CRANBERRY MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour, sift before measuring
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup Splenda granulated
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries
1 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease 12 muffin cups with solid shortening or line with paper cups; set aside.

Sift the flours with half the Splenda, the baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Place cranberries in a small mixing bowl and toss with the remaining Splenda to coat well. Add to the flour mixture and toss again.

Measure the milk into a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Add the 1/4 cup melted butter and eggs; beat with a fork or small whisk until eggs are incorporated and all is well combined.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour milk/egg mixture into the well. Quickly stir with a fork just until moistened. Do not beat - batter will be lumpy.

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3's full. Place on center rack in oven and bake at 400 degrees 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Remove muffins from pan to a wire rack.

Note: File Photo

SOME NUMBERS ON DIABETES

These are numbers from 2014:

29.1 Million Americans have Diabetes - are you one of them? If so are you taking your meds, exercising and eating a healthy diet?

86 Million Americans have Prediabetes - are you one of them? If so are you doing everything the doctor tells you to take care of your health?

$245 Million is the annual cost in America of diabetes caused lost wages and diabetes medications.

Did you know that 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 65 have diabetes?

If you fall into either of the above catagories or if you have a family history of diabetes I suggest you pay attention to your health by eating a healthy diet, exercising - something as simple as walking will do, and faithfully take any medications your doctor prescribes. Complications from diabetes are serious but with proper meds and taking care of yourself you can live a normal life.

If you don't know where to start in changing your diet there are many healthy tasty recipes on this site.

BAKED GARLIC PARMESAN CHICKEN BREASTS

This is a recipe I saw on Luna recipes (they thanked kitchme) and tweeked to make it diabetic-friendly. If you follow my blogs you know I won't eat it but I know all you chicken-eaters out there will like it. (As will my family!)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry whole-grain bread crumbs
2⁄3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp dried basil
1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning the chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast, halves
lightly salt, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

2. In a shallow dish, blend olive oil and garlic. In a separate shallow dish, mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Season each chicken breast with salt and black pepper, dip it in the oil mixture, and then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

   

BUTTERMILK PIE

Remember that diabetics have to watch their portions. Only 1 slice a day, no cheating.

1 9-inch sugar-free unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Splenda Granulated
3 tbsp white whole-wheat flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup fat-free or low-fat buttermilk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the eggs; add the Splenda, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon and mix well.  Beat in the buttermilk, butter, and vanilla; pour into the pastry shell.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake another 35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool before cutting.

Garnish with some fresh fruit, if desired.

Leftovers should be refrigerated.

ROASTED GREEN BEANS WITH MUSHROOMS, BALSAMIC, AND PARMESAN

I got this recipe from a facebook friend's post. Haven't tried it yet but certainly intend to.
Ingredients:

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced in 1/2 inch slices (I used brown crimini mushrooms, but any mushrooms will work)
1 lb. fresh green beans, preferably thin French style beans
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 T finely grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450F/230C. Wash mushrooms and let drain (or spin dry in salad spinner, which is what I did.) While mushrooms are drying, trim ends of beans and cut beans in half so you have bite-sized pieces. (An easy way to trim them is to gather a small handful of beans, stand them up on cutting board, holding loosely so they will fall down and have ends ends aligned, then trim. Repeat with other end.) Cut mushrooms into slices 1/2 inch thick.

Put cut beans and mushrooms into a Ziploc bag or plastic bowl. Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour over, then squeeze bag or stir so all the beans and mushrooms are lightly coated with the mixture. Arrange on large cookie sheet, spreading them out well so beans and mushrooms are not crowded. Roast 20-30 minutes, starting to check for doneness after 20 minutes. Cook until beans are tender-crisp, mushrooms are cooked, and all liquid on the pan from mushrooms has evaporated. Season beans to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper, then sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan. Serve hot.

