Divabetic’s Mysteries podcast, Kill Me Madam, is packed with loads of diabetes information and self-care tips wrapped up in a cozy mystery radio drama.
There’s a good indication that murder might be part of the recipe when Nantucket’s ten-time reigning Baking Champion’s last name is ‘Coffin.’
But resentment, greed, and Britannia’s bad dealings turn everyone into a suspect when she’s found dead in the parking lot just before the Annual Decadents on Deck! Bake Off competition is about to kick off.
Delusional baker and amateur sleuth Mr. Divabetic is even shocked to find himself being treated as a suspect in the case by the local police after meeting her just once!
As if his life wasn’t crazy enough before, escaping a murderous mishap in New York and attempting a fresh start in Nantucket has become a complete and utter baking disaster.
Max, along with his friends and nosy mother, have to add tracking down a murderer to his To-Do list, too.
Can our team hunt down the real murderer before they strike again? Will he become the next victim? Can Max ever manage to bake an edible cake?
Stevia, acesulfame K, and sucralose are low-calorie sweeteners that can be 200–600 times sweeter than sugar. Our friend, Stacey Harris known as the The Diabetic Pastry Chef recommends using multiple sugar substance rather than just one substitute in your best recipes for the best results.
Almond or coconut flour are lower in carbohydrates and higher in fiber, which can help slow down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.
For more baking tips and a captivating murder mystery, tune in to Divabetic’s Mysteries podcast: Kill Me Madam on YouTube, Blog Talk Radio, iTunes and Spotify.
FEATURING Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, CoachThe Cure‘s Trisha Artman, Mama Rose Marie, and Seveda Williams.
Carb Kitty make carbohydrate counting fun! Carbohydrate counting, or “carb counting,” can help you manage your blood glucose levels. Foods that contain carbohydrates raise your blood glucose values. By monitoring the amount of carbohydrates you eat can help to better understand your blood glucose levels.
Carbohydrates (“carbs”) can be counted 2 ways: by grams or by carb choices. Remember: 1 carb choice = 15 grams of carbohydrate. Mr. Divabetic’s new educational game, Carb Kitty, makes counting carbs fun.
Stacey Harris, The Diabetic Pastry Chef,participated in Divabetic’s first-ever World Menopause Day program on Zoom. During the program, Stacey demonstrated how to make her Sugar-Free Butter-Rum Cakelets and answered participants’ questions.
Stacey defined ‘sugar-free baking’ as baking without any sugar. But she added that her recipes contain carbohydrates. After you eat carbohydrates (grains, flour, etc.) your body turns those carbohydrates into glucose (sugar). Glucose gives your cells energy. The glucose moves into the bloodstream and your blood sugar level rises.
Everyone has a different carbohydrate tolerance. One person may be able to eat a carb-heavy diet with no problem, and another may get blood sugar spikes and gain weight from eating very few carbohydrates. Both people can be healthy, as long as they are eating within their personal tolerance levels. Talk to your healthcare collaborator about what plan is best for you.
Mini bundt cakes with icing sugar on rack
Sugar-Free Butter- Rum Cakelets
Stacey says, “This cake comes together a little differently than most cakes, but is very moist with rum and delicious!”
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar substitute of your choice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup evaporated milk
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup rum of your choice.
Directions
Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, sugar substitute, butter, and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed for several minutes until the mixture is crumbly and sandy-looking.
Mix in the milk. Next, mix in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each, remembering to scrape the sides of the bowl well after each egg is added.
Add the rum and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Pour the batter and spread it into the cavities of two cakelet pans with six cavities each.
Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 35 or 40 minutes, or until the cakes look golden brown and begin to loosen from the sides of the pan. Let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing.
Unmold the cakelets and, with a skewer, fork, or toothpick, prick holes into the cakelets straight down to the bottoms of each.
Butter-Rum Sauce
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar substitute of your choice
1/4 cup water
1/2 to 3/4 cup rum of your choice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Add butter, sugar substitute, and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 7 or 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool completely. Add the rum and vanilla extract.
Slowly spoon the sauce over each cakelet. Cover cakelets with plastic wrap and allow to sit for several hours or overnight. The cakelets will not look glazed. They can be frozen or stored at room temperature for several days. Yield: 12 cakelets.
Mr. Divabetic talks to Dr. Michael Grego, the “Keto Doc,” on this podcast with musical inspiration from legendary DJ John Loungo.
