Good Morning Gorgeous By Mary J. Blige

“I wake up every morning and tell myself

Good morning gorgeous

Sometimes you gotta look in the mirror and say

Good Morning Gorgeous”

The Queen of Hip Hop, Mary J. Blige sings these words in her new self-empowering song, “Good Morning Gorgeous”. Do you tell yourself that you are beautiful each day? I bet you don’t, but maybe you should. What would happen if you did? Take a moment to appreciate your curves, the way your body is solid and sure with strength in some places or sensuous with softness in others. End quiet moment you spend appreciating is a gift to you. Good thoughts become good feelings and feeling good on the inside is expressed on the outside, too.

Kind and gentle self-talk has helped Mary J. Blige overcome many obstacles in her life. She is not living with diabetes but she had a rough childhood. Her father, a war veteran who suffered from PTSD, left when she was just a young girl leaving the young Mary and her two siblings in the hands of an alcoholic mother. She was sexually abused by a family friend at the age of five. She turned to alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity to deal with the pain of her experiences.

“We numb ourselves with drugs and alcohol and people and shopping and shit, to cover up what’s really going on inside,” she said in an interview with Self.

Her resilience like her fame has grown over the years.

“People are watching,” she said to Self. “So much painful, embarrassing, public stuff has happened from the time I came out in this music industry. This stuff happens so that we can talk.”

Loving the body that you have and celebrating it makes you want to take care of it better inside and out, and all of that beauty just grows and grows. If you say it and hear it enough times I bet you’ll begin to believe it.

Enjoy Mary J. Blige’s song, “Good Morning, Gorgeous!” We believe in YOU!

Need a boost? Join us tomorrow night for Divabetic’s free Holiday-themed Baking Party with the Diabetic Pastry Chef on Thursday, December 9, 2021, at 7- 7:30 PM. EST.

We will be hosting two raffles during our virtual program. First, we will be giving away a beautiful Splenda Gift Basket filled with different Splenda products for you and your loved ones to enjoy. Then, Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller will raffle off a gift from Gem Desire. Catherine is the newest Brand Ambassador for Gem Desire, a curated jewelry brand at affordable prices. You must be present during our virtual program to qualify for the random drawings.

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11/18/2021

Sugar-Free Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe by the Diabetic Pastry Chef

Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef captured the hearts and the taste buds of our attendees on Divabetic’s free Baking Party in September. She will be returning to demonstrate how to make sugar-free Linzer tarts on December’s Divabetic Baking Party on Zoom.

After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Stacey Harris (The Diabetic Pastry Chef) taught herself how to make pound cake, pecan rolls, pies, muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods with about half the carbs you’d get from traditional bakery items.

Sugar-Free Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe by The Diabetic Pastry Chef

Ingredients

1- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar substitute, your favorite

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine melted butter, sugar substitute, eggs, and vanilla extract. Next, fold in sour cream or yogurt, nuts, and bananas.

Combine the two mixtures and stir, combining well, or use an electric mixer, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.

Spread batter in a loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Note: The sugar substitutes that The Diabetic Pastry used were a mixture of half Splenda and half Whey Low D Granular. She doubled the recipe and baked it in a large Pullman loaf pan. She also sprinkled the nuts on top of the loaf instead of mixing them into the batter.

Now people with diabetes, “Divabetics”, can have their cake and eat it too thanks to Stacey Harris aka The Diabetes Pastry Chef and her simple four-part substitution system that turns any decadent dessert into a diabetic-friendly delight. Visit: http://www.diabeticpastrychef.com/ Find out more about this book

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Back by popular demand! The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic hosts this free, fun Virtual Holiday-themed Baking Party with our special guest, Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Thursday, December 9, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.

REGISTER – FREE REGISTRATION

07/24/2021

Free Baking Party on Zoom With The Diabetic Pastry Chef in September

Special guest, Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef demonstrates one of her favorite sugar-free recipes, answers your questions, and shares the dos and don’ts of baking with popular sugar substitutes at Divabetic’s upcoming Free Program on Zoom.

After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Stacey Harris (‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’) taught herself how to make pound cake, pecan rolls, pies, muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods with about half the carbs you’d get from a traditional bakery item.

