I find it interesting how quickly people adapt to new terms like “matcha,” “vegan,” “gluten,” and “oat milk.” Yet, when it comes to respecting someone’s identity by using “them,” some seem to struggle.
It’s curious that they often say, “I don’t understand” or “it doesn’t make sense,” while they can effortlessly rattle off a complex drink order with terms they’ve only recently learned. Maybe it’s time we practice a bit more compassion and understanding, extending it beyond just our diets.
According to a quick Google search, matcha is powdered green tea leaves dissolved in hot water to make tea or used as a flavoring.
The catechins in matcha and green tea may decrease oxidative stress—an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body—and prevent inflammation. They’re also very good for your heart and could lower your risk of atherosclerosis (the hardening of your arteries), high blood pressure, and heart disease.
After 63 years and thousands of issues, JET printed its last magazine in 2014, but it was announced that the iconic publication is coming back!
Growing up, Jet magazine was a staple in the Black community. Copies of Jet magazine could be found in Black hair salons, barbershops, and on almost every Black family’s coffee table, including Luther Vandross‘s house. He once told me how his older sister, Pat, would give him money to send him to the store to buy a copy!
The first Jet issue’s cover star is CEO & Founder of Slutty Vegan, Pinky Cole.
“I am so thrilled to be featured on the cover of Jet!” said Cole in a press release. “Ever since I was a little girl, I grew up reading every inch of every issue that I could get my hands on. Now here I am on the cover and as their iconic ‘Beauty of the Week.’ This moment is so personal and special to me because, in many ways, Jet helped shape who I wanted to become and who I am now.”
Pinky Cole is known for popularizing vegan meals in the Black community through her vegan comfort food and recipes. Since opening her business in 2018, her vegan burger chain has opened restaurants in Georgia, New York, and Alabama.
Her menus include such burgers as the Fussy Hussy (vegan cheese, caramelized onions), the Super Slut (guacamole, jalapeños), and the Ménage à Trois (vegan bacon, vegan shrimp). All were made with plant-based patties from Impossible Foods and doused with a spicy orange “slut sauce.”
Pinky Cole told New Yorker Magazine she estimates that three-quarters of Slutty Vegan’s customers are meat-eaters. “We like it that way,” she told the magazine. “It’s not a vegan concept where we’re this glorified group that’s better than everybody else.”
Some of Slutty Vegan burger options aren’t very healthy either. “I won’t sit here and tell you to eat Slutty Vegan every single day, all day,” she told the magazine before declining to share nutritional information. “But I do want you to understand that veganism can be healthier, even if it starts with burgers and fries.”
A vegan diet doesn’t include animal products. That means no meat, fish, eggs, poultry, milk, cheese, or other dairy products. Strict vegans avoid honey.
Generally speaking, vegan diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and higher in fiber – as a result, they fit well with meal plans for people with diabetes. If you’re considering a plant-based diet, please consult with your friendly certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCDE) to determine the best meal plan for you.
International yoga teacher, and author Rachel Zinman, living with LADA diabetes, shares a guided meditation, “Compassion Meditation,” focusing on self-love and compassion to help jumpstart your day with a new attitude.
The Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in 2011.
Experts say over time, diabetes damages the small blood vessels in your body, causing the walls of the blood vessels to stiffen. This increases pressure, which leads to high blood pressure.
Chaka Khan decided to give up on meat and dairy after her diagnosis.
“I went on a radical change in lifestyle,” she says. “I was on liquids for a year, and that gave me a good jump-start.”
Her new meal plan helped her drop 60 pounds and stop using her oral medications to manage her diabetes.
Last year marked Chaka Khan’s fiftieth year in the music industry. “I ran away from home and quit school. I knew what I wanted to do,” she told Jennifer Hudson on Jennifer Hudson’s talk show.
A lot of people know about Chaka Khan’s life of excess. Many speculate that her strange behavior on Versuz with Stephanie Mills was caused by substance abuse. However, the star vehemently denies the allegations even though the superstar almost died mixing sleeping pills and cocaine once and suffered from alcohol addiction, which she eventually recovered.
Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure. Having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily raises blood pressure. Repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases in blood pressure.
Her latest song, Woman Like Me, hints at an earlier classic, I’m Every Woman, which she made famous but with a sharper edge. It’s her first single on Sono Recording Group SRG-ILS Group. It was produced by Gregg Pagani, who also co-wrote it with Francesca Richard and Jeffrey Anderson.