The keto diet reduces the number of carbohydrates you eat and teaches your body to burn fat for fuel instead. The keto diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. The standard keto diet consists of 70% to 80% fats, 10% to 20% proteins, and 5% to 10% carbohydrates.
Dr. Grego is a Naturopathic Physician and the author of 3 books, The Nutritional Ketogenic Diet, Clean Keto vs. Dirty Keto, andThe InsulThin Diet.
Dr. Grego’s unique approach emphasizing insulin resistance and sugar has been foundational in creating the revolutionary insulThin Diet. We will discuss how he created his step-by-step nutrition blueprint for the popular Ketogenic diet.
Throughout the podcast, we feature music from The Essential John Luongo album courtesy of SONY Music.
I attended the 25th annual Broadway Barks pet adoption event in Shubert Alley on Broadway on Saturday, July 8, 2023. People could meet and greet adoptable cats and dogs with celebrity presentations hosted by Broadway Barks co-founder and Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters and Randy Rainbow and appearances by Josh Groban from ‘Sweeney Todd’ and Jason Alexander from ‘Seinfeld.’
Several celebrities showed up. Marsha Mason, and Carol Kane, introduced dogs with multiple health issues up for adoption. Tony winner Victoria Clark from “Kimberly Akimbo” introduced a beautiful dog.
Perhaps the strangest moment of the rag-tag show featuring ongoing sound system issues was Donna Murphy’s heartfelt but uninteresting tribute to her dog. The long-winded, dull-as-dishwater story of her dog’s adoption, with tidbits like her dog, hails from South Carolina, after a delayed start, left audience members wanting to give her the hook. “Learn how to read the room, lady,” one disgruntled audience member barked at the stage. Her story had nothing to do with the actual dogs up for adoption.
Tony winner Victoria Clark from “Kimberly Akimbo” introduced a beautiful dog. Victoria Clark has performed in numerous Broadway musicals and other theatre, film, and television works. Her soprano voice can also be heard on various cast albums and animated films.
Ageless Bernadette Peters was often abrupt with her cohost and seemed distracted during most of the show. However, she and Divabetic inspiration Mary Tyler Moore co-founded Broadway Barks.
Mary Tyler Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 33 years; she was on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her public statements about type 1 diabetes humanized the condition and gave voice to the thoughts, struggles, and experiences of many others living with the disease.
She changed the world for people living with diabetes, researchers seeking its cure, and health care providers for those with the disease.
“Mary will go down in the annals of comedy history as a genius comedy actor,” Bernadette Peters told ABC News’ “20/20.” “She was an original… She came from a true place inside herself, which we all can relate to. She made us look at it in a different way, in a funny way.”
Over 1,700 dogs and cats have found permanent homes due to Broadway Barks. Originally conceived as a program to promote the adoption of shelter animals, Broadway Barks has fostered a community spirit among many animal shelters and rescue groups.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS produces Broadway Barks each year, providing the talent and expertise that has helped make Broadway Barks successful and memorable year after year.
Mr. Divabetic chats with ‘New York Times bestselling author Mark Dagostino about his latest book Ellie & Coach: Diabetes, the Fight for My Daughter’s Life, and the Dog Who Changed Everythingon this episode of Divabetic’s popular podcast.
Elle & Coach is the true story of a Type-A mom struggling to care for a daughter who has Type 1 diabetes and of an incredible service dog who changes their lives for the better.
Stefany Shaheen tries everything to manage her daughter Elle’s deadly and unpredictable disease. Overcoming the skepticism that a dog can provide answers that medical science is still seeking, the family finds a resounding sense of peace and reassurance through Coach’s near miraculous abilities as a medic-alert dog, specially trained to detect dangerous changes in blood sugar levels.
Plus, Professional Animal Trainer Debby Kay, who specializes in scent detection work with dogs, shares how diabetes-alert dogs help people with type 1 diabetes. Debby Kay’s Super Sniffer® Medical Alert Dog Seminar for Trainers provides everything you need to start.
Divabetic’s Carb Kitty Games make carbohydrate counting fun! Carbohydrate counting or “carb counting” can help you manage your blood glucose levels.
Most adults with diabetes aim for 45-60 grams of carbs per meal and 15-20 grams per snack. That number may go up or down, depending on how active you are and the medicines you take, so check with your healthcare collaborator.
Foods that contain carbohydrates raise your blood glucose values. By monitoring the number of carbohydrates, you eat can help to better understand your blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates (“carbs”) can be counted in 2 ways: by grams or by carb choices.
