Author: The Author Belinda N. Mays

Belinda Mays is the author of "7 Days With Daddy" which introduces early readers, ages 3-8, to time concepts and is a tribute to Super Dads everywhere. A charming tribute to fathers is not a new theme for Mays. After her father's passing in 2013, she delivered a speech about her Dad, Berkins Booker, Jr., and his career as an Air Force mechanic. This display of respect and adoration won Mays a Toastmasters Tall Tales contest and resulted in her first book, "My Amazing Dad". It has been a source of inspiration ever since.
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Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

oatmeal muffins

Oatmeal On Mondays

We often have leftover oatmeal and I kept wondering what to do with it. See, my family and I took the pledge to do Meatless Mondays. We are challenging ourselves to eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat.

To keep us on track, I make oatmeal for breakfast every Monday. This tradition began because I couldn’t think of any other breakfast that didn’t include eggs. However, after tense debate, eggs are not considered meat in our household anymore.

Although everyone loves oatmeal, we often end up with at least a cup leftovers. I felt bad about throwing it in the trash, so I decided to reuse it and make what our family calls leftover oatmeal muffins. We eat them for breakfast or in lieu of cornbread at dinner.

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup left over oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. You can use a blender but my oatmeal usually has raisins in it and I like to keep them whole so I mix by hand.

Spray a muffin pan and spoon in batter by the tablespoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until muffins bounce back when you touch them. It makes one batch in a 12 muffin pan. I have replaced half the brown sugar and butter with a 1/2 cup of applesauce or a banana and that adds moisture and more fruit.

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Healthy Pasta Primavera

Healthy Pasta Primavera

pasta

My husband loves pasta! If he could he’d eat pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Over the years I have tried various recipes in effort to find a healthy pasta dish that my husband would love that won’t send me into a diabetic coma. So with a few modifications to the traditional pasta primavera this is what I came up with. Try it and let me know what you think.

 

Ingredients
12 ounces whole wheat or rice angel hair pasta
1 small yellow squash sliced
1 small zucchini sliced
2 carrots chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 small onion sliced
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
15-20 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Italian Seasoning

 

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs.
Meanwhile, heat 1/4 the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until just golden, about 30 seconds. Add all the remaining vegetables, 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the carrots soften, about 2 minutes.
Drain the pasta and pour the vegetable mixture over the pasta. Add parmesan cheese and more olive oil if desired.
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Renewing My Vow To Be Healthy

woman wearing black sports bra and jogger shorts smiling

Austyn4mos

This year I am renewing my vow to be healthy.

After I had my second daughter, I slacked off on many of my healthy habits. I stopped working out, stopped checking my blood sugar numbers, and started eating more fried foods. I attributed most of the changes to the new baby. In realty it was just a lack of discipline.

I want to live to see my children finish high school, graduate from college, marry and one day have families of their own. In order to do so, I pledge to start back working out two days a week and recommit to limiting fried foods to once a month and sweets to once a week.

The Inflammation Cure

In addition to Type 2 Diabetes, I also have ulcerate colitis and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis which are both linked to inflammation. I recently read The Inflammation Cure by D.r William Meggs. In the book Dr. Meggs mentioned that one of the underlying causes of Type 2 Diabetes is inflammation. He also suggested that eating less meat and more fruits and vegetables will help keep inflammation down.

On January 2nd I took the pledge to incorporate  Meatless Mondays in hopes to reduce the inflammation associated with my chronic conditions and recommit to living a healthy lifestyle. This will be very challenging but I am willing to try it. I am renewing my vow to be healthy. What changes are you planning to make for your health this year?

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Private Selections 100% Whole Wheat Sugar Free Bread

I love bread! As a little girl growing up in the South I used to make sandwiches out of every meal. Pork and beans and rice turned into a pork and beans and rice sandwich. Meatloaf and rice turned into a meatloaf and rice sandwich. No kidding.

So naturally when I learned that I had Type 2 diabetes cutting back on bread became a real struggle. I managed to transition from white bread to wheat bread without feeling that I was sacrificing taste. However, 100% wheat bread still would elevate my blood sugar levels higher than I’d like. I also tried various gluten free breads but have yet to find a brand that was pleasing to me.

Two weeks ago I ran across the Private Selections Sugar Free 100% Whole Wheat bread in my local Kroger. On first glance I thought it may be a gimmick but decided to give it a try since Private Selections makes fairly decent products. I was pleasantly surprised. The bread is delicious and the loaf is large enough that one slice can truly make one serving when cut or folded in half.

INGREDIENTS

whole wheat flour, water, wheat gluten, resistant corn starch, maltitol, wheat bran, contains 2% or less of soybean oil, calcium sulfate, salt, raisin juice concentrate, yeast, soy flour, vinegar, monoglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium propionate (preservative), ethoxylated monoglycerides, azodicarbonamide, sucralose, reduced iron

PROS

The smooth taste won over everyone in my household so it will become a new part of our family meal planning. In addition to being just 100 calories per serving, the bread did not raise my blood sugar as much as regular 100% whole wheat bread does.

CONS

The bread is made with an artificial sugar alcohol, maltitol, but it is listed as the fifth ingredient. I purchased the bread on sale (two loafs for $4), however I think the regular price was over $3 per loaf which may be pricey to some.

SUMMARY

I would recommend this bread. It tastes great and is made with fairly decent ingredients which may explain way I do not see a major spike in my blood sugar levels after eating it.

