Thursday, July 7, 2011

Quick and Easy Diabetic Dishes With Only 5 Ingredients-Diabetic Connect

Quick and Easy Diabetic Dishes With Only 5 Ingredients
Nothing beats a delicious meal—unless it's a delicious meal that's also easy to make. Each of these diabetic recipe favorites has only 5 ingredients. That means less time in the kitchen, and more time to relax and enjoy them! We've included 5-ingredient recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert—try them all!

Beat Diabetes on an Airplane-Reverse Diabetes

Beat Diabetes on an Airplane
For many of us, summertime means vacation time. Get out that bright, splashy-colored Hawaiian shirt, plaid shorts, and big, floppy hat, because it’s time for fun and relaxation. If you have diabetes, you need to get from point A (your house) to point R&R (your vacation getaway) in a healthy way. Diabetes doesn’t limit your ability to travel. But you need to plan ahead and take precautions so that while you’re getting away from it all, your blood sugar isn’t getting away from you. Whether you’re loading up the family wagon or hopping a jet, these 10 sensible tips will make your travel smoother and vacation more enjoyable.

Check with your doc. It’s always a good idea to have a thorough exam before going on a trip. Knowing everything is fine and dandy will ease the travel anxiety you might experience before hitting the road.
Prep for security. Expect your diabetes supplies to be noticed and possibly questioned by airport security. But rest assured, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow you to board a plane with insulin, syringes, and an insulin-delivery system. You can carry lancets on board as long as they’re capped and can carry a glucose meter with a manufacturer’s name printed on it. At the security checkpoint, mention to the screener that you’re diabetic and have your supplies. That little heads-up will make the process smoother and quicker.
Bring along scripts. While prescriptions or a doctor’s letter aren’t necessary when traveling, it’s a good idea to have them handy. If you have them, it makes it much easier to refill any medication. Also, have your doctor provide a printout of all your medications in case you need medical attention on vacation. And also be sure that nonprescription items are clearly labeled and in their original containers.
Keep supplies close. Especially if you’re traveling by plane, keep your insulin, syringes, test strips, and other supplies in your carry-on luggage and within arm’s reach. You could pack extra supplies in your checked luggage, but be sure you have enough at hand to endure tarmac delays or summertime traffic jams.
Double up supplies. Bring about twice as much diabetic supplies as you think you’ll need. It’s easier to carry extra than to get more on the road.
Wear life-saving bling. If you don’t already have one, get a medical ID bracelet or necklace that alerts people that you have diabetes and provides emergency numbers.
Pack a snack. Wherever you go, take a portable snack, such as an apple, energy bar, banana, raisins, or cheese and crackers in case your blood sugar starts to dip when you don’t have immediate access to food. If you munch on snacks en route, don’t forget to replenish your supplies.
Eat by the clock. When traveling, stick to your regular mealtime schedule to keep your blood sugar stable. When that’s not possible, carry glucose tablets and be alert to symptoms of low blood sugar, such as nervousness, sweating, and crankiness. If you feel a hypoglycemic episode coming on while driving, pull over and take several glucose tablets. Wait at least 10 or 15 minutes for the feeling to pass before becoming a road warrior again.
Soothe your soles. Pack two pairs of comfortable shoes, so you can air out one pair while strolling around in the other. Shoes should be broken in before the trip, so leave new ones at home. Be cautious around places that can harm your tootsies. For example, wear water shoes at the beach to protect your feet from hot sand, rough sidewalks, and sharp pebbles. Bring a baggie with several sheets of moleskin and bandages as a first-aid kit for your feet.
Zone in on zones. Traveling across time zones can throw off your normal insulin and meal schedule. A good rule of thumb: When adding hours to your day as you travel west, you may need to take more insulin. When losing hours by traveling east, you may need less. And to ease into a new time zone, stick to your old schedule one evening, then switch your watch and your insulin schedule the morning after you arrive.
Featured Recipe
RecipeRoasted Red Pepper and Chickpea Dip with Pita Chips
The chickpea is a near-perfect food, delicately flavored and rich in protein, fiber, folate, iron, and zinc. Not only that, but the chickpea is a culinary wonder that blends well in everything from soups to salads to stews—and in this deliciously healthy dip.
Serves 12
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped jarred roasted red bell peppers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 whole-wheat pita breads
Preparation:
1    In a small skillet set over low heat, heat the cumin until it becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2    Puree the cumin, chickpeas, bell peppers, oil, lemon juice, garlic, and ground red pepper in a food processor until smooth. Scrape into a container and refrigerate until the flavors are blended, about 1 hour.
3    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Separate the pitas along the edges to make four flat circles. Stack and cut them into six pie-shaped wedges. Spread in a single layer on the prepared pan and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with the dip.
Per serving (2 tablespoons): 33 cal, 1 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 4 g carbs, 1 g protein, 1 g fiber, 0 mg chol, 33 mg sodium, 8 mg calcium