“I started experimenting by using almond milk or whole milk mixed with water to cut down on carbs, then tried different flours, incorporating white whole wheat flour, soy flour, oat flour, black bean flour, and other alternatives into my brownies, cakes, and cookies,” she said in a How 2 Type 2 article.

She adds,” To cut back on sugar, I started using all-natural substitutes, like agave nectar, and trying erythritol. I also bake with a store-bought blend of sugars that tastes delicious.”

All of The Diabetic Pastry Chef‘s recipes are adapted to her preferences and dietary needs; we encourage you to adapt them to yours!

Diabetic Pastry Chef

Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef shares her recipes in a fabulous book so that people with type 2 diabetes and others looking for sugar-free treats can make their own lower-carb versions of baked goods at home. She also started her own online bakery that ships homemade treats all across the country. The most common thing she hears from customers is, “I don’t even miss the extra sugar!”

Don’t miss Divabetic’s upcoming Free Baking Party Program with The Diabetic Pastry on Zoom on Thursday, September 23, 2021, 7-8 PM, EST.

Register Now

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 own 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 turned into a complete and utter baking disaster, now Max, along with his friends and nosy mother, have to add tracking down a murderer to his To-Do list, as well.

Can our team hunt down the real murderer before they strike again? Will he become the next victim? Can Max ever manage to bake a cake that’s actually edible?

Divabetic’s Mystery podcast cast includes USA Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Coach The Cure‘s Trisha Artman, Mama Rose Marie, Seveda Williams, and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. Produced by Leisa Chester-Weir.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.

01/27/2021

Sugar-Free Pecan Pie Recipe by The Diabetic Pastry Chef

After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Stacey Harris (‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’) taught herself how to make pound cake, pecan rolls, pies, muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods with about half the carbs you’d get from a traditional bakery item.

She adds,”To cut back on sugar, I started using all-natural substitutes, like agave nectar, and trying erythritol. I also bake with a store-bought blend of sugars that tastes delicious.”

All of the Diabetic Pastry Chef‘s recipes are adapted to her preferences and dietary needs; we encourage you to adapt them to yours!

Sugar-Free Pecan Pie Recipe by The Diabetic Pastry Chef

Ingredients

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. agave nectar, light or dark
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. pecans, halved or chopped
1 unbaked single pie shell

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine eggs, agave nectar, melted butter, cinnamon if using, and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake for approximately 50-55 minutes, or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Let cool.

**Diabetes Late Nite Inspired by Gladys Knight**

Stacey Harris, The Diabetic Pastry Chef, guests on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with music from Gladys Knight & The Pips. Our musical inspiration, Gladys Knight doesn’t have diabetes, but the disease is as close to her heart as the memories of her mother, Elizabeth Knight, who died of complications from the disease in 1997. The five time Grammy Award winner never misses an opportunity to use her voice to encourage early detection and treatment of diabetes.

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, virtual diabetes support event with style. Divabetic’s dynamic diabetes empowerment meeting features a Hat & Face Mask Fashion Show presented by Harlem Heaven’s Hats owner Evetta Petty and a Diabetes Educational Group Activity and Discussion presented by Maryann Nicolay BA, DTR on Thursday, February 4, 2021, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.

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09/07/202009/07/2020

Sugar-Free Key Lime Pie Recipe by The Diabetic Pastry Chef

After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Stacey Harris (The Diabetic Pastry Chef) taught herself how to make pound cake, pecan rolls, pies, muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods with about half the carbs you’d get from a traditional bakery item.

She adds,”To cut back on sugar, I started using all-natural substitutes, like agave nectar, and trying erythritol. I also bake with a store-bought blend of sugars that tastes delicious.”

Below is The Diabetic Pastry Chef’s Sugar-Free Key Lime Pie recipe, enjoy!

The Diabetic Pastry Chef’s Sugar-Free Key Lime Pie Recipe

Ingredients

One 9″ pie crust, baked (traditional or graham cracker crust)
3 large eggs
1 c. granulated Whey Low®, Splenda® or Truvia® sugar substitute
1 c. half & half
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 c. key lime juice
1 Tbsp. finely grated lime zest
1/8 tsp. salt
whipped cream

Directions:

In medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together eggs, sugar substitute, half & half, cornstarch, key lime juice, lime zest and salt until thickened.

