I received a package filled with lightning bolt-shaped styrofoam a few weeks ago. I didn’t throw them away. The shape was fantastic. Even though all of my Halloween Duck, Duck, Ghoul! displays are done. I wondered what I could make with the styrofoam. The styrofoam’s shape reminded me of the Bride Of Frankenstein’s eyebrows. So, I decided to make one more display. I studied pictures from the original movie.
According to Google, The Bride Of Frankenstein was created as a collaborative project between Dr. Frankenstein and his old university affiliate, Dr. Septimus Pretorius. The scientists create the Bride to give it to the monster as a mate, but the monster only wishes to have a friend.
The Bride’s gown in the 1935 movie is sublime. But its simple elegance and draping didn’t work on a duck. And trust me, I tried everything, including a Large Federal Express packing bag – I thought the corners would be perfect for the shoulders. So, I abandoned the idea of knocking off the original gown and let my imagination take over. When the legendary Vogue and Harpers Bazaar journalist Diana Vreeland wrote “the eye must travel” in her book in 1980, I doubt she was referring to the front door of Dollar General. But that’s precisely where my thrifty spirit for crafting took me.
After a fruitless search, I wandered into my local hardware store. Inspiration hit when I spotted mops and a package of large coffee filters. I ventured to two more stores in search of paper dollies to complete her dress. I topped off my display when the cheapest wig I could find on Amazon.
Throughout October, health guru High Voltage travels to select schools around New York City to create awareness and excitement to empower private and public schools to take a stand against the sugar industry. During these Shocktober rallies, High Voltage presents a powerful demonstration showing teens how to “Sugar Shock” their favorite drinks. Sugar Shock demonstrations allow teens to discover how much-added sugar they consume daily; when they do, most are SHOCKED!
Watch this video to see how many grams of sugar are in popular drinks!
Major sources of added sugars are sugary beverages (regular soft drinks, sweetened tea, coffee, energy drinks, and fruit drinks), candy, desserts, and sweet snacks (cakes, cookies, pies). Smaller amounts come from dairy desserts, milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt, and sweetened milk), breakfast cereals and bars, and other items.
The American Heart Associationrecommends limiting added sugars to 100 calories per day (6 teaspoons of sugar) for most women and no more than 150 calories per day (9 teaspoons) for most men.
We’re talking about ‘THE SWEETEST TABOO’ aka ‘SUGAR’ with musical inspiration from Sade on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast.
Added sugar is everywhere. But do we 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 fruit. But sugar also appears in savory foods such as ready meals, soups, salads, sauces, and ‘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, CDCES, Tameka Milline, Catherine Schuller. Kathy Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage’, and Stephanie MacKendree. Throughout the podcast, we play music from ‘The Essential Sade’ album courtesy of SONY Music.
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.
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.