Great Ideas
5 Ways to Make Mexican Food Healthier
Whether you’re fixing Mexican food at home or eating out at your favorite south-of-the-border-themed restaurant, dining on this ethnic fare can be a blood-sugar challenge. Portions are usually huge, with tortillas bigger than your head, and piles of white rice and cheese smothering everything. To still say “ole,” here are five tips for Mexican dining. 
1. Ditch the chips. Ask the waitperson to take away the tortilla chips. As the Mexican equivalent of a big breadbasket, those chips are loaded with carbs and fat (they’re fried, remember?).
2. Go soft. For your tacos or to scoop up healthy dips like guacamole, opt for soft tacos. The hard versions (or chips) are fried. Another reason to forget chips: Each one has about 1 gram or more of fat.
3. Be app smart. Fortunately, there are plenty of healthy appetizer choices for your Mexican fiesta. For example, order or make your own ceviches (marinated raw fish or seafood), and soups like spicy cold gazpacho (vegetable), black bean, and tortilla.
4. Make fajitas the main course. Made with lean beef, chicken, or shrimp and grilled with onions and peppers, fajitas don’t have fatty ingredients in other dishes.
5. Opt for black beans and rice. Even if you have a sensible entrĂ©e, side dishes can bust your diet plan. Because of the beans, this dish has a lower GL than rice alone. Just make sure the beans aren’t refried, because those hombres can be loaded with fat. Many Mexican restaurants offer black beans as an alternative to refried—a perfect choice.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Celebrate Living Well With Diabetes and Win! and More-Diabetic Living

We’re Living It! Photo Contest
There are so many ways to celebrate your life—even with diabetes in the picture. Enter the We’re Living It! photo contest now for a chance to win $500! Just upload a photo from July 1-August 5 showing how you live well with diabetes. Then get ready to vote daily from August 15-August 28 for your favorites. Plus, find practical tips and delicious recipes to help you live your best. Diabetes doesn’t stop you and that makes us celebrate!
·Successfully Manage Type 2 Diabetes
·The Diabetic Chef’s Best Recipes
·See Renee’s Extreme Diabetes Makeover
·Finding Acceptance & Confidence with Diabetes


Sandwich Recipes
·Slow Cooker Sandwiches
·Our Best Sandwich Recipes
·Saucy Barbecue Sandwiches

Restaurant Makeovers
·Delicious Italian Favorites
·Mexican-Inspired Recipes
·Our Best Brunch Recipes


Weight Loss Secrets
·12 Tips for Weight Loss
·Lose Weight for Good
·Are You an Overeater?

Worst Coctails for Blood Sugar and More-dLife Foodstuff

Worst Cocktails for Blood Sugar
Which is worse, wine or champagne? Before heading to your 4th of July festivities, find out how your favorite libations rank. Go to the list now.

Impossible Berry Pie
Looking for a dFriendly dessert that's full of red, white, and blue? Try this delicious, crustless pie loaded with in-season berries. Watch the video (or just get the recipe.)

Grilled Pork Loin with Chimichurri
Whip up this simple marinade and let the pork soak overnight. Grill it up the next day and your guests will ask for seconds. Get the recipe.

How to Cook Barley or Wheat
Lloyd asks: "Ever tried to cook whole grain barley or wheat?" Talk about it in the dLife Food Talk forum.

Diet May "Reverse" Type 2 Diabetes
According to a small study from the UK, people with type 2 diabetes may be able to "reverse" the disease by going on a very-low-calorie diet for two months. Read the news.



Amazingly Healthy Food Swaps and More-Reverse Diabetes

Amazingly Healthy Food Swaps
You can easily tell the health-oriented food shoppers. They’re the ones reading the food labels on every box or bag they pick up at the store. More and more of us are doing this these days, and that’s a great thing: Learning the amount of carbs, sugar, fats, protein, and sodium in the food you eat is just what you need to better manage your diabetes.

Sadly, one of the best measures of a food’s impact on your blood sugar is nowhere to be found on food labels today. It’s the Glycemic Load, and it indicates how much one serving of a particular food raises your blood sugar. Most no-carb foods, like beef, have a zero GL because eating it has no immediate effect on your blood sugar. A food with GL of 10 (such as 1/2 cup of orange juice) or less is considered low—and a good choice for avoiding blood-sugar swings. A measure of 11 to 19 is a medium-GL food; and those foods with a GL of 20 or higher should be viewed with caution and weighed carefully against other choices you make during your day.

What’s the GL mean for meal planning? Keeping the GL in mind as you create a menu, can help you balance meals. You’re less likely to experience energy ups and downs throughout the day and you stand a better change of shedding weight when monitoring your GL. Coordinating the GL of foods before and after exercise will also ensure that you’ll make the most of your workouts.

GL measures for many foods are easily found online. The trick is to take a few moments as you do your meal planning to check out the GL levels of the foods you plan to include. If too many are above 10, consider making some swaps.

When using GL as a tool, be aware that the GL of any particular food is closely tied to portion size. If you have three or four servings of a low GL food, it won’t help manage your blood sugar. So, no fudging on portion sizes (especially if it’s fudge).

Here are some high GL foods and examples of low GL swaps.