Remember, 1 carb choice or one serving of carbohydrates = 15 grams of carbohydrate. For example, one slice of bread, a small piece of fruit, or an ear of corn each have around 15 grams of carbs. Each of these equals one carb serving.
Most food items have nutrition labels on their packaging, showing the total carbohydrate count per serving. Be sure to look at the serving size, too. Certain packaged foods may contain more servings than you think. If you are eating out, call the restaurant, check out their website, or ask for their menu nutrition facts when you arrive.
Put together a food journal for many foods and meals you normally eat and their carb count per your typical serving. This can be something you keep on your smartphone or tablet. Start by writing down the foods and beverages you eat at each meal. If you don’t know the portion size you usually eat, measure the food and take note of the portion size. Next, combine the individual foods into meals, and add the total carbohydrate count for each meal.
Over time, you’ll know how many carbs are in certain foods you eat and how they affect your blood glucose levels.
Divabetic‘s Carb Kitty game videos make carbohydrate counting fun!
Carbohydrate counting, or “carb counting,” can help you manage your blood glucose levels.
Foods that contain carbohydrates raise your blood glucose values. By monitoring the amount of carbohydrates you eat can help to better understand your blood glucose levels.
Carbohydrates (“carbs”) can be counted 2 ways: by grams or by carb choices.
Remember: 1 carb choice = 15 grams of carbohydrate.
The golden rule of treating hypoglycemia know as ‘15–15 rule’—have 15 grams of carbohydrate to raise your blood sugar and check it after 15 minutes. If it’s still below 70 mg/dL, have another serving. Repeat these steps until your blood sugar is at least 70 mg/dL. Once your blood sugar is back to normal, eat a meal or snack to make sure it doesn’t lower again.
We’re talking about a ‘New Year, New You‘ attitude about living with diabetes with musical inspiration from Aaliyah on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast.
Although Aaliyah died at the age of 22 and had a short music career due to her early passing, the singer’s music helped to redefine R&B, pop, and even hip-hop. And her legacy continues to live on. Her hard work ethic, creativity, and her sweet demeanor have inspired fans over the past two decades.
Diabetes Late Nite podcast guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Pendulum Therapeutics CEO and Co-Founder Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph. D., (the maker of Pendulum Glucose Control), Virginia Valentine, APRN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE, Dr. Darren Wayne from MealBetix and Yoga For Diabetes Author Rachel Zinman.
Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from Aaliyah’s Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number album courtesy of SONY Music.
Choosing healthy snacks can be difficult when you have diabetes.
The key is to choose snacks that are high in fiber, protein and healthy fats. These nutrients will help keep your blood sugar levels under control.
It’s also important to snack on nutrient-dense foods that promote overall health.
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans have close to 15 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber in a 1-cup (164-gram) serving of chickpeas, making them an excellent snack for people with diabetes.
Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine’s Hommus Crisps
One of our new favorite snacks, Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine’s Hommus Crisps‘ contain: chickpeas, green lentils, corn, sesame seeds, vegetable oil, sea salt.
Enoy this popular, low carb Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe from Collar Greens Health & Wellness Day presented at Central Farm Markets in Fairfax, VA. This recipe is adapted from the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Forecast Magazine.
A low-carb diet can help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates or carbs raise blood sugar levels more than other foods.
Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
6 large lettuce leaves, Boston or Bibb lettuce works well
4 oz. skinless chicken breast, grilled or poached, and finely chopped
2 tbsp Asian peanut sauce (recipe below)
1 carrot, julienned or grated
1 red pepper, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Directions
Toss the chicken with the peanut sauce
Laying a piece of the lettuce on a plate. Top the lettuces with the chicken, peanut sauce, carrots, peppers, and scallions. Roll up the lettuce leaf and enjoy.
Makes: 6 servings
Serving Size: 1 wrap
Asian Peanut Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups reduced -sodium, low-fat chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar blend
2 tbsp light (lower-sodium) soy sauce
2 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
Directions
Heat the peanut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken broth, and mix until combined.
Add in the remaining ingredients, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Use as sauce over cooked shrimp, scallops, chicken, turkey, or beef.
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days for the freezer for 3 months
*this recipe contains gluten because of the soy sauce
Watch Divabetic’s Thai Chicken Lettuce Cooking Demonstration at Collar Greens Health & Wellness Day onFacebook Live Video
“There is no indication that A1C levels in the registry as a whole have improved despite an increase in the use of insulin pumps and CGM’s (continuous glucose monitors),” said the authors of the T1D Exchange Clinic Network’s “State of Type 1 Diabetes Management and Outcomes from the T1D Exchange in 2016-2018″.
