George Michael – Divabetic

09/02/2017

The Decadent Diabetic’s ‘I Love Lucy’ Inspired Carrots Recipe for Divabetic Labor Day Celebration

Don’t let the end of Summer get you down, get DIVA! Our Divabetic Go Ginger! Labor Day Celebration spotlights different ‘ginger’ recipes by our good friend, Chef Ward Alper aka ‘The Decadent Diabetic’ to help put a kick in your 3 day weekend.

This fabulous ginger side dish recipe is inspired by one our favorite redheads, the iconic Lucille Ball. Her TV show, “I Love Lucy” pretty much invented the TV sitcom as we know it.

Did you know that before the show’s 1951 debut, sitcoms on the new medium of television were essentially filmed half-hour plays, with fairly static cameras and minimalist sets?

But on “I Love Lucy” there were three cameras shooting simultaneously from different angles, on 35mm film, so that scenes could be performed in sequence, just once, with shots and reaction shots edited together later.

‘Lucy Ricardo’ was kind of a comedic superheroine, capable of doing just about anything, but only for a few minutes, before her efforts inevitably went catastrophically awry. Behind the camera, Lucille Ball was a heroine, too, blazing a path for TV performers and producers for which she’s never received proper credit. Both fiery redheads — the restless housewife and the woman who created her — managed to create an indestructible sitcom; not even colorization can mar it. READ MORE

The Decadent Diabetic shares this fabulous ginger inspired recipe, “For Lucy the queen of carrot tops spicy with a nutty crunch!”

The Decadent Diabetic’s Orange/Ginger Glazed Carrots with Pecans Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Two 1 cup servings

Net carbohydrates: less than 11 grams per serving

Ingredients

6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on an angle

3 -TBSP. butter

4 ounces TROP 50 low sugar orange juice

3/4 cup water

1 TBSP. Sugar alternative of choice

small pinch of salt

½ -tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

1/3 cup toasted pecan halves

HOW TO PREPARE THE RECIPE:

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Cook carrots in the butter of high heat for 1 minute. Add TROP 50, water, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and sugar alternative. Continue cooking over medium high heat until all the liquid is evaporated, about 10-15 minutes.

Garnish with the pecans for extra spark of flavor and crunch.

Chef Ward aka ‘The Decadent Diabetic’ guests on our free monthly podcast, Diabetes Late Nite in celebration of Valentine’s Day. LISTEN NOW

Summer lasts a little longer with a tropical flower centerpiece (see above) for Divabetic Labor Day-inspired party and is surprisingly simple to create. An easy trick of the trade for centerpieces is to use multiples of like objects, vases or even lanterns and repeat- either down a long table or clustered symmetrically in the center of a table. The consistency creates a bold visual impact. To add a little more reflection and drama to the basic neutral table cloth place square mirror tiles to cover the tabletop (An easy to remove self adhesive helped keep the mirrors secure to the tablecloth).

How Are Baby Carrots Made?

The carrots now used to make “baby-cut carrots” are typically ones that have been specially bred to contain more sugar than their standard-sized cousins, because this extra sweetness appeals more strongly to children according to Snopes.com. Likewise, their bright orange color has also been bred into them, as has the evenness of that color all the way through the root. READ MORE

Join us for the broadcast of our latest Mister Divabetic Mister entitled ‘Gypsies, Tramps and Peas’.

Diabetes advocate turned reluctant amateur sleuth, Mr. Divabetic finally takes the plunge and ventures into a new career as a healthy caterer. With the help of his co-workers and nosy Italian mother, he heads for Coney Island to cater his first party aboard a yacht for his former swim coach, Ted Rockow. But his nautical soiree quickly capsizes when the guest of honor is found swimming with the fishes. What it an accident or foul play? Now Mr. Divabetic’s grilling Burlesque dancers, a lifeguard lothario and some sequined mermaids, all intent on keeping their secrets buried deep within the sand. Can Mr. Divabetic prove Coach’s death was a murder, not an accident? Or will he end up floating out to sea?

Will he sink or swim? Tune in to find out if he can solve the murder of his former swim coach with the help of his friends, some sassy mermaids and a cooky fortune teller. Along the way to revealing the identity of the murderer he uncovers expert tips for diabetes self-care during the Summer months.