Have you tried it? What were your thoughts?

 

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How To Control Diabetes

Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of blindness for adults. Although there is no cure for diabetes you can prevent the complications associated with diabetes by keeping your blood sugar levels under control. Diet and exercise are key to keeping your blood sugars at a normal rate and may also be used to decrease the amount and or frequency of medication needed to manage your diabetes. Here are my suggestions for Diet and Exercise.

 

Exercise
Try to exercise 30 minutes at least twice a week. You can break the 30 minutes up into 10 minute increments by taking the dog for a walk, dancing to a few songs or playing chase with your kids or grand kids. Be creative and have fun!

Diet
Incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet. I like to add spinach to eggs, top hotdogs with mixed greens and throw in blueberries with oatmeal, yogurt or cereal. When dining out order a salad for your appetizer. That way you know you had a serving of vegetables before your entree even comes out.

Don’t buy junk food when you go grocery shopping. If you don’t have junk food in your house then you will be less likely to eat junk food. In addition, I found that eliminating cow’s milk, soda, white bread and white rice have helped me to keep my blood sugar levels under control. I have replaced cow’s milk with almond milk but I encourage you to try alternatives like soy, coconut milk and rice milk.

Finally, eat more foods that help regulate blood sugar levels. Foods such as sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados and salmon are known for lowering or helping to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

Education

Aside from diet and exercise I encourage you to read anything you can get your hands on that mentions diabetes, nutrition or health.  You are responsible for taking control of your diabetes not your doctor and in order to take control you have to become educated. In addition to learning about how diet and exercise effect your blood sugar levels, I also recommend seeing a nutritionist or dietician. They can help you learn how to read food labels and create a meal plan based on your age, weight and nutritional goals.

Doctors will often prescribe medication without discussing the importance of diet and exercise in controlling blood sugar levels. Many will simply suggest you loose weight. For skinny diabetics like me we don’ t necessarily need to loose weight we just need to adopt healthier eating, and exercise habits.

 

When making healthy lifestyle changes, I suggest that you start with a few changes and stick to them and most importantly relax since stress can also raise your blood sugar.

Have you tried any of these tips? Do you have other suggestions for helping others take control of their diabetes? Let me know what works or doesn’t work for you and feel free to share any additional advice that you may have.

 

 

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What is Diabetes?

There are 34.2 million people living with diabetes in the United States.  Although diabetes impacts every 1 in 10 Americans, many people still don’t know what diabetes is. In fact, I know several people who have been diagnosed but can not explain what diabetes actually is. Even some of my family members still call it “The Sugar”.

WHAT IS DIABETES?

Diabetes or diabetes mellitus, as it is called in the medical field, is a chronic disease. That means it can be controlled but not cured.  Diabetes occurs when your body either does not produce any insulin, does not produce enough insulin or is not able to use the insulin produced well enough to keep your blood sugar levels at a normal rate.

If your body does not produce any insulin or does not produce enough insulin then you develop what is known as insulin deficiency. On the other hand, if your body produces insulin but does not use it properly then you develop insulin resistance. Both insulin deficiency and insulin resistance cause people with diabetes to have higher blood sugar levels than people without diabetes. Thus the nickname “The Sugar” which refers to blood sugar levels not table sugar, cakes, or pies as I once believed.

diabetes testing supplies

WHAT IS INSULIN?

Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate your body’s blood sugar levels. It is produced in your body’s pancreas. The pancreas is an organ located behind the stomach. The beta cells in the pancreas produce insulin. For diabetics the beta cells in the pancreas either do not work very well or do not work at all.

Contrary to popular belief, insulin treatment is not the worst case scenario for treating diabetes. Insulin injections are actually the most natural why to treat diabetes. However, most people, including myself, don’t like the idea of needles so we prefer to use medication instead of insulin to help control diabetes.

TYPES OF DIABETES

There are three types of diabetes:

Type 1

  • No insulin production
  • Typically diagnosed in young adults and children

Type 2

  • The body does not produce enough insulin or does not use the insulin well enough to regulate blood sugar levels
  • Most often diagnosed in adults
  • Accounts for an estimated 80% of all diabetics

preganant mother with diabetes

Gestational Diabetes

  • Occurs during pregnancy
  • Women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes have a higher risk of developing Type 2 after pregnancy

PREDIABETES

Prediabetes occurs prior to the full onset type 2 diabetes. During this period a person’s blood sugars are high but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Like many people, I failed to recognize the warnings when I was prediabetic. Although, my mother was diagnosed with type 2 in her late forties, I thought that I was too young (twenty something) and too thin to be concerned with diabetes.  I didn’t realize that if you have a family history of diabetes you are more likely to be have prediabetes and be diagnosed with diabetes.

I now recall being told on two separate occasions that my blood sugars were higher than normal. Each time I would try to rationalize why my sugars were high by making excuses such as having pancakes or muffins that morning.

The truth is I probably could have either prolonged the development of type 2 or prevented it all together had I not ignored the warning signs. Studies show that regular physical activity combined with a balanced diet can help reduce the risk of developing  diabetes by 40-70%.

Diabetes no longer has to be  a death sentence. I look forward to living a long and healthy life free of complications. And in order to do so, I have to stay informed, active, and engaged with my doctor. If you have recently been diagnosed I hope that this information will help inspire you to take control of your diabetes.