Manage your Blood Sugar with this Carb Friendly Appetizer: Crab Salad on Endive

November 10, 2017

By Registered Dietitian, Kay "KayMac" MacInnis

Download the printable recipe.

November is Diabetes Awareness month! There are many of us impacted by diabetes and the world of elevated blood sugars. This month, Providence Health is hosting a series of classes around lifestyle and the things we can do to positively impact blood sugar. 

It is all about eating smart and moving more. Keeping blood sugars in a healthy range can make you feel better, and give you more energy to do the things you enjoy. You control the diabetes/pre-diabetes by taking steps to learn more about the disease. The more you know, the better you are.

Using carbohydrate counting as a tool to help with blood sugar control can make a difference in how food choices affect you. It is not avoiding all carbs, but learning how to incorporate the best choices into your eating habits. 

Tips for Managing your Blood Sugar:

• Choose whole grains as often as possible, the options with more fiber
• Include beans and legumes, be sure to limit the high fat options for seasoning
• Keep fruits as close to natural as possible
• Try to avoid beverages with sugar (sweet tea, soft drinks and juice)
• Be sure to include a variety of colorful veggies
• Think about the portion size of your choices — when trying to make better choices to help with blood sugar control think about quantity and quality of the carbohydrate. 

Try skipping the simple carbs altogether like replacing crackers with a firm piece of endive. Here’s a recipe to learn that trick.

Crab Salad on Endive

Ingredients:

• 2 scallions, thinly sliced 
• ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 Tablespoons reduced fat sour cream
• 2 teaspoons grainy Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• Dash of hot sauce, to taste
• 1 pound lump crab or crab claw meat, picked through
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 head of endive, leaves separated
•  fresh dill for garnish
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

Preparations:

Mix all ingredients together in mixing bowl and chill for two hours. Place 3 Tablespoons of crab salad in endive leaf cup and garnish with fresh dill and lemon wedge. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information: Exact nutrition analysis unavailable due to variance in in serving size
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This is another in a weekly series of healthy recipes from Kay MacInnis, registered dietitian at Providence Health in Columbia, S.C.

Kay promotes health and wellness, helping cardiac and diabetes patients eat their way to healthier lives. She works in consultation with the trained chefs at Providence, combining her nutrition knowledge with their food prep know-how to create delicious, healthy dishes for patients and the public. She also conducts a number of health and wellness events for the public, including the monthly Providence Cooks! classes.

"She doesn't just give you the fish, she teaches you how to cook it."

 – a Kay MacInnis fan and Providence Cooks! regular.