking/baking, instead of sugar. I also use wholegrain spelt flour when making "diabetic" baked goods. I'm not sure why diabetics don't use more lower-glycemic spelt flour and continue to use high-glycemic wheat flour (wholegrain or refined), when there are better choices.

My old recipe - Harvest Pumpkin Cake Roll - (Pillsbury - The Complete Book of Baking) requires 4 eggs and I only had 3 (grocery shopping tomorrow), so I went with the Libby's recipe.

I used:

-2 T. powdered sugar (through a fine sifter) on the towel. 1 T. may have been enough instead of the 1/4 c. called for in the recipe.

- 3/4 c. + 2 T. spelt flour plus 2 T. flaxmeal, instead of high-glycemic all-purpose flour

-I beat the eggs on high for 5 minutes and then added 1/4 c. agave nectar for the 1 c. sugar.

-Baked at 350°F for 10-12 minutes (lower temperature necessary when using agave nectar and I used a dark pan).

If you use nuts in the sponge cake (according to their directions), make sure they are finely chopped. Large pieces of nuts can compromise the cake when you are rolling it up by passing through the cake. Nuts would work better finely chopped in the filling. They also contribute some protein and "good" fat. I also reduced the filling to half the recipe. That would reduce the fat, which is important in most diabetic foods. To me, the extra amount of filling would overwhelm the flavor of the cake.

For the lower-glycemic filling (1/2 the recipe):
Mix together -
4-oz. cream cheese
3 T. butter
1/2 t. vanilla

Add:
2 T. agave nectar (instead of powdered sugar)

When the agave nectar is well mixed into the cream cheese mixture...

Add: 1/4 c. dried milk powder.

I used a whey-based milk substitute. If you use regular non-fat dry milk powder, be sure to blend it to a fine powder before measuring it and better blending.

I'd also cut the cake into very thin slices for a diabetic serving.

For the ultimate diabetic cake, I'd suggest making the sponge cake with low-carb. coconut flour - but it would require it's own recipe since it doesn't exchange measure for measure for flour derived from wheat.

I ran these alterations by a friend who is a health-care professional who teaches food classes to patients with blood glucose challenges. We've worked together for several years - I've developed low-glycemic recipes for her to use with her patients. She thought most diabetics could use this cake, as long as the serving was only a thin slice and consumed after a meal which included protein. She was okay with the small amount of powdered sugar on the towel.

-Grainlady

Grainlady: My DH is a newly diagnosed diabetic and we are trying to find the right low glycemic foods-- and recipes -- for him. We're most interested to read your comments about the spelt flour and the Agave nectar. One big question: my research says that pumpkin in any form is a glycemic no-no, but your friend seems to think having this cake would be OK. Is my info incorrect?

I thought pumpkin was a great food for diabetics. It has fiber and a low carb count. Where did your pumpkin warning come from?

Pumpkin has a very low GI load. Here is a good site to refer too. I took it to the pumpkin information.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

westella -

First of all, I'm not an expert or medical professional...but I have spent over 10 years studying the subject.

Typically, my diet is mostly from whole foods (which generally are lower on the GI when compared to their processed counter-parts), and most of our choices are from the lower-half of the Glycemic Index of Foods Charts.

It is my understanding most diabetics can eat nearly any food - even sugar - it's about TOTAL carbohydrates - from whatever source.

Pumpkin - GI-79 (high), but the GL (glycemic load) is 3 (low) - as cathyid pointed out - a food with a GI of 55 is low, and a GL of 10 is low. (You can do more search on Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load.)

So consider the amount of the high-glycemic food, not just the food itself. As an example, two tablespoons of sugar in 12 wholegrain, high-fiber, muffins isn't much sugar per serving - nor is 2/3 c. pumpkin in a pumpkin roll that would serve 10 (according to the recipe) and I'd cut the roll into 15-20 servings.

Consider the amount of the high-glycemic ingredients within a combination of low-glycemic ingredients which include fiber/fats/proteins. In my altered recipe, I've increased fiber, lowered fat, lowered sugar, and used dry milk powder instead of powdered sugar - so that's increasing the protein. There is protein in the butter and cream cheese. Those can help lower the glycemic impact of the high-glycemic food when eaten together.

