Halloween – Page 2

10/08/202210/08/2022

Halloween Muse: Amy Wine “Haunted” House Twins

I have trouble glorifying famous addicts in the music industry. Many people seem to idolize their tragic lives. In my opinion, making ‘good art’ doesn’t require wrestling your demons, torturing your soul, or taking mind-alerting substances. There are plenty of happy, down-to-earth sober artists making beautiful and popular music. Unfortunately, their legacies are often outshined by the mystical status of Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse.

This Halloween, I’ve decided to pay tribute to Amy Winehouse to raise awareness for 988 since substance abuse is rising.

Amy Winehouse’s legacy is a cautionary tale for how deadly substance abuse and addiction can be. Unfortunately, her tragic story is all too familiar.

Its been widely reported that the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased number of people misusing drugs and dying from drug overdoses. There were more than 99,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in the first year of the pandemic, an increase of nearly 30% from the year before.

Amy Winehouse was a rockstar’s rockstar. She is considered one of the greatest musical talents of the past 20 years. Her voice, music, and the way she expressed herself were unique. She modernized jazz. She poured her soul into writing deeply confessional lyrics and singing around London, her hometown. She was a unique talent, a jazz fanatic with the voice of a soul singer.

That Winehouse was just 27 years old when she died underscored her sheer natural brilliance, the meteoric nature of her rise, and the wrenching tragedy of her downward spiral and ultimate fall.

Driven by her muse and haunted by her addictions, she allegedly used heroin and other hard drugs until alcohol became her constant companion. She’d died of accidental alcohol poisoning, as her blood alcohol level was .416% at the time of her death. Addiction and mental health disorders may house certain symptoms, but every case is different, just like the person with them.

If someone in your life is jeopardizing their well-being in any capacity, that should be the first sign: something is wrong, and this person is battling.

Calling 988 directly connects you to compassionate, accessible care and support for mental health or substance abuse-related distress.

I created the Amy Wine “Haunted” House Twins using water bottles, hangers, Diet Coke bottles, yarn, pipe cleaners, newspaper, plastic bags, Target cloth bags, paper shreddings, Dollar Store decorations (masks and eyeballs), disposal serving forks, ribbon, styrofoam balls, and gaffers tape. This Halloween, celebrate creativity, not candy!

10/30/2021

Prosecco & Pumpkins Party

After lying low during the pandemic, my friends were getting restless for Halloween. So for the past few years, I have hosted an adult pumpkin carving party that I like to call ‘Prosecco & Pumpkins’. It’s the perfect way to kick off fall and get excited about the upcoming holidays. Even better, it’s a low-key, easy kind of party to throw, busy schedule and all.

Of course, I had to decorate my apartment to get everyone in the mood. I made this gigantic tarantula! It was easy! I used my co-workers black tights and a hefty garbage bag, stuffed with assorted paper and plastic grocery bags.

This year I bought smaller-sized pumpkins because I’ve learned that larger-size pumpkins translate into more post-party cleanup. And smaller-sized pumpkins require less time to carve and design, so it’s not a super late night for your guests.

My party started with cocktail hour. I made my first charcuterie board using tips from Brenda Novak‘s online Book Club party and YouTube. We also had some excellent Gotham Volleyball Sangria Showdown-worthy Sangria made by my friend, Jeannie. If you’re living with diabetes and enjoy an occasional cocktail check out this Divabetic podcast featuring expert advice on the subject.

I made Chef Robert Lewis, aka The Happy Diabetic‘s Iowa- Style Apricot and Onion Pork Chops, a big hit for dinner! My sides included roasted Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes.

Then, we got down to the main event, Prosecco and Pumpkin carving. Again, everyone was quiet, sipping on bubbly as they focused on their designs.

Here’s my pumpkin design! Judging by the smile on my pumpkin’s face, you can tell I was in a good mood after spending time with friends and celebrating again!

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic plays his newest nutrition game, ‘Serve, Taste or Trash’ with everyday people at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, PA.

Here’s how you play: Mr. Divabetic lists 3 fruits and vegetables. Among the three choices, you have to choose which one you’d serve, which one you’d taste, and which one you’d be willing to trash. Your options are cantaloupe, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts.

Get inspired to eat more fruits and vegetables. Mr. Divabetic is the host of the free monthly podcast, Diva TalkRadio: Diabetes Roundtable. Diva TalkRadio is Divabetic’s dynamic free online and mobile podcast channel where tens of thousands of fans, followers, and listeners turn to laugh a little and learn a lot. The channel features a line-up of live and archived programs and specials. Guests include health care professionals, beauty, image/style, and fitness experts, entertainment industry leaders, and VIPs: women and men living with, at risk of, and affected by diabetes.

