Did You Know?

Fun Health Facts

-Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

-There are more nutrients in the cornflake package itself than there are in the actual cornflakes.

-You burn more calories while sleeping than watching T.V.

-American, on average, eat 18 acres of pizza every single day.

-9out of 10 parents think there children are physically fit, but only 4 out of 10 actually are.

-Most of the glucose consumed in the U.S. comes from corn.

-80% of all American woman are on diets.

-Laughing has the power to cut stress levels in HALF along with strengthening your immune system.

Egg Whites Fast and Easy

I have the worst case of the "not enough time in the morning to make breakfast" and being diabetic and all, breakfast is a meal I absolutely can't skip.

That should be the same for everyone.

Breakfast is vital for not only getting your metabolism started but overall maintaining a healthy weight. I've stressed how important breakfast is with previous posts, but it can never be talked about enough.

My biggest downfall was thinking that to have a healthy breakfast, I needed to wake up half an hour earlier. I'm someone that being able to sleep in an extra 5 minutes feels like a holiday. I love my sleep. So I had to be creative so I could sleep in AND get the healthy breakfast my body needs.

I've come up with some extremely fast breakfasts that are exactly what your body needs in the morning and for your metabolism. The right foods, and the right serving size.

~put 3 egg whites in a bowl, and throw it in the microwave for 1:00 minute. That's all you need. Get a piece of whole wheat bread and put some low-fat cheese on it. When egg whites are done, put it on the cheese and head out the door. (if you want to add some veggies, tomatoes are really good with this) {protien, complex carbs, fiber, and dairy}

~put 1/2 cup of oatmeal in a bowl, put some water in it, (make sure your not drenching the oatmeal) and put it in the microwave for 1:00-1:20 minutes. Put a spoon-full of fruit on top along with low-fat milk, and WA-LA! Your breakfast is done! {protien, complex carbs, fruits, dairy and fiber}

~Grab some yogurt (you know how I'm a fan of the Activia) and grab a hand full of Almonds, or a spoon full of raw oatmeal and mix it in with the yogurt. {fiber, omega's, protein, and dairy}

~Then there is of course a piece of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and half a banana. {complex carbs, protein, fruit, fiber, and oil/fats}

Hopefully these ideas help you while your running out the door trying to make it to work on time. but overall, just

MAKE SURE YOUR GETTING BREAKFAST!!

Testimonial!!

I have another wonderful testimonial from a close family friend. Tiffany Correa is a wife and mother of her cute little boy. She has one of the best personalities and comes from one of the BEST families I know! She was nice enough to send over her testimonial to help motivate and inspire us to eat better and feel good! Not only is she beautiful, but she has an incredible talent with hair and make-up (you have probably seen her name in the credits of some movies:)). She does it for a living and is remarkable at it.

You have to check out her money saving blog, Sales Addict. She posts deals where you can save loads of money daily! It's fantastic!

"Ive been following The Diabetic Diet Blog for some time now. Its been such an inspiring and motivating site! About 5 weeks ago.. I printed every recipe posted and began cooking those meals for dinner each night. To my surprising, the meals were fantastic! Finally eating healthy, could be good on my taste buds! Within 3 weeks of eating healthy meals, I had lost 7 pounds! I was amazed at how great I felt and how much I had lost from just eating better. There have been so many times in the past, where I would start a diet and get frustrated and give up. This has been the complete opposite. Very Empowering, easy and YUMMY!! I am constantly looking forward to new posts, and learning new things about health and diet that benefit not only me, but my family! Thanks for everything!!"

Thank you so much Tiff, and I hope to always have such a positive attitude as you do!

Fast Ways to Help with Cravings

Sometimes we can't help but let cravings get the best of us. Especially for the emotional eaters, the menstrual eaters, and of course the fast-metabolism eaters that just seem to always be hungry. Well, Val Weaver, the top health and know-how editor of Self, Vogue, Health Day, and Vegetarian Times did a little study and came up with some fast ways to help curb your cravings.

Pop in a mint mouthwash strip-not only good breathe, but the flavor takes away the taste for sweets.