Ingredients like vinegar, lemon juice, cinnamon can also alter the uptake. There's cinnamon in the recipe, and a little lemon juice (1-t.) could also be added to the cake (in fact, I found recipes that included lemon juice).

You could also substitute sweet potato for pumpkin since they are lower on the GI.

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing foods. White potatoes are high-glycemic - a better choice is to use new potatoes because the sugar isn't completely developed in the immature potatoes.

Pasta is high-glycemic. You can lower it by using wholegrain (spelt pasta is a good choice), but also under cooking the pasta will lower the impact.

Spelt is the non-hybridized, ancient form of wheat. According to the book, "What Makes My Blood Glucose Go Up...and Down?", the GI value of spelt bread is 54, which is significantly lower than all the regular breads on the market. Lower the GI even more by using sprouted spelt flour.

Agave nectar is a natural, honey-like sweetener that is one of the lowest foods on the Glycemic Index. It works like sugar in baking; works to aid fermentation in breads; browns, holds moisture, unlike chemical sweeteners. It's sweeter than sugar, so less is needed.

Another under-used food by diabetics are Chana dal (split immature garbanzo beans). I believe they ARE the lowest ranking food on the GI. I get them through Bob's Red Mill.

Keep studying. There are a lot of resources out there that I've found very helpful.

- The Glucose Revolution
- The New Glucose Revolution
- The Glucose Revolution Life Plan
- The Everything Glycemic Index Cookbook
- The Complete Idiot's Gude to Glycemic Index Weight Loss
- Get the Sugar Out

Just to name a few resource books...

-Grainlady

Here is some good news....people with diabetes do not have to avoid sugar or eat specially-made desserts. Sugar should be used as part of their total carb intake. Find a normal pumpkin roll recipe that you like, make it, and the person with diabetes and everyone else should enjoy a small serving. And then go for a walk after dinner to burn up the extra carbs, skip the roll or other some other food item, or administer more medication if they take insulin.

In general, a high fiber (veggies, whole grains, & fruits), high complex carb diet is terrific for people with diabetes (can often recduce the need for medication), along with lean protein, healthy fats, and lowfat dairy products. The biggest issues for most Type 2 diabetics is that they are overweight and underactive and eat too many total calories and an overall poor quality diet.

I am an RD/nutritionist, and I work in an endocrine clinic. One of the best resources for people with diabetes are the publications and books put out by the American Diabetes Association. One of my favorites is "16 Myths of a diabetic Diet." Everyone with diabetes or someone who cares for people with diabetes should read this book! Most libraries have it or it is ~$15 on Amazon.

Grainlady offers terrrific information about grains and agave is a good low GI sweetner. I usually use 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and half white flour in all my dessert recipes with no effect on quality or taste. One small correction is that butter contain zero protein, and cream cheese contains very little protein. What these items do have is fat, which (like proteins too) blunts and slows the absorption of carbs in a meal. Diabetes control/blood sugar levels are indfluenced by several factors including medication, physical activity, food/total calorie intake, stress, hormonal influences, etc. People with diabetes should eat a normal, healthy diet (just like the rest of us) focusing on losing weight if they are overweight, adding exercise to their lives, and monitoring their blood sugars and hemoglobin A1cs so they are informed and taking care of their disease to the best of their abilities.

I am making a pumpkin roll for Thanksgiving dessert, there is a nice recipe in Ina Garten's new book "Back to Basics". It's filled with a marscapone cheese filling and the filling is flavored with minced dried crystallized ginger. I can type if out if you are interested.

Let's erase the myth right now that avoiding sugar is the main goal of nutrition therapy for people with diabetes. Sugar is just a form of carbohydrate, you just need to chose total carbs wisely and eat small portions of real higher sugar foods and desserts less often.

Boy, do we have a lot to learn. It seems the rules for diabetic meals have changed. Thanks for all the info. I'm off to do research.

Wow! Thank you all. I thought I knew quite a bit about what I should be making for mom & dad, and me too, as I am borderline. I will be doing some research. Thanks for the info.