Breads
Swap white bread    GL 22
For whole-grain pumpernickel    GL 10
Swap Middle Eastern flatbread    GL 30
For wheat tortillas    GL 6

Breakfast Cereals
Swap cornflakes    GL 24
For All-Bran    GL 9
Swap instant Cream of Wheat    GL 22
For oatmeal from rolled oats    GL 7

Beverages
Swap Coca-Cola    GL 24
For tomato juice    GL 4
Swap cranberry juice cocktail    GL 36
For unsweetened grapefruit juice    GL 7

Sweets
Swap Mar’s Bar    GL 26
For M&Ms with peanuts    GL 6
Swap jelly beans    GL 22
For Nutella    GL 4

Vegetables
Swap French fries    GL 22
For raw carrots    GL 3
Swap baked russet potato    GL 26
For baked sweet potato    GL 17

Dried fruit
Swap raisins    GL 28
For grapes    GL 8
Swap dates    GL 25
For apricots    GL 9
 

Featured Recipe

RecipeFried Chicken
Don’t be shocked! This long-time favorite comfort food can actually be diabetes friendly. Swap the old deep-fried recipe for an oven-baked one without skin and with a lighter breading, and you’ll still have that savory, crispy taste you love. 

Serves 6
Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt, to taste (optional)
Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
Preparation:
1    Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2    Rinse the chicken, pat dry, and season with the salt and pepper, if desired.
3    Combine the milk and egg white in a medium bowl. Place the cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Dip each chicken piece in the egg and milk, then roll in the cornflake crumbs until well coated.
4    Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray the tops with cooking spray and bake until brown and crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.

Great Ideas
Excuse-Proof Your Outdoor Exercise
To relive your childhood, you have to do one, simple thing: Open the door and go outside. Once you’re connected to the outdoors, you’ll rediscover your sense of playfulness. Before you know it, you’re moving your body, exercising without even thinking about it, and just plain having fun.

Too many of us are cooped up indoors all day and all night, except for when we go to and from our cars. Compare that with how much time we spent outside as kids. Mom had to literally drag us in sometimes, right? For your health and wellness, it’s time to return to that part of your childhood. Start with a goal of being outside at least two hours a day. It doesn’t have to be all at once, but over a week you can sneak outside for 15 minutes here and there, and it’ll add up. Outdoor time will help you break the grip of the indoor disease.

To make stepping outside easier, here’s how to hurdle over three typical excuses. See you on the other side of the door!

Excuse #1: I only have a few minutes; no time to do anything outside.
The way outside: Pour your coffee into a travel mug and wander around your backyard or around the block. You don’t have to go on an expedition, just step out for 5 or 10 minutes.

Excuse #2: It always takes too long to get ready to take a bike ride or find my sports equipment.
The way outside: The evening before, set out clothes and any gear you’ll need, like your bike helmet. If it’s all handy when you wake up, you’re more likely to suit up and go.

Excuse #3: It’s raining. It’s pouring. I’d rather be snoring.
The way outside: Take a cue from golfers and open up one of those huge golf-style umbrellas, go for a walk, and enjoy the outdoors. You’ll be surprised how relaxing and sensual the sound and feel of walking in the rain can be. 

Easy Ways to Slash Sugar

Tips to Take Out Added Sugar
Added sugar can crop up in everything from yogurt to salad dressings. Desserts also pose a problem when trying to cut added sugar. Good news! We have the information you need to slash sugar, plus tips to make the most of sugar substitutes.
·Choose This, Not That Low–Sugar Foods
·Get the Skinny on Sugar Substitutes
·Tips on Baking with Sugar Substitutes
·Wow! 20 Low–Carb Dessert Recipes
·Light Dessert Secrets from the Test Kitchen


Take Control Tips
·Fun Ways to Get Fit Together
·Start Now! Tips to Lower A1C
·Plate Method Meal Ideas


Lower Blood Sugar
·What You Should Know
·13 Tips to Control Blood Sugar
·Lower Your Morning Highs

Friday, July 1, 2011

Carb-Friendly Country Breakfasts and More-Diabetic Connect

Here are some great breakfast recipes for your July 4th weekend.  HAPPY 4TH everyone!!!!

Carb-Friendly Country Breakfasts
Get your day off to a great start! Wake up to these mouth-watering country breakfasts that help you keep an eye on your carbs. There's something for everyone: a fluffy frittata with fresh veggies and melted cheese, hearty maple and cinnamon oatmeal, fresh cornbread muffins, a delicious oven-baked spinach and egg dish, and if you're looking for something different, wait till you taste our zesty Cactus with Eggs!


Chicken casserole
This easy-fix dinner is a family favorite. It smells so good while it's baking in the oven and tastes even better! Enjoy tender chicken, veggies, and mushrooms in a rich, savory sauce. Seconds, anyone?

Pineapple Waldorf Salad Is a Summer Delight!
Pineapple & apple salad Here's a refreshing salad that's a sweet treat yet has only 90 calories and 13g carbs! Make it in minutes, then nibble it while relaxing outdoors on a lazy summer day.