We know many people in our Divabetic community don’t like to celebrate the holidays because they feel they may disrupt their diabetes care. But with a little pre-planning and guidance from your healthcare entourage you can still enjoy Easter related festivities without failing your diabetes.
“Don’t let diabetes dim your dazzle!”
We asked several experts, Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’ and Karline Ricketts, CEO/Master Stylist to share their favorite recipes and hair tips to encourage you to celebrate a Divabetic Easter in style without compromising your diabetes health.
Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’ loves to bake! While she was attending cooking school she began creating diabetic-friendly recipes for breads, cakes and other desserts by swapping out the sugar, blending the flour and cutting the milk carbohydrates after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,. Here’s one of the Diabetic Pastry Chef’s most requested recipes:
Easter Basket Cupcakes Recipe by Stacey “The Diabetic Pastry Chef” Harris
Cupcakes Ingredients
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup Whey Low D Granular, or dry sweetener of your choice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
Directions
Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and beat until combined and Whey Low or other sweetener is dissolved.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fill 12 paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven approximately 20 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean.
Frosting Ingredients
1 cup milk
5 T all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup trans-fat-free shortening
1 cup sugar, Whey Low D Granular, or other dry sweetener of your choice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
In saucepan combine milk and flour. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thick paste forms, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
In mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, sweetener, and vanilla until creamy. Add chilled milk mixture. Beat at least 10 minutes. Spread on cooled cupcakes.
Please note: a tub of sugar-free vanilla frosting can be substituted for this frosting recipe.
Topping Ingredients
1 bag sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes
green food coloring
sugar-free or low sugar jelly beans
12 pipe cleaners (can be purchased at cigarette/cigar store or drug store)
Directions
Color the coconut flakes with the green food coloring. Spread on top of frosted cupcakes and press down a little. Scatter several jelly beans on top and gently press down. Bend the pipe cleaners and stick into the sides of the cupcakes as handles.
Stacey Harris has transformed more than 200 desserts into diabetic-friendly delights. COOKBOOK
Is Wearing An Easter Bonnet Harmful to Your Hair?
Topping off your Easter best with a bonnet or hat is as ‘sweet’ as adding frosting to a cupcake but can it damage your hair?
Karline Ricketts, CEO/Master Stylist, opened her first salon in West Palm Beach, FL over 30 years ago to provide an upscale client environment for a growing ethnic consumer market. Karline offers these tips for wearing a hat responsibly:
Style your hair a bit fuller than you normally would before you put on a hat to keep some of the volume when you take it off.
Never put a hat on your wet hair. Doing so may cause tension, breakage and the ultimate case of hat head when the hair is dry.
Give your hair room to breathe. Wearing a tight hat causes the hair to get greasy at the roots but dry at the ends. When the hat rubs against dry hair, it may cause it to break. A tight hat will put pressure on your head (it should feel comfortable and not pressed against your head), crush your curls and make your scalp sweat, making the situation worse.
Wear a satin cap or scarf underneath your hat to prevent your hair from breaking and dryness and to preserve your hairstyle or choose hats with a satin or silk lining.
Don’t miss Fabulous 2017, an evening of extraordinary elegance benefiting Divabetic, presented by Karline’s Salon on Saturday, May 20, 2017, 7 PM. Enjoy magical night of culture and community, colors and curls, and trend-setting fashions in a spectacular runway show. BUY TICKETS
Don’t Let the Parade Pass You By!
I’’ll be raising awareness for diabetes in a fun, new way at this year’s Annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in New York on Sunday, April 16, 2017, 12:30 PM
Tune in to Facebook Live (Divabetic) to catch all the sights and sounds live from the Red Carpet with guests Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP, diabetes advocate, Laura Laria and hat designer, Evetta Petty and more!