Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe by Divabetic

We’re celebrating ‘all things Italian’ on Divabetic’s podcast featuring music by Dean Martin on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 6 PM EST. 

Our musical inspiration, Dean Martin‘s favorite restaurant, was Da Vinci Ristorante in Beverly Hills. There was even a booth marked Dean Martin Booth adjacent to the small bar.

Eating at an Italian restaurant can be a minefield for anyone with diabetes trying to watch their calories and carbohydrate intake. So many of the items on the menu are smothered in either creamy sauce or gooey cheese, and they’re high in fat, carbs, sodium, and calories.

We thought it would be fun to challenge the Original Divabetic to make a lighter version of a conventional plate of pasta. 

She’s been living with type 2 diabetes for over a decade. Her goal this year is to keep her blood sugars in a target range without feeling deprived every time she sits down to eat. 

She’s sharing her Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe to inspire you to lighten up your menu! Now, that’s Amore! 

Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe By The Original Divabetic

I decided to skip using Prego or another brand of spaghetti sauce. Store-bought spaghetti sauce is a sodium grenade. One cup of spaghetti sauce can have a sodium content of nearly 1,000 mg. 

Instead, I decided to make my own sauce. I roasted red peppers, garlic, tomatoes (seasoned with basil, thyme, and sage), and onions in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.  

Then, I pulsed the mixture in my blender before transferring it to a small pot on the stove to stay warm. This way, the flavors could blend together. 

I swapped out flour-based pasta for zoodles to cut back on the carbohydrates. Zoodles are zucchini noodles or spaghetti-like strands made from spiralized, raw zucchini and other squash. They contain no flour or wheat whatsoever and are very low in calories and carbs. A cup of Zoodles includes 30-40 calories and 5 net grams of carbs. Traditional pasta has 210 calories and 40 net grams of carbs per cup. In addition, zoodles provide a good dose of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium, and a modest fiber intake in every cup.

I put the Zoodles in the oven to roast. But you can also cook your Zoodles in a nonstick skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat, tossing frequently. They will release water and cook quickly, so only heat them for 2–5 minutes for best results to avoid sogginess. Personally, I like to keep them in the oven for as long as possible. Plated and sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on it and went to town! .. So yummy! Sorry, Prego, I’m making my own sauce from now on.

While I was eating, the Zoodles did release the water, but it did not remove any flavor.

Don’t miss Divabetic’s February 2022 podcast featuring music by Dean Martin.  We’re talking about 50 years with type 1 diabetes, alcohol’s effects on blood sugars, and the Spare A Rose campaign with musical inspiration from Dean Martin.  Podcast guests: Fran Carpentier, Mama Rose Marie, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Throughout this podcast, we will be featuring music from The Essential Dean Martin album courtesy of SONY Music.

Join us for Divabetic’s Baking Party with The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Zoom on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM, EST

The Diabetic Pastry Chef prepares a Valentines-themed Sugar-Free Dessert Recipe and shares Expert Baking Tips for using Sugar Substitutes. one lucky participant will win a Divabetic Gift Basket featuring Splenda products, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes‘s Cozy Mystery, PEAK 10 Skin Save My Soles Rescue Cream, and an assortment of Walden Farms Salad Dressings. You must be present on Zoom to participate in our random drawing.

REGISTER NOW 

Our Fifth Day of Blue Christmas Gift Ideas from Susan D’Addario

On the fifth day of Blue Christmas my true friend and athlete, Susan D’Addario sent to me a Paderno Spiralizer to inspire me to do more home cooking.

Divabetic is celebrating a Blue Christmas to bring attention to the mental health issues related to living with diabetes.

You probably know better than we do how diabetes affects your holiday experience. You might feel the weight of diabetes more at this time, because you can’t let go and celebrate like everyone else. Or maybe you do let go and then beat yourself up over it.

That’s why we asked our panel of experts, friends and past Diabetes Late Nite podcast guests to spread some holiday cheer by sharing their favorite products to help keep you ‘happy and healthy’ all year long.

Susan’s pick: the Paderno 6-Blade Spiralizer allows you to quickly turn a wide variety of vegetables and fruit into healthy meals. Vegetable strands, shreds, and ribbons can be eaten both raw and cooked. Take the work out of salads and slaws, add textural appeal to vegetable platters, and create new flavors with ease.

“You can make noodles out of many types of veggies,” says Susan D’Addario aka ‘The HealthShrink’. “ I make zucchini or noodles frequently using zucchini and/or yellow squash. Get your veggies an forget the sugar raising pasta.”

Zoodles” is a nickname for zucchini noodles, or spaghetti-like strands made from spiralized, raw zucchini and other squash. They contain no flour or wheat whatsoever and are very low in both calories and carbs.