“My song, Woman Like Me,addresses the women of today. And a lot of the tribulations women are going through,” she told Jennifer Hudson. “Much of it is based on insecurities and looking outside yourself for gold when you are the gold.”
Chaka Khan’s I’m Every Womanwas her debut solo single from her first album, Chaka (1978). It was Khan’s first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. “I’m Every Woman” was produced by Arif Mardin and written by the successful songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.
The Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan, is inspiring Divabetic’s podcast. Mr. Divabetic interviews Chaka Khan’s former bandmember and producer, Ivan Hampden Jr., Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Pam Butler MS, CDE, Constance Brown-Riggs MSEd, RD, CDCES, CDN, Holly Clegg, the author of six cookbooks including Kitchen 101, Mama Rose Marie and real-life diva, Ginger Vieira, who is the author of Your Diabetes Science Experimentand record-setting competitive powerlifter living with type 1 diabetes.
“It’s hard for me to do these concerts and watch people walking in with canes who can hardly move,” said Jeffrey Osborne in an interview with Real Health. “People don’t realize that’s a result of their diet.”
The 72-year-old Grammy–nominated singer–songwriter,and musician has watched several of his eleven siblings succumb to different chronic illnesses. “I have only one sister left,” he says. “I have three brothers still living; the others either died from cancer or suffered from clogged arteries.”
Jeffrey Osborne rose to fame as the drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/Soul group L.T.D in the 1970’s. Recently, he released his first album of original material in 15 years entitled Worth It All.
Back in mid-’70s, Jeffrey Osborne toyed with the idea of becoming a vegan. “But it wasn’t cool then, and there wasn’t as much research at that time or great products like there are now,” he says.
What Is A Vegan?
A vegan is a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal products. Foods from animals that vegans do not eat include eggs, cheese, milk, and honey. Foods made from plants that vegans eat include: Fruits and vegetables. legumes (peas, beans, and lentils), nuts and seeds, breads, rice, and pasta, dairy alternatives (soy milk, coconut milk, and almond milk) and vegetable oils.
Vegan Diets & Diabetes
Studies have shown that those people who follow a low-fat vegan diet, avoiding meat and dairy, lower blood sugar levels very efficiently and lose weight reports Diabetes UK. Researchers have shown that people with diabetes who eat a vegan diet also lower their cholesterol and improve kidney functioning.
Jeffrey Osborne tried adapting a vegan diet again in 2017, on his 28-year-old son’s recommendation after their family watched the documentary, What The Health, about our nation’s health and how big business influences it.
“I did not know half of the things going on with the beef and poultry industries, and that just opened my eyes to so much, and that’s what started me.”
Now he and his family follow a plant-based diet. “It’s been incredible,” he says. “I feel so much better and have more energy, and I feel good. My bones and joints— everything—feels so good.”
“Worth It Allfinds Osborne picking up where he left off in the vein of new songs with 2003’s Music Is Life, remarkably displaying as much vocal agility and ease with range as ever atop a variety of urban-contemporary grooves and melodic R&B ballads that often reach back to harmonic and structural sensibilities of ‘80s soul while bearing a rhythmic foundation that adult-contemporary audiences came to appreciate during the early 2000s,” writes Justin Kantor for Soultracks.com.
If you have walked down the baking aisle at your local grocery store lately, you may be tempted to start experimenting with unending varieties of baking flour.
Recently I discovered chickpea flour and felt bored and fearless enough to try it!
Chickpeas
Chickpea flour or chana atta is a soluble fiber that not only reduces blood cholesterol levels but also aids in the slow absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, causing the blood sugar levels to rise slowly. It’s a great alternative to refined wheat flour, as it’s lower in carbs and calories yet richer in protein and fiber
Expert bakers and bloggers say that chickpea flour provides a sweet, rich flavor that works well in pizza crusts, crackers, and breads as well as desserts with strong flavors such as chocolate cake or pumpkin bread. It can even be used as a thickening agent in soups, sauces, and gravy in replacement of all-purpose flour or cornstarch.
When using it in a recipe, it is recommended that you replace up to one quarter of the flour with chickpea flour. One-quarter cup provides 110 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrate, and 5 grams of fiber.
Here’s a great chickpea flour recipe off of Instagram!