ONE CARB SERVING

Did you know that 1 carb serving is equal to 15 grams of carbohydrates?  Important to know in case your nutritional information lists carb servings rather than straight carbs.  Also it is important to know how many carb servings you are eating per meal. Most diabetic men can handle 4 to 5 carb servings per meal while most women should only have 3 to 4.  If in doubt about your situation, ask your doctor.

As an example, the above nutritional label shows a total of 26 carbs.  That would be almost 2 carb servings. I have no idea what this label is for but a serving is only 1/2 cup.  If you eat a cup of said item, that is almost the 4 carb servings per meal.

CREAMY MILK CHOCOLATE PIE

This recipe is from Diabetic Connect.  I don't often post their recipes as I don't find them to always be what I consider either sugar-free or good for you but I believe this one will work for most diabetics.  Thanks to my friend Patti for posting this.

Creamy, chocolatey, and delicious, this pie will quickly become a family favorite. And with only 10g of carbs per slice, you can enjoy without feeling diet guilt.

Ingredients

• 3 oz. Sugar–Free Chocolate Jello Pudding
• 1 c. 2% Milk
• 1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
• 4 oz. Philidelphia Cream Cheese
• 4 oz. Sugar-Free Cool Whip
• 1 - 9” Fifty 50 Foods Sugar-Free Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Directions

1. Mix Jello Pudding mix and milk together with a whip for 2 minutes.
2. Add Whipping Cream, Cream Cheese and Cool Whip.
3. With mixer, whip mixture until thick and creamy.
4. Pour into pie shell and freeze. Thaw for an hour before serving.
5. Serve with whipping cream on top while pie is still a little icy.
   
   
   Serving Size
   1/8 Pie Slice
   Calories 110
   Fat 11g
   Cholesterol 28mg
   Sodium 73mg
   Carbs 10g
   Fiber 0g
   Sugar -1g
   Protein 2.2g
   
   

HEALTHY SUBSTITUTIONS

As diabetics we are always looking for healthy options to substitute for some of the common ingredients in our recipes.  Here are a couple of examples:

Instead of sour cream use low-fat Greek yogurt.  This in an excellent substitution to use in dips and dressings and in baking.

Instead of using bread crumbs when called for in recipes substitute whole-grain bread crumbs or wheat germ.

You will be surprised how much these simple, mostly unnoticed changes will make in your diet!

This is not an endorsement of this brand.  There are many brands of wheat germ.

Personal Note

I am so excited about my latest bloodwork.  I had bloodwork done Friday and saw the doctor today.  My A1C number was 6.1  It has been 6.1 since I have been seeing this doctor last May.  He told me that was very good.  I was especially pleased since this test was done over the months of November and December and all the holiday goodies.  Since I started out my diabetic diagnosis 6 years ago with a B/S reading of 500, I am sharing this information with you to let you know that eating correctly can help you control diabetes.  I am on 2 Janumet tablets a day and I do the rest with my diet.  I do eat sweets but have learned how to work them into my diet.  Birthday-type cakes are my favorite food.  I am pleased to say I have not given them up.  I have a piece of cake at every birthday celebration but I always eat it with a tablespoon of peanut butter.  Works everytime.  I also watch what I eat for the meal before and after the cake.

CHERRY LIMEADE CAKE

The other night I had a sweet tooth I couldn't seem to satisfy.  I went to the pantry and found a few ingredients and made a very simple cake.  It was quite good and my grandson, who is not diabetic, ate over half of it.  So I can safely say, it is tasty for the nondiabetics in your family or group, too.

These are the three ingredients I took from the pantry.
1 box sugar-free yellow cake mix
1 can Splenda-sweetened fruit cocktail, do not drain
1 3/4 cup sugar-free cherry limeade

In a medium mixing bowl combine all three ingredients and mix just until well blended.

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  This cake will not have a typical cake texture and is not thick like a regular cake.

The cake is good as is or with sugar-free whipped topping.  I even cut a piece for my husband and topped it with some cream cheese frosting. (The first picture below is with whipped topping.  The second is with cream cheese frosting.