The majority of both youth and adults surveyed aren’t meeting A1C goals defined by the American Diabetes Association.
The A1C test result reflects your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. Specifically, the A1C test measures what percentage of your hemoglobin — a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen — is coated with sugar (glycated). The higher your A1C level, the poorer your blood sugar control and the higher your risk of diabetes complications.
While much of the report can be seen as disheartening, there are some great takeaways – CGM and insulin pump users tend to have lower A1Cs and less hypoglycemia, suggesting the need for improved access to these devices in the type 1 community.
Diabetes Late Nite podcast with music from Ricky Martin
We’re talking about ‘Diabetes & Pride’ on June’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with musical inspiration from Ricky Martin.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Stonewall Uprising (June 29, 1969). It is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement.
Since Ricky Martin came out in 2010, he’s been a prominent voice for LGBT rights both in the U.S. and in his native Puerto Rico. Ricky Martin said, “I just wanna be free,” upon receiving GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award, which honors gay entertainers who promote equal rights. Martin opened up his life to Vanity Fair in its April 2012 issue and spoke candidly about his twins, Matteo and Valentino, and his longtime partner, Carlos Gonzalez.
As an openly gay man, Mr. Divabetic is honored to shine the spotlight on members from the LGBTQ+ community living with diabetes. Guests include Stephen Bernstein, Greg Rubin, Maria Salazar, Maya James and the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach.
Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.”
Have you completely sworn off carbs since being diagnosed with diabetes?
This angst is easy to understand when every day we are bombarded with health messages to limit, restrict, avoid, and feel guilty for eating carbohydrates. However, these negative food and eating messages are harmful and do not align with my nonjudgment view of food.
Megrette FletcherM.Ed., R.D., CDE is a registered dietitian, diabetes educator, and Mindful Eating expert joins us on our 7th Anniversary Diabetes Late Nite podcast on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 to discuss this ‘hot topic’ suggested by one of our loyal listeners.
Over the past few decades carbohydrates have become demonized. But the truth of the matter is that ‘Carbs are friends, not foes’!
“Motivating (my) clients with fear is not only ineffective, but can lead to misinformation, misunderstanding, and toxic emotions such as blame, shame, and depression,” says Megrette.
Carbohydrates (carbs) are a macronutrient found in foods like grains, starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, potatoes, squashes, corn, fruit, vegetables, dairy, legumes/beans, and foods like bread, pasta, sweets, and more. While vegetables DO have carbohydrates, some nutritionists don’t consider them a carb source because they feel the energy you use to digest them counters any carbs you would get from them.
Carbs often come packaged with fiber and sometimes protein, like in legumes, dairy, or starchy vegetables. In the body, carbohydrates break down to sugars like glucose, fructose, or galactose (the simplest sugars). Don’t be scared of the “S” word (sugar) – this is simply the way the body digests and processes carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates give us the energy we need to live our diabetes lives. If chosen carefully, carbohydrates can deliver a number of health benefits and also help people maintain their weight.
One of the reasons for why carbs get such a bad rap is because the extra sugar available from the glucose formation gets stored in muscles, the liver, or other parts of your body, later getting converted into fat if the body doesn’t need it for energy. However, that’s on you, not the carbs. If you keep moving and require your body to use up that energy, the sugar from carbohydrates won’t get stored as fat.
TUNE IN: Join us for our Seventh Anniversary Diabetes Late Nite podcast with musical inspiration from Cyndi Lauper on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, 6 PM, EST. Special guests included Susan Weiner RD, MS, CDE, CDN , Megrette Fletcher MEd, RD, CDE, Poet Lorraine Brooks, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach and Mama Rose Marie. Throughout this podcast we will be playing selected songs from the Essential Collection of Cyndi Lauper courtesy of SONY Music.
We all know high carbohydrate foods can raise blood sugars but did you know that they’re also raising eyebrows in the art world?
Chloe Wise’s viral “Bread Bag” series, in which she affixed luxury logos to carbohydrates and gave them names like Pancakes No. 5 and her videos, in which she and her friends recite things she’s overheard such as: “ I realized I eat quinoa all the time, and I don’t know what it is,” have caught the attention of the art world.
She spends about eight to 12 hours a day in her Brooklyn studio working on food projects depicting the sensual promises of chain restaurants including ‘Olive Garden of Eden’.