11/01/201911/01/2019

Wheel of Wellness on NYC’s Halloween Street

Mr. Divabetic kicked off National Diabetes Awareness month, November, one day early by taking to the streets with fun, interactive diabetes advocacy on Halloween night.

He presented Divabetic’s Wheel of Wellness featuring the Energy Up! Sugar Shock demonstration on NYC’s most iconic Halloween Street.

We demonstrated the SCARY amount of ADDED SUGAR in popular drinks (fruit juice, energy drinks, soda, sports drinks and vitamin waters).

Every sugary beverage featured in our presentation contains 6 teaspoons of added sugar. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons (38 grams) for men. Limit daily sugar to 6 teaspoons (25 g) for women, 9 teaspoons (38 g) for men. Yet, the average American consumes 17 teaspoons (71.14 grams) every day.

Initially we were a bit skeptical about our message and participation going over like a lead balloon with the crowds. We’re glad we pushed any doubts and fears aside because last night was one of the most amazing diabetes wellness outreach experiences in our 16 year history. Hundreds of kids and their parents were very appreciative of our message and screamed ‘Wheel of Wellness’ as people took turns spinning the prize wheel.

On top of that, we we’re proud to bring some visibility to an invisible chronic illness. People tell us they feel isolated with diabetes so Mr.. Divabetic’s Fruit Suit emblazoned with the word ‘DIVABETIC’ on the back is a friendly reminder that they are not alone.

Thank you to HINT Water for providing our participants with a great tasting, healthy beverage alternative.

We’re talking about ‘THE SWEETEST TABOO’ aka ‘ADDED SUGAR’ with musical inspiration from Sade on Diabetes Late Nite.

Sugar is everywhere. But do we really understand the impact it has on our diabetes health?

If asked to name sugary foods, you may think of sweets, chocolate, sodas, table sugar, and perhaps even fruit. But sugar also appears in savoury foods such as ready meals, soups, salads and sauces; as well as ‘healthy’ foods such as breakfast cereals and yogurt. Furthermore, starches such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes also convert to sugar in our bloodstream, having the same impact on our bodies. These ‘hidden sugars’ can add a surprising amount to our daily intake.

Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Tameka Milline, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP. Kathy Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage’, and Stephanie MacKendree. Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from ‘The Essential Sade’ album courtesy of SONY Music.

LISTEN NOW

10/26/201910/26/2019

Learn How Much Added Sugar is In Your Favorite Drinks on Halloween Streets

We’re taking Divabetic’s unique brand of Diabetes Outreach to the streets! With eye opening, hands on, Scary Sugary Drinks demonstrations about how much sugar is in popular drinks (fruit juice, iced teas, sodas, sports drinks) on NYC’s Halloween Streets.

Sugary drinks are responsible for almost half the added sugar consumed by American children, but many parents aren’t aware of how much sugar is in the drinks they serve their children.

Last year, nearly two-thirds of the $2.2 billion in beverages marketed to children contained added sweeteners, according to a report released last week by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut.

A 20-ounce bottle of soda could have the same amount of sugar as 16 chocolate mini doughnuts. You wouldn’t want your children to eat that much sugar. So why let them drink it? A large amount of added sugar can be hiding in drinks. That’s why it’s important to always check the back of the bottle. Read the list of ingredients and the nutrition facts label to see how much sugar is in your drink.

How To Figure Out The Added Sugar In Your Favorite Drink

If you drink the entire container, you’ll need to multiply the grams of sugar in one serving by the total number of servings in the container to calculate the total grams of sugar. Then, divide total grams of sugar by 4 to get the total number of teaspoons of added sugar in the drink.

Stop by, win fun prizes and enjoy #HINTWater samples.

Hint water contains only water and delicious fruit flavors. No sugar, no diet sweeteners, no calories. Whole30 approved.

10/25/2017

The Diabetic Pastry Chef’s Sugar-Free Chocolate- Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe

My friend and colleague Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’ shares a Halloween-inspired dessert recipe to help you celebrate this spooky holiday without jeopardizing your diabetes health.

When Stacey Harris was studying to become a pastry chef, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Rather than give up her chosen profession, she began creating more diabetic-friendly desserts. By using blended flours and a combination of sugar and sugar substitutes, reducing milk carbohydrates, and eliminating trans fats, Stacey Harris has transformed more than 200 desserts into diabetic-friendly delights.

