Divabetic Bookshelf 2020

No matte what’s going on in the world, a good book can provide insight, comfort or a welcome escape. Now may be the time to finally dig into that epic novel or self-help book you’ve had on your shelf forever or try something out of your reading comfort zone.


More than 23 million adult Americans have diabetes. More than two-thirds of American adults with type 2 diabetes are significantly overweight or obese. The majority of overweight people have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight one or more times, only to regain it within months. They know that losing weight can improve their health; they just need to know how to make it happen and how to keep those pounds off. Diabetes Weight Loss—Week by Week guides people with diabetes through the steps toward lasting weight loss, better health, and possibly improved blood glucose control. With a week-by-week approach and emphasis on incremental changes, readers gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence required for permanent weight loss and lifestyle change. Readers also learn from the triumphs of others by reading their brief stories, and the included recipes show how to bring healthy meals into the house.

Romantic relationships play an important role in our everyday lives. But when diabetes enters the picture, it can complicate even the most loving and open relationships. Many people don’t know that diabetes can impact physical and emotional intimacy—and intimacy-related issues can be especially difficult to discuss with a partner or a doctor. But don’t let diabetes hinder the romance! Intimacy & Diabetes is here to give you practical information and expert advice to tackle this sensitive subject. This comprehensive, interactive guide covers everything you need to know to enjoy a fulfilling sexual and emotional life despite the challenges of diabetes. Inside you’ll find:

  • The common physical and emotional sexual complications of diabetes and treatment options for men and women
  • An overview of diabetes nutrition, physical activity, weight loss, and diabetes medications
  • Information on how aging impacts diabetes management and intimacy
  • Guidance on how to talk to your doctor about intimacy-related issues
  • Ideas and techniques for building sexual intimacy and communicating effectively with your partner
  • Tips to help you avoid dangerous or money-wasting fraudulent sexual treatments
  • A collection of delicious, diabetes-friendly recipes to help spice up your love life

Enjoy this episode of Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast featuring exclusive interviews with  ‘Intimacy & Diabetes’ Author Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND, American Heart & American Diabetes Association’s Know Diabetes by Heart Ambassador Hyvelle Ferguson Davis, ‘My Sweet Blessing: Adventures In Diabetes’ Author Trisha Porretti RN, BSN, CDE, Poet Lorraine Brooks, and Kathy Malleck. Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from Camila Cabello’s Romance album courtesy of SONY Music.

When Julia’s gran, Dot, wins an all-inclusive spa trip to Scotland, Julia finds it difficult to refuse the offer of a relaxing week away from her café. Along with her sister, Sue, they pack up her tiny vintage car and drive all the way from Peridale to Seirbigh Castle, ready to be pampered. The last thing Julia expected was to be caught up in another murder investigation, but when the cruel owner of the family-run spa, Henry McLaughlin, is shot dead, she can’t resist ditching the facemasks and massages in favour of cracking the case.

Julia quickly befriends the young cook and talented-baker, Blair, and acquires a job in the kitchen so she can observe the strange family in the wake of the murder. Henry’s wife and children are acting suspicious, and with an incompetent young Detective Inspector on the case, Julia makes it her mission to discover the secrets held within the ancient walls before Seirbigh Castle claims another victim.

Welcome to Quinn, Montana, population: 956. A town where nearly all of the volunteer firemen are named Jim, where The Dirty Shame—the only bar in town—refuses to serve mixed drinks (too much work), where the locals hate the newcomers (then again, they hate the locals, too), and where the town softball team has never even come close to having a winning season. Until now.

Rachel Flood has snuck back into town after leaving behind a trail of chaos nine years prior. She’s here to make amends, but nobody wants to hear it, especially her mother, Laverna. But with the help of a local boy named Jake and a little soul-searching, she just might make things right.

In the spirit of Empire Falls and A League of Their Own, with the caustic wit of Where’d You Go, Bernadette thrown in for good measure, Richard Fifield’s hilarious and heartwarming debut will have you laughing through tears.

In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband’s death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn’t correct them.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, former Major League pitcher and Andy’s childhood best friend, is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the “yips”: he can’t throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can’t figure out why. As the media storm heats up, an invitation from Andy to stay in Maine seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button on Dean’s future.