USA Today Best-Selling Author, Tonya Kappes, Asha Brown, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’, Seveda Williams, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst Nicolay, Mama Rose Marie and Poet Lorraine Brooks help the fruit suit clad sleuth in this seaside adventure. Healthy delicious recipes provided by Chef Robert Lewis and Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’.

This year’s mystery podcast features music from the original cast recording of ‘Gypsy’ courtesy of SONY Music.

Join the show! Get the full script for ‘Gypsies, Tramps & Peas’ and read along as our cast performs. Please e-mail: mrdvabetic@gmail.com

02/17/2017

Pink Champagne Cake Truffles Recipe by Diabetic Pastry Chef

This year Divabetic is working with teams of experts to show you how to embrace the holidays without compromising your diabetes self-care.

If you find it difficult to celebrate the holidays because you’re constantly feeling deprived of the foods you love then check out “the Diabetic Pastry Chef”, Stacey Harris’s wonderful recipes.

Stacey, who is living with type 2 diabetes, wants to help everyone living with diabetes to have their cake and eat it, too, without feeling guilt or unhealthy.

Stacey has created recipes for making breads, cakes and other desserts diabetic-friendly by swapping out the sugar, blending the flour and cutting the milk carbohydrates. Here’s one of our favorite Diabetic Pastry Chef recipes:

Pink Champagne Cake Truffles Recipe by Diabetic Pastry Chef

Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons King Arthur cake enhancer, optional

5 large egg whites, room temp

1 cup pink champagne, room temp

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups Whey Low D Granular, or equivalent dry sugar substitute

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

a few drops of pink or red food coloring

1 15-oz tub sugar-free vanilla frosting or handmade frosting

bag of dessicated unsweetened coconut

Directions: Sift together the first 4 dry ingredients and set aside. In mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. In separate bowl combine the wet ingredients with the Whey Low or other sugar substitute, and food coloring. Mix well by hand until sugar substitute is dissolved. Alternately add the flour mixture and wet ingredients to the mixing bowl beating just until well combined, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Add to greased and floured 11 x 17″ baking pan and bake until cake pulls from the side of the pan, and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool to room temperature.

By hand, break the cake into pieces and add to clean mixing bowl. Turn mixer to medium speed and beat until cake is crumbled about 1 or 2 minutes. Add about 2 large Tbsps of sugar-free vanilla frosting to the bowl and beat until combined. Turn off mixer and gather the dough pressing it together with your hands until a dough forms. You may need to add a little more frosting. With a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll into balls with your hands. Cover and refrigerate the balls for several hours.

Heat the remaining frosting in the microwave just until melted and add a small amount of champagne a teaspoon at a time just to flavor the frosting. Do not let the frosting become too liquid. Remove the cake balls from the refrigerator, roll the balls in the melted frosting and then in the coconut. The truffles are best kept refrigerated. Yield: Approximately 50 cake truffles.

Stacey Harris has been baking and collecting recipes since she was a teenager. Her cookbook “The Diabetic Pastry Chef” offers a healthier approach to baking for diVabetic.

Don’t miss the “The Diabetic Pastry Chef” on March’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with music by Gladys Knight & The Pips on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 6-7 PM, EST. Click on this link to TUNE IN

LISTEN: Diabetes Late Nite inspired by George Michael featuring our first-ever Valentine’s Day Party with Chef Ward Alper aka ‘The Decadent Diabetic’, ‘Rich In Love’ fashion blogger Doris Hobbs, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Poet Lorraine Brooks and Laura Laria.

Learning to accept yourself for who you are is the most important step to self-love. Stop comparing yourself to others and learn to embrace the person you are.

02/14/201702/14/2017

Fall in love with your Diabetes Health for Valentine’s Day

This year one of our goals at Divabetic is to encourage our divas to embrace the holidays like Valentine’s Day without compromising their diabetes health.

Celebrate your health and take some time to enjoy your own wellbeing and happiness. Here are some ways you can love yourself this Valentine’s Day:

Love your exercise. Spending some time outdoors, at the gym, or on your yoga mat is a perfect way to give back to you. Exercise will help boost your mood, leaving you feeling happier and more relaxed. Regular exercise will also help prevent or manage a wide range of illnesses.

