Insulin Isn’t Enough

Of course you want to keep track of your blood sugar levels and you need to take your insulin or whatever medication your doctor has prescribed. But that’s not enough. You have to figure out how to lose weight at home. The proper diet can make all the difference in the world. By exercising and eating healthy, many type ll diabetes sufferers no longer need to take medication. They are for all intents and purposes cured.

If Your Home Environment Isn’t Conducive To Losing Weight

Being on a diet and finding time to exercise at home can be hard. The kids don’t want to eat your healthy foods and demand all your attention. Joining a gym with a friend may be the solution to how to build muscle and lose fat, thereby helping to treat not only obesity but your type ll diabetes as well.

Whether it is type l or type ll diabetes, healthy eating habits and regular exercise can only help your situation.

Prep time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

-          Two apples

-          One tablespoon of raisins

-          Orange juice

-          A pinch of ground cinnamon

-          Optional: Low-fat, sugar-free vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1. Peel and core the apples.
2. Coat with orange juice on the outer surface and stuff with raisins.
3. Sprinkle on the cinnamon.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Place the apples in Pyrex baking cups and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a fork pierces the surface easily.
6. Serve them warm (optional: with low-fat, sugar-free vanilla ice cream) or cold — they’re equally delicious either way!
7. Enjoy!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

-          Two and ¼ of a cup of all-purpose white flour

-          2/3 of a cup of honey-crunch wheat germ

-          ¼ of a teaspoon of baking soda

-          ½ a cup of uncooked rolled oats

-          ¼ of a cup of packed brown sugar

-          One tablespoon of baking powder

-          ½ of a teaspoon of salt

-          ½ of a cup of thawed egg substitute

-          1/3 of a cup of chopped walnuts

-          One teaspoon of fresh vanilla extract

-          One and a half sticks of margarine

-          One and a half cups of mashed bananas

-          Six ounces of a can of thawed frozen apple juice concentrate

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix your first seven listed ingredients.
4. With a pastry blender, cut in the margarine until your mixture resembles some coarse crumbs.
5. Stir in the bananas and undiluted apple-juice concentrate as well as your egg substitute, vanilla and walnuts. Flour should be moist.
6. Spoon the batter into your loaf pan.
7. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
8. Cool the bread pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, take care and remove from pan to cool slightly.
9. Serve warm or completely cool as it doesn’t really matter, it’ll still be delicious!
10. Enjoy!

Prep time: About a half hour or so

Serves:  8

Ingredients:

-          Vegetable oil or vegetable oil spray

-          ½ of a cup of all-purpose white flour

-          ½ of a cup of coarse yellow cornmeal

-          One and a half teaspoons of baking powder

-          ¼ of a teaspoon of salt

-          ½ of a cup of fat-free (see: 1%) milk

-          One egg or the egg substitute equivalent of one egg

-          Two tablespoons of honey

-          Two tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Lightly spray or coat the eight muffin cups with vegetable oil spray.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal into a large bowl.
4. Stir well.
5. Beat the remaining ingredients into a small bowl.
6. Make a well/hole in the cornmeal mixture.
7. Pour the milk mixture into the well/hole and stir just until it is moistened.
8. Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full with the batter.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
10. Enjoy!

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:

-          Two small and ripe pears

-          Two tablespoons of slivered almonds

-          Two teaspoons of almond extract

-          Mint leaves (Optional: garnish)

Directions:

1. Slice pears in half and remove core.
2. Cut into a thin slice from the rounded side of the pear – so that it will sit flat on a surface.
3. Toast slivered almonds in a toaster oven until they are just slightly golden. This usually takes about 30 seconds to one minute.
4. Place pear halves on two small dessert plates and sprinkle almond extract in the cored center of each half.
5. Spoon slivered almonds in the cored center and place the (optional) sprig of almond of mint on the side of the plate.
6. Enjoy and beware: it’s very, very good!

Prep time: Around 20-30 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

-          One and ¼ cup of oat bran cereal – uncooked

-          One cup of whole wheat flour

-          Two teaspoons of ground cinnamon

-          One teaspoon of baking powder

-          ¾ teaspoon of baking soda

-          ½ teaspoon of salt

-          ¾ cup of unsweetened applesauce

-          One cup of freshly peeled, cored and diced apple

-          ½ cup of honey

-          ½ cup of vegetable oil

-          One whole egg

-          One teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Coat twelve medium-size cups with vegetable oil – or line them with paper baking cups.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, bran cereal and salt.
4. In a large bowl, combine applesauce, oil, eggs, vanilla and honey.
5. Stir in the mixed dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in the diced apple.
7. Fill prepared muffin cups to almost full.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.
9. Serve warm and preferably with milk.
10. Enjoy!