Sugar-Free Chocolate- Pumpkin Bundt Cake by the Diabetic Pastry Chef

Please read carefully: This cake recipe uses 2 separate batters, a number of bowls, and must be baked in a large 12-cup bundt pan to prevent overflowing. A little difficult but well worth the effort! Splenda For Baking can be substituted for the Whey Low D Granular, see the instructions for this in the note at the end of the recipe.

3 sticks butter, softened

2 1/2 cups Whey Low D Granular sweetener

6 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups pure canned pumpkin

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 tsp baking powder, divided

1 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 cup buttermilk

Directions:

In medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Add Whey Low and continue whisking until pretty well dissolved. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Slowly add the egg mixture a little at a time beating well after each addition. Remove half the mixture from the mixing bowl and place in another bowl; set aside.

Pumpkin Batter: Add the following to the mixture still in the mixing bowl: 1 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and all of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Finally add the canned pumpkin and beat on low speed just until combined.

Chocolate Batter: In another separate clean bowl, mix together the remaining 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt; add the cocoa powder. Add this mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the remaining butter mixture that was set aside.

Add half of the pumpkin mixture to a greased and floured 12-cup bundt pan. By spoonfuls drop half of the chocolate batter on top of the pumpkin batter in the bundt pan, being careful to let the pumpkin mixture peak through in spaces. Repeat to spoon the remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters. Carefully run a butter knife a couple times around the rim of the batters in the pan and then draw the knife across the width of the pan in 10 to 12 spaces to swirl the batters. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes before inverting the pan to remove the cake. Cool completely.

Special Note: Splenda For Baking can be used instead of Whey Low Granular D in this recipe. To use Splenda For Baking beat the butter, add the Splenda and continue beating until fluffy. Next add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, and then add the vanilla. Continue the recipe as written.

The Diabetic Pastry Chef’s cookbooks are filled with information on the definition, treatment, and prevention of diabetes and include complete nutritional information (calories, fat, cholesterol, sugars, and protein) for each recipe. She uses Splendar and presents other sugar-free alternatives for pancakes, muffins, cakes, cookies, and pies. Stacey Harris shares the sweet secrets of her simple-to-use formula that will convert most any recipe into a lower-carb alternative without compromising taste or quality. Now ‘divabetics’ can enjoy Chocolate Truffle Cookies, Blueberry Tartlets, Cream Cheese Cupcakes, Coffee Bread Pudding, and hundreds of others. BUY NOW

“In The Diabetic Pastry Chef, Stacey Harris proves you can prepare and eat wonderful food and still stay well within the guidelines of food for a person with diabetes.”—Alan L. Rubin, M.D., author of Diabetes for Dummies and Diabetes Cookbook for Dummies

Healthy Halloween Tip: Take the focus off of candy by encouraging arts and crafts projects, pumpkin carving/painting contests, watching a Halloween movie, visiting a haunted house, or going on a hayride. This is a great way to create memories that don’t involve food.

10/31/2016

Halloween Tips for People with Diabetes

Celebrating Halloween doesn’t have to mean overindulging in candy. You can have just as much fun by dressing up, playing Halloween games, working on arts and crafts projects and making a special Halloween snack together.

Mounting research suggests that added sugar can have harmful effects on metabolism and contribute to all sorts of diseases.

“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in research on the health effects of sugar, one fueled by extremely high rates of added sugar overconsumption,” as Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., professor of Health Policy at UC San Francisco, put it in a commentary in JAMA Internal Medicine. “Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick.”

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend a limit on sugar for the first time: no more than 10 percent of a person’s daily calories should come from added sugar. That amounts to about 12 teaspoons (50 grams) for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day (1 teaspoon contains about 4 grams of sugar).

The 10 percent limit matches the new one from the World Health Organization, which advises, however, that getting less than 5 percent of daily calories from added sugar (about 6 teaspoons and 100 calories on a 2,000-calorie daily diet) is an even better goal. The latter is similar to the strict recommendations from the American Heart Association: no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day for most women and 9 teaspoons for most men.

Limiting the amount of sugar you enjoy at Halloween doesn’t have to spoil the fun. You can bake popcorn balls and sugar-free treats. You can also plan games, such as bobbing for apples. By placing the focus on fun activities and not food, the holiday will be more memorable for everyone.

Children with diabetes can eat candy on Halloween, just like any child. However, parents should plan ahead to work the candy into their child’s diabetes meal plan or ensure they get enough insulin to cover the carbohydrates in the candy. The Child Life Team at Joslin Diabetes Center provides tips for Halloween planning and handling treats with diabetes.

LISTEN NOW: Serve, Taste or Trash! Food podcast. Learn to love the foods you hate.