When he moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie’s house, the two make a deal: Dean won’t ask about Evvie’s late husband, and Evvie won’t ask about Dean’s baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken—and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. To move forward, Evvie and Dean will have to reckon with their pasts—the friendships they’ve damaged, the secrets they’ve kept—but in life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance—up until the last out.

A joyful, hilarious, and hope-filled debut, Evvie Drake Starts Over will have you cheering for the two most unlikely comebacks of the year—and will leave you wanting more from Linda Holmes.

When seventy-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the Become a Jetsetter contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can’t seem to find a partner; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young, when she was a single mother who meant everything to them.

When she wins the contest, the family packs their baggage—both literal and figurative—and spends ten days traveling from sun-drenched Athens through glorious Rome to tapas-laden Barcelona on an over-the-top cruise ship, the Splendido Marveloso. As lovers new and old join the adventure, long-buried secrets are revealed and old wounds are reopened, forcing the Perkins family to confront the forces that drove them apart and the defining choices of their lives.

Can four lost adults find the peace they’ve been seeking by reconciling their childhood aches and coming back together? In the vein of The Nest and The VacationersThe Jetsetters is a delicious and intelligent novel about the courage it takes to reveal our true selves, the pleasures and perils of family, and how we navigate the seas of adulthood.

Blindsided by her mother’s sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she’s been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.

Writers & Lovers follows Casey―a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist―in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King’s trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.

Enjoy this episode of Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast featuring our exclusive interview with The Lager Queen of Minnesota and Kitchens of the Great Midwest Author J. Ryan Stradal and music from Dionne Warwick’s ‘Dionne’ album featuring I’ll Never Love This Way Again and Deja Vu courtesy of SONY Music.

Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.

When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days…can he?

We’re celebrating Divabetic’s 10th Year Podcast Anniversary with music from the world’s most famous “Divabetic”–  Ms. Patti LaBelle. She’s encouraging a ‘NEW ATTITUDE’ about living with diabetes!

Thank you to our loyal listeners for sharing your stories, questions, concerns, and successes with us over the past decade. Our aim has been and continues to be to broaden the appeal of diabetes education with music, beauty/style, games, real-life stories, cozy mysteries radio dramas, and laughter.

Guests: Patricia Addie-Gentle, RN, CDE, Dr. Andrea Chisholm OB-GYN, Luther McRae, Mama Rose Marie, Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDE, CDN, Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDE, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Seveda Williams and Terri Seidman.

One lucky listener in our random drawing will win a Dario Blood Glucose Meter starter kit. This all-in-one pocket-sized device can track blood sugar fluctuations and trends and identify hyper/hypoglycemic episodes right from your smartphone, providing readings within as little as 6 seconds. It’s scientifically proven, HIPPA compliant, and includes Dario Coaches to offer support and motivation to help manage your diabetes. Enjoy this special listener discount on Dario: mydario.com/divabetic

LISTENER SURVEY

Divabetic was inspired by the late music legend, Luther Vandross and created in 2005 by Max Szadek, who, as Vandross’ assistant of 14 years

Chickpeas with Lemongrass, Grass & Farro One-Pot Meal Recipe by Jill Weisenberger

Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND was our special guest on Divabetic’s recent free Cooking Party event on Zoom. Jill shared several of her favorite healthy soup recipes, answered questions and encouraged participants to try new flavor combinations like cinnamon and spinach!

“You can boost the protein even more (in the recipe below) when you heap Greek yogurt on top or enjoy a glass of cold milk with your meal,” says Jill Weisenberger. “No butternut squash? No problem. Leave it out. Add a couple extra carrots if you have them.”

Below is one of Jill’s favorite one-pot meal loaded with plant protein and exquisite flavor.

Chickpeas & Farro: a Healthy Vegetarian One-Pot Meal Recipe by Jill Weisenberger

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 4 large carrots, sliced
  • 12 ounces butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 4-inch piece lemongrass, smashed slightly with a knife
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, no salt added, undrained
  • 4 cups vegetable broth look for lower sodium varieties
  • 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup dry farro
  •  cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt or other plain strained yogurt of choice

Nutrition:Serving: 1.75cup, Calories: 340, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 16g,  Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 650mg, Fiber: 12g

Click HERE for Full Recipe

The latest numbers from the CDC suggest that nearly 1 in 3 adults have either prediabetes or diabetes. These are alarming numbers, and finding out that you are the one out of three can be even more alarming.  Shock, denial, and confusion are not uncommon reactions. But there is a flipside to learning you have prediabetes. It can be scary, but it’s also an opportunity—an opportunity to “reset,” to improve your health, and to get yourself in better shape than ever. Let Prediabetes: A Complete Guide show you how!

