SPICY OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN LEGS

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup baking mix (such as Bisquick)
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 chicken legs, skinned

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Pour the oil evenly over the bottom of a 15 x 10-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a large bowl combine the baking mix, paprika, Cajun seasoning, seasoned salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and black pepper; mix well.  Pour mixture into a paper bag large enough to shake chicken in.

Add the chicken legs, a few at a time according to the size of the bag, and shake bag to coat legs well.  Arrange the legs on the baking pan.

Bake the chicken, turning once during cooking, until the juices run clear when pierced.  This will take around 30 to 40 minutes.

STAIR EXERCISE

If at all possible, a diabetic should always take the stairs rather than an elevator or escalator.  One of the keys to diabetic exercise is to make it a part of your everyday life.  While that doesn't have to mean an hour a day at the gym, it does mean you should find the simple ways to get exercise.  Stairs are a very good way to do that.

KIDS AND FAST FOOD, OBESITY, AND DIABETES

I am stepping out of the norm here and writing about kids and fast food.  Now understand, I am not against fast food for children.  Just this past Saturday I bought my 7-year-old granddaughter a McDonald's happy meal while we were out enjoying some Christmas activities.  But that is not something we do on a regular basis.  Having said that, I recently saw a study from about a year ago that said 30% of our kids eat fast food everyday.  Another said that a survey of 4th graders in one of our nations large cities said that nearly 50% were overweight.  Might there be a correlation between the two?  I think so.

What concerns me even more is the number of these children who will be facing diabetes later, if not already.  Please do not feed your children fast food everyday.  If they are overweight, make small subtle changes in their diets to help them lower their weight.  Remove a lot of the snack foods from your home and replace them with whole-grain crackers, fresh fruit that is easy for kids such as grapes, bananas, etc, and fresh produce such as baby carrots, etc.  Healthy, unsalted, nuts can also he a good idea.  And remember all things in moderation.

I am not a fan of Mrs. Obama and some of the crazy ideas about school lunches.  My daughter used to be an elementary school lunchroom manager.  When they had to replace some of the foods with fresh fruit, their trash cans were full of apples, bananas, etc.  I am also against banning toys in happy meals, etc.  We can control what our kids eat better than we do.  And it starts when they are young.  Don't reward behaviour with food.  Refrain from buying the heavily coated sugar cereals; teach your youngsters to eat healthy cereals.  There is much we can do to protect our children and grandchildren from this hideous disease known as diabetes!