Love your health. Without health we can’t have happiness, which is why it is so important to take time to look after ourselves. This Valentine’s Day, think about your heart and work on ways to reduce unnecessary stress in your life.

What if, when you make your list of valentines, you include yourself this time? Showing yourself and your diabetes health some love could be your sweetest decision yet….

If we don’t take the time to honor and appreciate ourselves, how can we expect that others will?

With this inspiration, we hope that you feel the love from everyone around you, including yourself – maybe not just today, but year round! Happy Valentine’s day!

‘Love to Me’ by Poet Lorraine Brooks

can I return my love to me

with stems of flowers by the sea

or maybe with a beating heart

that says our paths must never part… READ MORE

Susan Weiner MS RDN CDE CDN, 2015 AADE Diabetes Educator of the Year and author of “The CompleteDiabetes Organizer: Your Guide to a Less Stressful and More Manageable Diabetes Life” offers this advice for Valentine’s Day:

1 – Start the day with some love. Toast up a piece of whole grain bread and prepare a bulls eye egg in a non stick pan with a bit of olive oil. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the middle of the toast, and place the toast on top of the egg, so the heart shape is visible. It will bring a smile to your lovers face!

2 – Use an empty heart shaped box, and small pieces of colorful plastic wrap. Use sliced bananas, melon, and strawberries and drizzle a small amount of dark chocolate on these sweet fruits. Place the chocolate drizzled fruit in the wrap and fill the box. Homemade, delicious and thoughtful. If you choose to dip the fruit in hot dark chocolate, consider adding a few nuts for extra crunch and texture.

You may chalk it up to another Hallmark holiday, but there’s no denying that Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to put on a cute outfit and hit the town. Whether you’re going out on a romantic night on the town. Why not ‘Go Red!’ and raise awareness for heart disease in honor of Valentine’s Day?

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S.

Type 2 diabetes independently increases the risk of heart disease in pre-menopausal women and those in the first years of menopause, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013.

What does the color red say about you?

The red dress effect is a putative phenomenon in which people wearing red clothing, such as a red dress, are perceived to be more sexually appealing than they are when wearing other colors.

Research has shown that wearing red clothes can make women more attractive to men. But do women take advantage of this fact by wearing red when they want to attract a man’s attention?

“A woman’s closet can foster strong relations by serving as a reminder to ones nostalgic roots and past, communicating an authenticity of its own,” says Rich In Love Fashion Blogger, Spokesmodel, Author and fabulous Diabetes Advocate, Doris Hobbs. READ MORE

From style to Chef Ward Alper aka ‘The Decadent Diabetic’, who is living with type 2 diabetes, is determined to show the world how to manage diabetes and still eat decadently. “A diagnosis of diabetes doesn’t have to mean the end of great eating!”, says the Decadent Diabetic.The Decadent Diabetic’s advice for home cooks for Valentine’s Day:

Make it simple and ahead: It is Tuesday and you probably had to work and will need to work tomorrow.

1- Make as much as you can ahead of time. You don’t want to slave over a hot stove and fall asleep in your food

2 – Keep it light. A heavy meal may keep you from “getting lucky”

3 – Make sure it is something the one you love… loves. Nothing can put a damper on a romantic meal like the other person saying : “I don’t eat that.”

4 – Finish with Chocolate. It is Valentine’s day…do I need to say more?

Enjoy Loveable Lamb Recipe by the Decadent Diabetic

Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND author of “Sex and Diabetes” and “The Secrets of Living and Loving with Diabetes” offers this advice to couples for Valentine’s Day:

1 – Hug! Every day, hug your partner until you both feel relaxed. It’s a non-sexual hug that nurtures your emotional needs while it enriches your relationship. When you feel more connected, romantic moments get even better!

2 – Do one romantic thing for your loved one each day – send a loving text, call to say you miss them, place a romantic note in their sink, buy their favorite food, etc. Show that you are thinking of them. Very romantic!

It’s difficult to love yourself and your diabetes health if you’re constantly feeling deprived of the foods you love. The Diabetic Pastry Chef, Stacey Harris, who is living with type 2 diabetes, wants you to have your cake and eat it, too, without sacrificing your diabetes self-care.

Stacey has created recipes for making breads, cakes and other desserts diabetic-friendly by swapping out the sugar, blending the flour and cutting the milk carbohydrates.

