Valentine's Day. Sure is a tough day to be diabetic if you have to fight a yearning for sugary treats that are nutritional no-nos. Is is possible to have a sweet Valentine's Day without sugar? Well, maybe. For starters, check out the DLife website. The folks over there have posted some handy hints on how to get by on the big, red, heart-shaped day without giving in to a candy craving. Their advice includes trying low-carb candies and (for couples in lurve) focusing on romance, flowers and the like.

As for helping diabetic kids to deal with the sugar deluge associated with V-Day, here are a couple of good suggestions: have them distribute non-foodie gifts with Valentine cards at school. Think along the lines of little, inexpensive items like stickers. They also advise stashing any candy your diabetic child may receive as a gift and keeping it to be distributed a little at a time.

You have to wonder if parents with diabetic kids have a particularly difficult time on holidays like this, which are so tied up with sticky treats. Must be hard to talk the little ones into going without. Seems to me the best solution for kids and adults is to refocus onto "safe" foods that are still fun and Valentine's Day-themed. Okay, you'll have to use your imagination a little, but life is full of challenges! For example, I liked the website Pioneer Thinking's suggestion: whipping up a big hot potful of spicy Gazpacho soup. It's healthy, affordable, red-hot and can be enjoyed by all. There's just no candy in it. Nor is it heart-shaped. (As I said, you need to use your imagination for this to work...) But what a great idea! I can see it now: in a future, alternate-universe America, people spurning red boxes of candy in exchange for hot and spicy cuisine. A bowl of chili and a bunch of roses for your True Love? Stranger things have happened in this world...