Take an 8 minute walk-usually if you eat while stressed, mad or sad-what your really craving is serotonin, a brain chemical linked to better moods. Go outside and take a short walk. Scientists have said that as short as 8 minutes of fresh air boosts your serotonin. Which of course gets rid of the cravings.

Get some gum-a british study said that people who chew gum 15 minutes after eating lunch crave less sweets, and eat less snacks, than people who don't. (of course the sugar free is always better:))

Pick a different Chip-this one is for potato chip lovers. Next time you reach for a bag of potato chips, grab the dill pickle chips instead. You get salty and crunchy, so your mouth gets all puckery-cool, and your taste buds are snapped to attention-and eating 3 chips is only 5 calories! So basically you really could eat the whole bag.

Cravings can do in a healthy diet. If controlling them means you maintain your body weight and body mass index at the level you want, it can keep your health as much as 6 years younger. I'd say it's worth it eh!

Whole Wheat Zuccini Muffins

My good friend rachell enger made these delicious muffins and shared the recipe on her blog. So she let me to copy and share the muffins with all of you healthy eaters out there. We like healthy, easy and good!
For those of you who are garden lovers with plenty of Zucchini to even know what to do with, these little joys might be your answer...or obsession:).

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil (If you want to go really healthy, you can replace oil with applesauce)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup grated zucchini

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin tins lightly with oil or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

2. Combine whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon, mix thoroughly.

3. Mix the milk, slightly beaten egg whites, oil, honey and shredded zucchini together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just barely moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full with batter.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

~Only 21 grams of carbs with 2 grams of Dietary Fiber (so minus the 2g. of fiber from the carbs=19 grams of carbs) and 4 grams of protein as well.

{she got this recipe from allrecipes.com.}

Testimonials

When I first started this blog, it was mainly for fast and healthy recipes. The more I learned about eating healthy and feeling good, the more I wanted to share not only food recipes, but healthy tips and goals.

I can't tell you how happy I am when I run into someone that says they read the Diabetic Blog. I can honestly say nothing makes me feel better! I've had some people that have actually taken on the challenge of the Diabetic Diet and have had incredible results! So..of course I thought it only appropriate to get some Testimonials from there challenges.

The first testimonial is from a close cousin that I absolutely love and adore! Vinnie Feller started the Diabetic Diet and has not only seen fast results from feeling good, but she looks fantastic!!

"I was introduced to the Diabetic Diet Blog about 4 months ago, and I am so grateful I was. At that point I was wearing a size 9/10 pant and I now wear a size 5/6. But I have not only lost those inches and weight, I feel great too. I feel like I have more energy, I am more organized, I accomplish more in a day, and I feel much better about myself. I am wearing clothes that I have not worn in 3 ½ years, since before I got pregnant with my first baby, and even some of those clothes are too big. I was concerned that eating healthier would make our monthly grocery bill higher, but it hasn’t. I have found that what we used to spend on groceries for two weeks, now will stretch over a one month period, because we eat about half as much as we used to, allowing us to spend that extra money on healthy fresh foods. Before starting this I was exercising everyday, and feeling so frustrated and discouraged because I was not seeing results. By simply eating a filling healthy breakfast, reading labels, controlling my portions, snacking right and continuing my exercise plan, I have seen the results in a much faster time than I ever thought I would. I feel so strongly about this plan, and I love to share it with everyone I talk to. It has helped my family and I so much, that I just wish everyone could join in. "

(Note to mention her husband, Shon has also lost 15 pounds from the Diabetic Diet!)
Thanks so much Vinnie, and I hope you continue to feel great, because your an awesome example of living a good and healthy lifestyle!

Did You Know?

Did you know that holding in your stomach and flexing it for 5 seconds equals one crunch? Something to think about while your sitting at your desk at work.

Just imagine if you had your stomach flexed all through out the day-I might have to try to make that a habit!

Good VS Bad Carbs

This country with all it's diets has made the population absolutely scared of carbs. But do you blame them? Most of the weight gain comes from carbs. PROCESSED carbs that is. But people still assume any carb is bad for you.