Cool and add to baked pie crust. Garnish with whipped cream and refrigerate for at least 3 hours

Free Baking Party on Zoom with the Diabetic Pastry Chef – Register Now

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Baking Party with special guest, Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Thursday, December 10, 2020, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.

During this virtual Baking Party on Zoom, The Diabetic Pastry Chef will prepare a Sugar Free Holiday Dessert recipe and share expert baking tips for using sugar substitutes in your favorite recipes.

REGISTER NOW – FREE REGISTRATION

The Diabetic Pastry Chef shares her recipes in a fabulous book so that people with type 2 diabetes and others looking for sugar-free treats can make their own lower-carb versions of baked goods at home. She also started her own online bakery that ships homemade treats all across the country. The most common thing she hears from customers is, “I don’t even miss the extra sugar!”

Divabetic’s New Mystery Podcast Available On Demand For Free

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’ on Divabetic’s Mystery podcas, Kill Me Madam.

But resentment, greed and Britannia’s own 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.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.

08/08/202008/08/2020

Sugar Free Pumpkin Crumble Cheesecake Recipe by Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’

We’re less than a month away from the premiere of Divabetic’s Mystery Podcast, Kill Me Madam, on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 6 PM, EST. In the spirit of our upcoming culinary caper, our friend, Chef Robert aka The Happy Diabetic, who has appeared on several mystery podcasts, shares this delicous, healthy sugarfree cheesecake recipe with you!

Pumpkin Crumble Cheesecake Recipe by Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’

Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:

3 – 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend

2 T. Splenda Naturals®

3 large eggs

1 t. almond extract

1 – 15 oz. can pumpkin

½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt

2 T. almond flour

1 ½ t. ground cinnamon

½ t. ground ginger

1 t. imitation maple flavoring

2 t. vanilla extract

Crumble Topping Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

2 T. chilled butter

½ t. vanilla

4 T. SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend, and Splenda Naturals® until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in pumpkin, yogurt, almond flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, maple flavoring, and vanilla. Pour filling into prepared pan. Mix the topping ingredients by hand or in a food processor until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of cheesecake. Bake until firm, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and run a butter knife around the inner edge but do not remove the pan side. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Refrigerate.

Servings/Yield: 16 servings

Nutritional Information (Pre Serving): Calories: 312, Total Fat: 21.68g, Cholesterol: 77mg, Sodium: 336 mg, Total Carbs: 17.71g, Dietary Fiber: 3.09g, Sugars: 4.20g, Protein: 8.13g

Chef Robert Lewis, The Happy Diabetic, is a nationally recognized author and motivational speaker who is passionate about helping people learn to live a healthier lifestyle. Chef Lewis graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in 1976. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1998. Thus began his motivation to create great tasting dishes that are easy to prepare. He travels the country speaking on the benefits of healthy eating not only for people affected by diabetes, but also for anyone who would like to eat and live a healthy lifestyle.

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Cooking Party with special guest Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ on Thursday, August 13, 2020, 7 – 7:40 PM, EST on Zoom.

Having diabetes doesn’t mean you need to deny yourself all the foods you love, but you do want to make healthier food choices. One good choice is to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, which are heavy in nutrition but light in calories.

During this virtual Cooking Party on Zoom,Chef Robert Lewis will prepare a recipe that won’t compromise your diabetes wellness.

REGISTER NOW – IT’S FREE

Enjoy Divabetic’s 10th Year Podcast Anniversary Special with music from the world’s most famous “Divabetic”– Ms. Patti LaBelle. She’s encouraging you to have a ‘NEW ATTITUDE’ about living with diabetes! Guests include: 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.

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 own 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!

Can our team hunt down the real murderer before they strike again? Will he become the next victim? Can Max ever manage to bake a cake that’s actually edible?

Divabetic’s Mystery podcast cast includes Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Mama Rose Marie, Seveda Williams, and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. Produced by Leisa Chester-Weir.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.

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.