Grainlady, thank you so much for your help. Where can I get agave necter? And spelt flour? I will be calling my local bulk food store, also, to see if they have it/can get it for me. Is it expensive?

I am sorry I didn't get back to anyone sooner. We were out of town yesterday.

Here is my late mother in law's recipe which is the one my daughter usually makes.

Pumpkin Cream Roll by Jane C.

3 eggs
1 c. sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 t. lemon juice
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
1 c. finely chopped nuts
Confectionery sugar
Filling:
1 package (8oz) cream cheese
4 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
1 c. confectionery sugar

Beat eggs in medium mixing bow. Gradually beat in sugar. Fold in pumpkin and lemon juice. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into a well greased 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan. Srinkle with nuts. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Quickly loosen sides with knife and turn out onto a thin towel. Generously sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Roll up, with towel, from wide side. Cool.

Thoroughly cream together filling ingredients. Unroll cake and spread with filling. Lifting cake off towel, roll up like a jelly roll and wrap in foil. Refrigerate until chilled. Cut in 1/2 inch slices and serve. Will keep in refrigerator for several days.

Thank you again, sooooo much!

Tami

Agave nectar - I get it through Amazon.com, but most health food stores carry it. Amazon.com seems to have the bargains - but Google it and check prices. I usually purchase a year's supply at a time.

There is a cookbook - Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener by Ania Catalano and Lara Hata (Amazon.com). I started by using recipes that use honey (substituting agave nectar) and then learned to alter recipes for myself. I won an International Low-Glycemic Recipe Contest (desserts division) using agave nectar as the sweetener in the recipes, a few years ago.

Spelt - I mill the whole grain - using about 25# of it a year. I saw sprouted spelt flour available at Amazon.com not long ago.

You may find some information about sprouted grains at the link below. I sprout and dry my own grains.

-Grainlady

As a husband with diabetes who controls his diabetes with diet and exercise I have to disagree with some of what has been said. If you are a diabetic and on medication, then yes, you can probably eat sugary desserts and potatoes once in a while. Things like sweet potatoes, potatoes, high sugar desserts, more than 2 pieces of bread a day (high fiber) do raise my husband's blood sugar beyond an acceptable blood sugar level for him.

He is not overweight and exercises daily - he has to be very careful about eating high carb foods like potatoes, desserts, etc. Powdered sugar combined with butter, flour, etc. is a lot of carbs especially if bread and other starches are being consumed at the same meal or eaten the same day.

Diabetics need to be careful about how much cholesterol and fat they are taking in - they are more prone to heart and kiney disease than people without diabetes...so it isn't just the sugar/carbs that should be looked at.

Every diabetic's metabolism is different...my husband cannot handle carb dense foods like a baked potato, a plate of pasta or too much bread without it causing a substantial rise in his blood sugar the next day, but again he is not on medication.

I find Agave nectar at the local grocery store where the honey is.

I will be looking for the agave necter and the spelt flour. We have both a bulk food store and a health food store locally. I will try there first.

Grainlady, is there a standard ratio that you use for the agave necter?

I'm going to look for the book you mentioned, also.

Thanks!
Tami

Most publications and on-line information say to use 25% less agave nectar than sugar called for (3/4 c. agave nectar for each 1 c. sugar), but I've found I can use much less than that in most cases. It depends on other ingredients and what part (food science) the sweetener plays in the type of food. If there are sweet ingredients or spices, you can often use less agave nectar than 25%.

In this wholegrain banana bread recipe - I use 1/4 c. agave nectar.

BANANA-POPPY SEED BREAD

1 c. mashed banana
1/4 c. agave nectar (OR 1/2 c. sugar)
1/2 c. milk (I use homemade kefir)
3 T. vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. all-purpose flour (I use wholegrain spelt flour)
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
2 T. poppy seeds (I substitute whole amaranth for an additional whole grain that is high in protein. They look like golden poppy seeds in the bread.)
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
vegetable cooking spray

Combine the bananas and agave nectar (or sugar) in a small bowl; stir well. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in milk, oil, and egg; set the mixture aside. Combine flours and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Make a well in center of mixture; add banana mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Spoon into 8-1/2x4-1/2x3-inch loaf pan (NOT a 9x5-inch pan usually used for quick breads) coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a rack.

