Our favorite “DIVAbetic” Patti LaBelle is taking her dessert expertise to the next level with a new cookbook. Her fourth cookbook, entitled Desserts LaBelle: Soulful Sweets to Sing About, will be released April 25 and is available for preorder on Amazon now.
The singer, author, and actress, who is living with type 2 diabetes, is known for her sweet potato pie that became popular after a review on youtube went viral.
For years Patti LaBelle has been very outspoken about managing diabetes after experiencing a health scare during an open-air performance in New York City. Toward the end of the show, just after singing “Over the Rainbow,” she collapsed onstage, in front of thousands of fans. She was rushed to the hospital and was revived. An hour later, she was informed she had diabetes—her blood glucose was 600 mg/dL.
“I had no clue that I had diabetes,” LaBelle explained. “I’m one of those black women who just doesn’t go to see doctors. Had I not passed out, I would have never suspected that I had diabetes.”
But, in truth, LaBelle was no stranger to diabetes. She had watched her mother die from diabetes-related complications at the age of 58. So, LaBelle knew that she had to stop everything and take an active role in managing her condition.
While Patti still enjoys feeding friends and family her famous fried chicken and potato salad made with 12 eggs, she’s also learned to adapt her style to suit her needs.
“I’ll make an apple pie the regular way for everyone else, but I’ll also bake one with a sugar substitute for me.”
Her book written with Laura Randolph Lancaster is filled with her favorite recipes for pies, cakes, cookies, and puddings, as well as a chapter on diabetic-friendly recipes, moving personal stories from her career and life.
Patti is also an award-winning author of five books, three of which were New York Times bestsellers. She is the host of Patti LaBelle’s Place on the Cooking Channel, and the creator of Patti’s Sweet Potato Pie. She lives in Philadelphia.
Don’t miss March’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast inspired by Gladys Knight & the Pips on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 6-7:30 PM, EST.
Gladys Knight doesn’t have diabetes, but the disease is as close to her heart as the memories of her mother, Elizabeth Knight, who died of complications from the disease in 1997. A five-time Grammy award winner, Knight is as busy as ever gracing the entertainment world with her exceptional voice. Yet she never misses an opportunity to voice the message of early detection and treatment of diabetes.
Gladys shares her final words of wisdom: ” Do something about diabetes … Know more, do more!” Knight feels nearly as passionate about spreading that message as she does about the incredible singing career her mom helped her launch some 54 years ago.
Guests include Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’, Mary Ann Hodorowicz, RD, LDN, MBA, CDE, CEC, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Diabetic Divas Unite, SleepyHead Central, Poet Lorraine Brooks and Mama Rose Marie.