This comprehensive guide will lead you through dozens of concrete steps you can take to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Taking an individualized approach to your lifestyle reset, Prediabetes: A Complete Guide will allow you to choose your own path to wellness and help you gain a greater sense of wellbeing, boost confidence in your abilities to maintain a healthful lifestyle, and potentially even help you reverse prediabetes, avoid type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses, and have you feeling better than you have in years!

Diviabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite Podcast Inspired by Patti Austin

Tune in to Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with musical inspiration from Patti Austin.

“I had type 2 diabetes,” says the former 285- pound singing sensation. “I had obesity-driven diabetes,” continued the now 140-pound Austin. To reach her new weight, Patti Austin had gastric bypass surgery and the result has been remarkable.

Podcast guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND, Chris Pickering co-founder of ‘The Betes Bros’, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, and Mama Rose Marie.

Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe by Jill Weisenberger

“Pureeing the typical ingredients with a of bit bread transforms this tomato soup into something rich and creamy. And the bread adds a mere 30 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate per serving – a boon to dieters and to people with diabetes,” says Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND.

Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe by Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 (26.46-ounce) box of chopped or crushed Italian tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetables broth
  • 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese
  • 2 ounces bread (no seeds or nuts), torn into about 4 pieces
  • 5 fresh basil leaves

Nutrition: Serving: 1cup | Calories: 142, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1.5g,  Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 6mg,  Sodium: 397mg

GET FULL RECIPE

Special Guest Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND will prepare a hearty Fall Harvest Soup recipe and share expert tips on flavorful ways to reduce salt in recipes and meal prepping during the holidays on Divabetic’s free Zoom Cooking Party on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 7-8 PM.

REGISTER NOW 

Jill Weisenberger is the author of Diabetes Weight Loss Week by Week is a bestseller and can help you manage your weight and blood sugar at the same time, The Overworked Person’s Guide to Better Nutrition offers solutions to your everyday food and nutrition problems – no matter how busy you are, 21 Things You Need to Know about Diabetes and Your Heart gives you specific actions to take to improve your health right away, and her newest book Prediabetes: A Complete Guide featuring dozens of concrete steps to lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other chronic health problems.

 

 

Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND, Chris Pickering co-founder of ‘The Betes Bros, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, and Mama Rose Marie. Throughout this podcast we will be featuring songs from ‘The Best Of Patti Austin’ album courtesy of SONY Music.

Creamy Zucchini Soup Recipe by Jill Weisenberger

Soup can be a tasty, inexpensive way to eat well and keep your blood sugars on track. Most soups keep well, and making extra can give you days of quick meals that will help keep your blood glucose levels under control.

Our friend, Jill Weisenberger shares her Creamy Zucchini Soup Recipe with the Divabetic community.

“My creamy zucchini soup recipe was inspired by the award-winning chef José Andrés. My favorite Washington, DC restaurant is his Zaytinya. I eat there every opportunity I can create for myself,” says Jill Weisenberger. “Last year, chef José Andrés published a hefty and beautiful cookbook called Vegetables Unleashed in which he offers a version of his wife’s zucchini soup. From his remake, I created my own remake, which is a bit more health-focused. And still incredibly delicious. It’s a great way to start a meal – very filling, so it’s easier to be satisfied with less.”

Creamy Zucchini Soup Recipe by Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • ¼-½ teaspoon kosher salt
  •  teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • 2.5 pounds zucchini, unpeeled, cut lengthwise and then sliced
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ cup fresh basil leaves
  • 2 ½ ounces soft goat cheese, broken into several pieces
  • Additional herbs or flavored oil for garnish

Nutrition: Serving: 1cup | Calories: 86, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 2g,  Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 5mg,  Sodium: 390mg, Fiber: 2g

GET FULL RECIPE 

Special Guest Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND will prepare a hearty Fall Harvest Soup recipe and share expert tips on flavorful ways to reduce salt in recipes and meal prepping during the holidays on Divabetic’s free Zoom Cooking Party on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 7-8 PM.