Enjoy Mini Rose Heart Cookies Recipe by The Diabetic Pastry Chef, Stacey Harris

Songs have been written about every topic imaginable, but the best ones — from swooning ’50s ballads to contemporary club bangers — have been penned about the ups and downs of being in love. One of our favorite pop stars is George Michael.

Few songwriters from the 1980’s were as capable of writing both heart-wrenching torch ballads speaking to the essential isolation at the core of the human condition, and sugary pop trifles where the only word you needed to understand was “jitterbug.” And the best of his songs usually fell somewhere in between, bold and bubbly declarations of independence and deliverance that still admitted how scared and unsure he was about all of it, a too-rare combination of pro prowess and outsider insecurity that seemed to make him more relatable the more popular he became.

LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Late Nite inspired by George Michael podcast. Enjoy our first-ever Valentine’s Day Party featuring Chef Ward Alper aka ‘The Decadent Diabetic’, ‘Rich In Love’ fashion blogger Doris Hobbs, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach and Poet Lorraine Brooks.

Learning to accept yourself for who you are is the most important step to self-love. Stop comparing yourself to others and learn to embrace the person you are.

Finally, Valentine’s Day offers the perfect excuse to get educated about Heart Health. Your heart isn’t only your most critical muscle — it’s what keeps you alive, after all — but also one of the hardest working. It ticks 24-7 and except for the times when you’re relaxing or sleeping, it rarely gets a break. Below, find fascinating facts about your heart that might inspire you to give it a little more TLC every day.

Want to know how big your heart is? Make a fist. Heart size depends on the size of the person as well as the condition of their heart. Generally speaking, a healthy heart is about the size of the person’s fist.

During the average human lifespan, the heart beats over 2.5 billion times. The human heart beats approximately 100,000 times per day and 35 million times each year of life.

Every minute, your heart pumps about five quarts of blood through a system of blood vessels that’s over 60,000 miles long, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That translates to about 2,000 gallons of blood every day.

01/20/201701/20/2017

Diabetes Late Nite Joins Diabetes Podcast Week 2017

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic and the Diabetes Late Nite team are honored to participate in the Second Diabetes Podcast Week in support of the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign” on February 6-10, 2017.

“I’m thrilled to support such a worthwhile cause by participating in Diabetes Podcast Week again this year, ” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek.”We’ve got a really wonderful show planned featuring guests Chef Ward Alper ‘The Decadent Diabetic’ and Diabetes Advocate and ‘Rich In Love’ blogger, fashionista and diabetes advocate Doris Hobbs along with music from George Michael.”

The idea behind the “Spare a Rose, Save a Child” campaign is simple: buy one less rose this Valentine’s Day and donate the value of that flower to children with diabetes. Donations go to Life for a Child, an International Diabetes Federation program which provides life-saving diabetes supplies, medication, and education that children in developing countries need to stay alive.

Mr. Divabetic will be happily broadcasting live on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 6- 7 PM, EST. Guests include Chef Ward Alper aka ‘The Decadent Diabetic’, ‘Rich In Love’ blogger, Doris Hobbs,the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Poet Lorraine Brooks and Mama Rose Marie.

We’re throwing our first-ever Divabetic Valentine’s Day Party! We’re sharing expert advice on food to nourish your heart, fashions to boost your spirit and fabulous diabetes self-care tips to make your life easier. Whether you’re married, single or dating, our goal is to encourage you to show how much you care about yourself and your diabetes health.

Throughout February’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast we will be featuring music by George Michael courtesy of SONY Music.

Diabetes Podcast week founder and fellow podcaster, Stacey Simms says, “I’ve participated in and enjoyed Diabetes Blog Week for a long time. After I started my podcast, it seemed like a natural fit to create #DPodcastWeek. Once again, we’re using our microphones to get some attention for a terrific charity, the Spare a Rose, Save a Child campaign.”

During the week of February 6, 2017, podcasters who sign up will include information about Spare a Rose in their shows and on their websites. Listeners are encouraged to learn more and to consider making a donation.

That’s it! Stay tuned for more on #DPodcastWeek, coming February 6, 2017.

Participating Podcasts/Video Blogs as of 1/11

Beta Cell Podcast

Diabetes By The Numbers

Real Life Diabetes (Diabetes Daily Grind)