For the first 7 months of being Diabetic, I was more than paranoid of the word carbohydrates. I thought they were deadly. I thought sugar was the reasoning behind me being diagnosed with Diabetes in the first place. I wanted nothing to do with them. Well, of course that only lasted 7 months when I realized I physically can't avoid all carbs for the rest of my life. So for the next month I binged on every carb I could find because once I had that first bite of that white sugar it was all over. So, obviously that doesn't work well being Diabetic. I had to find a happy-medium with carbs.

So I took several hours with researching, talking to dietitians, and finding the reasoning behind carbohydrates and where they get there bad rap from.

So which is which? Are carbs good or bad for you? The short answer is both.

What is the difference between a piece of white bread or a piece of whole wheat? What's the difference between eating french fries or a side salad with kidney beans, spinach, tomatoes, and carrots. Well, all of them are carbohydrates, but the second answers to those questions are that they are carbs our body is needing.

So what makes the difference? Fiber. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans are all loaded with Fiber. Fiber is indigestible, therefore taking it a lot longer to absorb into our system, avoiding spikes in our blood sugar levels.

White bread and white rice have zero fiber content. They are not necessarily bad for you, but they carry absolutely zero nutrition value. So they are waisted and empty carbs, which can cause weight gain if you're only eating empty carbs. Fiber is so important to our bodies because it helps prevent colon cancer and promote weight control.

Men aged 50 or younger should be getting 38 grams of Fiber daily. Woman aged 50 or younger should be getting 25 grams of fiber a day. That's why eating our vegetables is so important. Most of the fiber in a fruit comes from the skin of the fruit. Apples, peaches, apricots, blueberries, plums, mango's-all of these are rich in fiber from there skins. Oats are especially good for fiber and lowering risk of Type 2 Diabetes, and also lowering cholesterol.

An added plus, is that fiber helps people feel more full, so they aren't as hungry throughout the day. Which is why oatmeal is so recommended for the mornings.

So what we want to do is pay more attention to the carbs that are high in fiber. Before buying breads, check 2 things-make sure it says 100% WHOLE WHEAT (not whole grain) and check the fiber content. 2-4 grams of fiber is very good for a piece of bread. Make the switch to whole wheat in every possible way; buns, rolls, tortilla's, pasta, crackers, bread. Add some beans to your salad. A 1/2 cup of beans can add up 4-8 grams of fiber to your day. Just eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables will give you about 10 or more grams of fiber, depending on what you choose. Making these little adjustments can make a world of a difference.

What you want to stay away from is of course Sugar, "Added" Sugars, and refined "white" grains. (ex. white rice, white bread, white pasta)

Just remember THE WHITER THE BREAD, THE FASTER YOUR DEAD. (that always helps me remember, ha)

This was in an article in the 2008 Diabetes Forecast:

"There’s no way to sugarcoat the truth: Americans are eating more sugar than ever before. In fact, the average adult takes in about 20 teaspoons of added sugar every day, according to the USDA’s recent nationwide food consumption survey. That’s about 320 calories, which can quickly up to extra pounds. Many adults simply don’t realize how much added sugar is in their diets."

Just being aware is the first step. Read the labels and always check the fiber content. Making these small and simple changes will make a HUGE overall difference in your energy, and health!

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Tonight Brad picked a name out of a hat and picked this lovely couple for the GIVEAWAY.

Dave and Liz said...

Would love to try and win it since I was just found out last year that I have high glu cose and that I am pre diabetic. I know you don't know me but I saw you off Elizabthe's blog.

Liz

I'm thrilled you read the Diabetic Blog Liz and I really do hope it helps you with your glucose numbers! Your food might be taking a change, but definitely a good one! If you have any questions at all about your glucose readings, always feel like you can email me any time! I would love to help you out.

That goes for everyone, always feel free to email with any questions at any time-melermie@msn.com.
...

Thanks so much everyone for playing-that was a lot of fun! We'll have to do it again sometime:).

{Liz-please email me your shipping address so I can send you these great recipes!}