“You can eat approximately five cups or more of zoodles for the same number of calories that you’d get from just one cup of regular wheat-based noodles!,” states Dr. Axe on his Food & Medicine website.

“Zoodles’ provide a good dose of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium and a modest amount of fiber in every cup.

Did we mention zoodles are gluten-free?

 

 

While it’s possible to find pre-made zoodles in some grocery stores, most people prefer to make them fresh at home, especially considering they can take just a few quick minutes to prepare. 

My friend, Susan D’Addario, LCSW is the Founder of The HealthShrink program, and an avid health seeker and healer in both the mental/emotional and the physical health realms. Whether referred to as a diet coach, nutrition coach, or Eating Psychology Coach, she’s fascinated with people, emotions, health, and our relationship with eating, food, and our body.  As a nutrition coach, Susan looks forward to supporting you with counseling strategies and nutrition principles that are nourishing, doable and sustainable and yield long-lasting weight loss results.

Susan’s HealthShrink program emphasizes the inner root causes of weight issues, as an antidote to the superficial Band-Aids of fad dieting.

I have happily partnered with Susan D’Addario to present Health & Wellness programming for the members of the Gotham Volleyball League in New York. Together we have produced a series of popular Facebook Live videos focusing on healthy food and drink alternatives for people who enjoy sports. Susan has also presented several Health & Wellness programs for members interested in achieving optimum health. Susan’s a very thoughtful, intelligent woman with a passion for helping others. On and off-court, I’m happy to have Susan be a part of my team.

Wondering why physical activity is so important for managing diabetes?

Regular activity is a key part of managing diabetes along with proper meal planning, taking medications as prescribed, and stress management according to the American Diabetes Association. 

When you are active, your cells become more sensitive to insulin so it can work more efficiently. Your cells also remove glucose from the blood using a mechanism totally separate from insulin during exercise.

So, exercising consistently can lower blood glucose and improve your A1C. When you lower your A1C, you may be able to take fewer diabetes pills or less insulin.

Physical activity is also important for your overall well being, and can help with many other health conditions. READ MORE

Get Inspired to Move! 

Meet other women who swim, bike, and run for hours — with diabetes

WILD stands for Women Inspiring Life With Diabetes, and the organization demonstrates that having diabetes can be an inspiration rather than an obstacle to achieving one’s athletic and fitness goals.  Through the Red Riders and Team WILD, Mari Ruddy, a recreational triathlete with type 1 diabetes and a stage IIa breast cancer survivor, has found a way to contribute to the health and wellness of all people who live with the incredible challenge of diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2.

 

 

 

 

On December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast we’re celebrating a Blue Christmas. I chose this theme in December because ‘Blue’ is the color that I most closely associate with diabetes and I feel that the mental health issues related to diabetes are often overlooked and ignored. Some listeners may feel that talking about depression is depressing  which is understandable. However, I feel it is far more important to reach out to those coping with diabetes distress and burnout  and let them know they are not alone.  Please join us! 

TUNE IN! Don’t miss December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast featuring music by Elvis Presley on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 6 PM, EST. We will be discussing ways to not let diabetes make you feel ‘blue’ during the holiday season with our panel of experts. Guests include ‘Walking With Peety’ Author Eric O’Grey, Chilbrook Kennels Breeder Author, Diabetes Alert Dog and Scent Detection Expert, Debby Kay, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDE, CDN, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach featuring Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE and America’s #1 Energy Conductor, High Voltage. Throughout the podcast we will be featuring songs from the new “Christmas with Elvis and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” album courtesy of SONY Music. The album brings together Elvis Presley’s best-loved yuletide performances from “Elvis’ Christmas Album” (1957) and “Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas” (1971) re-imagined with sublime and exquisite new arrangements performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

NEED MORE INSPIRATION? Our panel of experts, Divabetic community members and past Diabetes Late Nite guests will be sharing more Blue Christmas Gift suggestions on this blog for the next twelve days to help you enjoy the festive spirit of the season without compromising your diabetes health!

Are you feeling ‘blue’ this holiday season?

You’re not alone.

While it’s true that sadness and/or depression at holiday time can be a reaction to the stresses and demands of the season, people with diabetes are more likely to be depressed than others states David Spero BSN, RN for Diabetes Self-Management.

Diabetes can cause complications and health problems that may worsen symptoms of depression. Depression can lead to poor lifestyle decisions, such as unhealthy eating, less exercise, smoking and weight gain — all of which are risk factors for diabetes.

The good news is that diabetes and depression can be treated together. And effectively managing one can have a positive effect on the other.

If you think you might be depressed, seek help right away. Your doctor or diabetes educator can refer you to a mental health professional.