REGISTER NOW 

Jill Weisenberger is the author of Diabetes Weight Loss Week by Week is a bestseller and can help you manage your weight and blood sugar at the same time, The Overworked Person’s Guide to Better Nutrition offers solutions to your everyday food and nutrition problems – no matter how busy you are, 21 Things You Need to Know about Diabetes and Your Heart gives you specific actions to take to improve your health right away, and her newest book Prediabetes: A Complete Guide featuring dozens of concrete steps to lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other chronic health problems.

Cuban Style Chicken Soup (Sopa de Polla) by Holly Clegg

In March, we’re spotlighting ‘Cubans & Diabetes’ with musical inspiration from ‘La Reina de la Salsa’, Celia Cruz on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 6 PM, EST.

Our musical inspiration, Celia Cruz did not have diabetes but her late husband, Pedro Knight, who was an accomplished Cuban-American trumpeter who managed the career, had type 2 diabetes.

Mr. Knight’s physical and mental health declined after his wife’s death in 2003 reports the Mercury News. He fainted and required hospitalization after a July 2004 cancer fundraiser in Miami in Cruz’s honor, and doctors described it as a combination of diabetes-induced low blood pressure and emotional breakdown.

Best-Selling Cookbook author Holly Clegg, who will be joining us on March’s Diabetes Late Nite,  shares her wonderful Cuban recipe to help you add some flavor to your menu without compromising your health.

“Cuban chicken soup takes a short cut using Rotisserie chicken,” says Holly.  “What’s great about chicken soup is you can adjust the recipe adding whatever you want according to how you feel and what you like!”

Cuban Style Chicken Soup (Sopa de Polla) by Holly Clegg from  Alimentándose bien durante el cáncer: Recetas fáciles y recomendaciones durante y después del tratamiento.

Makes 8 (1-cup) servings

Ingredients: 
1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped

1 yucca, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes (about 2/3 cup)

1 cup peeled red potato small chunks

1 plantain, peeled and diced

6 cups fat-free chicken broth  

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

4 cups skinless rotisserie chicken chunks
2 tablespoons lime juice

Cilantro, optional
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: 

1.  In large pot coated with nonstick cooking spray, add green onions, red pepper, yucca, potato, plantain, chicken broth, garlic, cumin and oregano; bring to a boil.

2.  Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes or until vegetables tender.  Add chicken, stirring, until well heated. 

3. Add lime juice and cilantro if desired and season to taste.

 

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 216 kcal, Calories from fat 24%, Fat 6 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 78 mg, Sodium 947 mg, Carbohydrates 21 g, Dietary Fiber 3 g, Total Sugars 6 g, Protein 21 g, Dietary Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 1/2 lean meat

Terrific Tip: Fresh On average, one medium lime produces about 2 tablespoons of lime juice; but you can also look for lime juice in the grocery to keep on hand at all times.

Nutritional Nugget: Yucca is a good source of the mineral, potassium, which aids the body in building muscle and electrical heart activity.  To reduce the sodium for diabetic friendly, use low-sodium chicken broth.

With over 1 million cookbooks sold, Holly Clegg has become a culinary expert on easy healthy everyday recipes through her nationally recognized best-selling trim&TERRIFIC® and Eating Well cookbook series, including Eating Well Through Cancer, (English, Spanish and Chinese editions), Eating Well to Fight Arthritis and Diabetic Cooking with the American Diabetes Association.

This newly revised and expanded 15-year anniversary edition of Holly’s Eating Well Through Cancer includes chapters on nourishing foods that are best tolerated to ease common side effects such as nausea, sore mouth and throat, taste changes, neutropenia and weight loss. With easy everyday recipes using familar ingredients, you’ll find this book an invaluable recipe resource for cancer prevention

Holly Clegg attended the Cordon Bleu Cooking School, London. For more information, visit About Holly or The Healthy Cooking Blog for more recipes and tips.

LISTEN NOW: Mr. Divabetic shines the spotlight on author and chef, Holly Clegg, in this half-hour special edition of Diva Talk Radio. This fun-filled food frenzy will feature expert advice on quick, flavorful and healthy eating from Holly’s latest book, ‘Too Hot in the Kitchen:  Secrets to Sizzle at Any Age’

TUNE IN: March’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast inspired by Celia Cruz on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 6 – 7:30 PM, EST. Guests include Cookbook Author Holly Clegg, Constance Brown-RiggsMSEd,RD,CDE,CDN, Poet Lorraine Brooks, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach and Mama Rose Marie.