What’s the idea behind her carb heavy and highly caloric work?
“Part of it is how women are addressed in the media, like ‘You want to lose weight, you want to be healthy, you want to be the best you.’ For men, it’s like ‘Enjoy yourself’. For women, it’s like, ‘Cut Back’. And it truly affects us,” said Wise in New York magazine.
I think her approach to capturing the millions of contradictory messages being shot at us daily is necessary and so needed especially in the wake ofMick Mulvaney, President Trump’s budget chief’s recent comments.
In response to Senator Bill Cassidy’s position that any health insurance should pass the “Jimmy Kimmel test” (providing coverage for conditions like the heart issues suffered by TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s infant son that Kimmel described on his late night show), Mulvaney said that, while there should be coverage for diseases like cancer, coverage does not need to include “ordinary health care.” According to the Washington Examiner, Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s budget chief, , diabetics have only themselves to blame for their illness:
“That doesn’t mean we should take care of the person who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes.” said Mulvaney. “Is that the same thing as Jimmy Kimmel’s kid? I don’t think that it is.”
It’s shocking to me that anyone, let alone, a government official would make such an absurd and offensive comment. I’m not living under a rock. I know many people still blame people with diabetes for their health but I just didn’t expect to hear in this forum.
For the past 12 years, I’ve been fighting the shame and blame associated with a diabetes diagnosis the best way I know how; with a feather boa!
My diabetes nonprofit organization, Divabetic promotes a glamorous approach to managing diabetes to encourage someone at risk, affected by and living with diabetes ‘to keep their house’ a home and prevent a diabetes health-related complication from occurring. I saw how destructive mismanaged diabetes can be when I found my former boss, Luther Vandross on the floor of his 5th Avenue apartment after suffering a stroke related to type 2 diabetes. These memories still haunt me to this day and motivate me to keep fighting!
I really like artist Chloe Wise and her ‘Bread Bags’ artwork. I thinks she’s helping us change conversations around food, food consumption and the shame and blame associated with it. She’s pointing out the subversive ways the food industry operates and how they like to play with our minds to get us to consume more and more food. Several of her works focus on thesubliminal sexual connotations of phrases like “luscious cream sauce” and dripping, oozing and naughty images used in chain restaurant advertisements. When you really stop and think about it, it’s pretty gross.
Unfortunately, a lot of people with diabetes don’t get the opportunity to think about these types of things because they’re too busy beating themselves up about their food choices and/or lack of ‘willpower.’
I say, ‘Don’t get down, get DIVA’. The best way to fight back is to embrace yourself, and your diabetes health. Once you truly accept your diagnosis you can strive to learn more, do more and live more!
Divabetic’s Diabetes Plate Poetry “What’ s on Your Plate?” video describes the emotional experience of living with diabetes. An important component of diabetes self-management, but often unaddressed, is the topic of emotional well being.
Are you afraid of eating Carbohydrates?
“Every day, people with diabetes are bombarded with messages to limit, restrict, avoid, and feel guilty for eating carbohydrates. Not surprisingly, my clients with diabetes often tell me they are afraid of eating carbs.” says Megrette Fletcher, M. Ed, RD, CDE.
So how does someone with diabetes stop being afraid of eating carbohydrates?
Restriction breeds fear and fear breeds restriction
If you are trying to be “good,” it’s a red flag that you may be stuck in a restrictive mindset. The idea of being “good” often start as an intention to make more informed choices, but when the reason you’re trying to “be good” is out of fear, something shifts. Fear can make any choice not good enough because fear moves the goal of eating a balanced meal to a meal that is better. “Better” of course means eating fewer and fewer carbohydrates until you have nearly eliminated carbohydrates from your diet, hoping that the fear of eating would end. But it doesn’t, does it?
Pause and ask yourself, “Do I think all foods can fit in your diet when you have diabetes?” Fear and being afraid, makes it hard to think, read a label, consider your options, or make a decision. In Megrette’s book Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes, she tackle how to resolve some of these difficult thoughts about food and eating. READ MORE
CLICK to LISTEN NOW: The State of Women’s Health on the Diabetes Late Nite. We’re talking about the state of women’s equality and diabetes and sexual health post-election. Guests include: Dr. Andrea Chisholm OBGYN, Peak 10 Skincare founder and Domestic Violence Advocate Connie Elder, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mary Ann Hodorowicz RD, CDE, Asha Brown, and the President of Women in Government Relations, Kathryn Schubert.