We’re talking about Secrets to Longevity & Diabetes with musical inspiration from Dionne Warwick on this episode of Diabetes Late.
Living longer and increasing your life expectancy with diabetes doesn’t have to be a chore. From flossing your teeth daily to getting a good night’s sleep, there are simple things you can do to help you live long, happy and healthy life.
Guests include The Lager Queen of Minnesota and Kitchens of the Great Midwest Author J. Ryan Stradal, Deborah Greenwood PhD, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE, Fonzi Thornton, Rachel Stahl MS, RD, CDN, CDE, and Lorraine Brooks.
As Image and Style Advisor of Divabetic, discovering products and services that contribute to stoking our ‘Divatude’, allows me to curate, commune and search high and low for wonderful new items that I want to share with my fellow divas. I attend a LOT of events and expos, sampling and testing out new products such as skin care, safe shapewear, cushioned socks, makeup/haircare and dietary and food innovations. I am, by my own definition, the epitome of a ‘Diva on the Go’. I also have pre-diabetes, and find that I must pay attention to ALL aspects of my regimen and discover new and different things that make me feel like dressing, dining, dancing, dreaming, do-ing it up like a diva. So not only do my wardrobe items and OOTD (Outfit of the Day) reflect my mood to live my best life each day (or at least LOOK like I’m trying to!), but what I nourish myself with is something that I love to strategize so that I don’t just grab the first thing and dash out the door!!
I’m constantly hitting the markets, streets, stores, expos, trade exhibits in search of new and innovative products to bring into Divabetic. I attended the Makeup Show last weekend, which is produced by our very first makeup sponsor, The Powder Groupand Michael DeVellis. His show has grown since we first met, and it is truly an insider industry gem where all the newest and best products are revealed for those in the beauty business.
Last weekend, I was a guest of supermodel/influencer Khrystyana, from Season 23 of ANTM, and she introduced me to her client Pacifica Beauty. I am in search of products not only for Divabetic, but for my Sustainable fashion event at National Graphic’s Encounter venue, happening during NYFW in the Fall of 2019. I loved Pacifica’s 100% vegan approach and cruelty free ethos. Their beauty products are pure and effective, with over thirty products that are as clever as they are useful and planet friendly! The even feature a recycling program called Preserve for the customers to recycle empty packaging easily and efficiently. Send your empty package back to them for recycling…do this ten times and you get a free product. It’s that kind of conscious effort that is beginning to open everyone up to the need for eco friendly, sustainable, waste free living.
Slay All Day
So, wouldn’t it make sense for them to launch a product that is a nutritional supplement, water enhancer, smoothie booster, good for you from the inside/out called ‘Slay All Day‘? I love the title and even hear a little Cardi B. bird call on Okayyyy? when I looked at the ingredients, I realized it was totally in line with our “be a better eater” philosophy. And a wonderful way to use the powder in water that you need to be drinking all day long to stay hydrated. Drinkable beauty. Says it right on the jar!
In a little plastic jar (but we are recycling those through Perserve) is contained amazing ingredients that out taste and out perform any water enhancer product we’ve promoted in the past. It’s 100% vegan, gluten free, zero added sugar, ten calories per scoop, 2 grams of carbs. With pineapple, green tea, ashwagandha, and hyaluronic acid, this makes for a delicious addition to water or even enhance a smoothie with a few scoops of this delightful blend. It’s as delicious as it is good for you…no more harmful and toxic ingredients just to keep ourselves hydrated. I am in love with all of the products, I may have another entry about the makeup and skin care. They have such interesting natural ingredients that you can use knowing they are gentle for your face, and even gentler on the environment.
I didn’t get a discount code to have you order on line (they can’t undersell Target), but they gave me a fun mini supply, so the first five divas who respond to this blog through my email directly at catschuller11@gmail.com will get a large sample trial jar. You will LOVE IT. Leave me your address where to ship it with your request. Type in the comments or email re line I LOVE DIVABETIC… I’ll want you to literally tell me how you use your water enhancer and how Pacifica Beauty will be your new go to beauty powder. Being a diva is from the inside out!…You can Facebook me pm DM too on Divabetic page and simply say “I LOVE DIVABETIC….” That’s it, first five… free Slay All Day ….This is our first phase and really want to talk new products!! Once you get the product, just snap a photo of yourself with it and send it to me at catschuller11@gmail.com.
