BILLINGS - November is American Diabetes month, an appropriate time for awareness considering the sweet temptations that come around this time every year. But dietitians and doctors agree, diabetics don't have to give up all of the once a year treats they love.

Tammy Schenk is a whiz in the kitchen. But before her diagnosis with diabetes 4 years ago, she wasn't exaclty a whiz at healthy eating. She says she has always been a baker. And with holidays comes a lot of baking and eating. Lane guyse, a dietitian with Saint Vincent Healthcare says, "It is a hard time of year. It's not just Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's all the parties in between too."

Tammy says when she got her diagnosis she started searching, "I just started reading up and searching for recipes, I was just looking for different kinds of recipes." Dietitians helped Tammy find a balance between sweets she loves and keeping her diabetes in check. Now she makes her old favorites, with alterations. "Pumpkin pudding, whole wheat banana bread, this is pumpkin pie with no crust." "With diabetes what you want to lookout for is sugar. You can substitute artificial sweeteners. There are other things you can do, cut down on fat. Replace oil with applesauce, use egg whites instead of the whole egg with the yolks." says Guyse.

"You can't think of it as a diet, it's a life style change. I've changed a lot of habits but haven't given anything up!" says Tammy. And Guyse says diabetic patients should indulge a little during the holidays. She says portion control can go a long way.

For more tips on making it through the holidays with diabetes, click on connections on our website.