Grainlady Note: I like to bake quick breads in a Danish Loaf pan (aka Tea Loaf Pan - see link below). It's longer and more narrow (12" x 4" x 2 1/2" pan holds the equivalent of a 9" x 5" loaf pan) with playing-card sized servings. It's easier to slice very thin slices from this type pan - important when control portion sizes. Plus, it bakes 25% faster than a 9x5 pan.
--------------------

WACKY CAKE
(a frosting-free snack cake)

1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour (soft wheat, or whole wheat pastry flour OR 1-1/2 c. + 2 T. spelt flour)
1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
3 T. cocoa powder (can eliminate)
1 T. vinegar
2 t. vanilla
5 T. butter, melted
2/3 c. agave nectar
1/3 c. cold water

Mix ingredients in an 8-inch square pan in this order:

-Combine all dry ingredients and mix well.
-Make 3 holes evenly spaced apart in dry ingredients.
-In first hole, put vinegar. In second hole, the vanilla. In third hole, melted butter.

Mix water and agave nectar together and pour over all the cake ingredients.

Stir well, using a dinner fork or spatula (be sure no dry ingredients remain in corners).

Bake at 325°F for 30-35 minutes.

One serving - 1/16 of cake (cut the cake into 16 pieces).

For spice cake: Omit the cocoa and add 1/2 t. Penzeys Cake Spice (www.penzeys.com). A mixture of: China cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves.
--------------------------------

Other agave nectar goodies (my original recipes):

COCONUT ALMOND CANDY
Melt:
2 T. butter in a frying pan
Add:
1/2 c. long-shred UNsweetened coconut
1/2 c. chopped raw almonds

Over medium heat, cook until the ingredients begin to brown. CAUTION - this will burn easily. Remove from heat.

Add:
2-3 T. agave nectar
1 t. almond flavoring

Stir well. Place in small paper candy cups. (I use a 100 size portion scoop for this - approx. 1 teaspoon.) Cool in a refrigerator at least 1/2 hour to set. Yield: approx. 20 pieces.

PROTEIN PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

1/2 c. whey powder (vanilla flavor)
1/2 c. peanut butter
2 T. agave nectar
1 t. vanilla or almond flavoring
Mix thoroughly with a dinner fork.

*If desired, add 1/2 to 3/4 c. crisp wholegrain rice cereal to the dough.

Roll into small (3/4 to 1-inch) balls.

*Toppings - Melt 1/2 c. chocolate chips and drizzle over the top. You can also dip the balls in a little agave nectar and then dip in chopped roasted almonds or toasted unsweetened coconut.
----------------------

VANILLA ICE CREAM
4 oz. EGG BEATERS (DO NOT substitute raw eggs)
1/4 c. agave nectar
1 c. Half & Half
2 c. cream
1-1/2 t. vanilla

In a 4-cup measuring cup or equal-sized bowl, combine Egg Beaters, agave nectar and vanilla and stir to mix.

Add cream and half and half.

Chill thoroughly in the freezer (just until ice crystals start to form on the edge.

Process in an ice cream maker of choice

AGAVE NECTAR CHOCOLATE SYRUP
1/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa Powder
1/2 c. agave nectar
1/2 c. cold water
Mix, with a whisk (it takes a bit of mixing to get it smooth). Store in refrigerator.

Serving: 1/2 c. ice cream and 1 T. cocolate syrup

-Grainlady

Thank you!

Cattnap, I understand completely what you are saying.

From what you describe (normal weight and exercises daily and sounds like healthy eating habits), it's likely that your husband needs to discuss with his doctor about starting on diabetes oral medication. Sometimes diabetes just progresses to the point where the pancreas just does not produce enought insulin, no matter what is eaten. The point of controlling diabetes with diet & exercise alone is not to overly restrict carbs -- all people with diabetes should eat 50% or more of their total calories as carbs -- mostly the good, complex ones form veggies, whole grains & fruits. About 15-20% of cals should be from protein, and 30-35% from healthy fats. Your husbands A1c is a good indicatior of overall diabetes control. Blood glucose monitoring 2 hours after a meal will also give very helpful information.