Whether or not you’ve had an apple scone before, you should know that honey makes everything better. Thankfully, we’ve been informed of this scrumptious apple and honey scone recipe that we felt we just had to share with you all. Please do enjoy… we sure did!

Prep time: Just twenty minutes to a half hour!

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

-          Two cups of all purpose flour

-          ¼ of a teaspoon of salt

-          Two teaspoons of baking powder

-          ¼ of a teaspoon of baking soda

-          One teaspoon of ground cinnamon

-          ¼ of a teaspoon of ground nutmeg

-          2/3 of a cup of toasted wheat germ

-          1/3 of a cup of margarine

-          One and ¼’s of a cup of finely chopped apple

-          ½ cup of skim milk

-          ¼ of a cup of honey

Topping:

-          One tablespon of toasted wheat germ

-          ¼ of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon

-          One tablespoon of sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a large cookie sheet with non-cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, wheat germ, spices, baking soda, baking powder and optional salt together.
3. Cut in the margarine until mixture resembles coarse, dry crumbs.
4. At this stage, add combined apple, milk and honey and mix until dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently five or six times. Remember to handle the dough gently. Overmixing the dough can make the scones very tough!
6. Pat dough into nine inch circle and mix together the topping ingredients (wheat germ, cinnamon and sugar).
7. Sprinkle over the dough and cut into 10 wedges.
8. Place these wedges half an inch apart on a prepared cookie sheet.
9. Bake 16-18 minutes (or until golden brown) and enjoy!

Prep time: About an hour and a half

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

- ½ a cup of crispy, fresh chow mein noodles

- One cup of white chocolate chips

- One cup of heavy whipping cream

- One tablespoon of SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)

- One teaspoon of vanilla extract

- One cup (approximately six ounces) of fresh blueberries

- 3 cups (approximately one pound) of freshly sliced and stemmed California strawberries

Directions:

1. Line muffin baking tin with paper baking cups.

2. Put about two teaspoons or so of chow mein noodles into each baking cup.

3. Melt white chocolate chips (according to package directions, of course) and spoon about one tablespoon into each cup to cover the noodles when melted.

4. Refrigerate at LEAST one full hour to set.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream, Splenda No Calorie Sweetener and vanilla together.

6. Beat on medium speed until a soft peak begins to form.

7. Gentle fold in the blueberries.

8. Spoon an equal amount of cream mixture into each cup.

9. Top with fresh strawberries and enjoy! (preferably serve immediately)

When cooking, there are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your meals be both delicious and nutritious.

* Whole grain cereals and breads are an excellent source of carbohydrates, as they contain a host of nutrients. Eat them as frequently as possible.

* When purchasing chicken or turkey, choose skinless varieties or remove the skin prior to cooking.

* When purchasing meat, you should buy the more lean cuts. Sirloin steaks typically have a very low fat content and are recommended for those with diabetes.

* Fish and vegetables are commonly served with butter. Instead, try using a slice of lemon or lime to season your meal.

* Broiling, roasting, or stir-frying your meats is ideal as these methods help to keep the meal healthy.

* Instead of vegetable oil, use canola or olive oil as a healthy alternative.

* Cereal should be consumed with skim or 1 percent milk. This helps to lower your fat intake without requiring a major dietary change.

* In recipes that call for oil, butter, or shortening, using a vegetable oil spray can be a great alternative.

These are just a few of the basic guidelines on which you should base recipes for diabetics. If you are searching for specific diabetes-friendly recipes, the internet can be a wealth of information.

With a wide range of recipes, you should not feel limited by your dining options. If you are suffering from diabetes, consulting a dietitian can be a great first step in establishing an adequate diabetic diet. Nutritionists can also help in this regard. If you need to find someone who can educate you about healthy eating for diabetes, you can contact the American Association of Diabetes Educators, which you can find at the www aadent.org. This site features an interactive search engine that lets you enter exactly what type of diabetes educator you are looking for, as well as the state or Zip Code in which you live. It will then pinpoint available dietitians, nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals that are available to help you to make informed decisions regarding your diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus, or simply, Diabetes, is a deviation from the natural health condition of the body, and is characterized by less than optimum utilization of glucose by the body due to partial or complete lack of insulin produced by the pancreas. The symptoms include excessive urine production, or polyuria, excessive thirst and increased fluid intake, or polydipsia, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss and lethargy. Diabetes is of two types – Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 Diabetes is generally, but not necessarily, a birth defect where the body just doesn’t produce enough insulin to keep blood sugar at normal levels. Type 2 Diabetes afflicts mostly people with excessive weight and the condition is characterized by the inability of the body to use insulin secreted by the pancreas. There is also a less common type of Diabetes – Gestational Diabetes – that occurs in women during the second half of pregnancy and disappears after delivery.

Natural Remedies for Treating Diabetes:-

Type 2 Diabetes is also known as a ‘lifestyle disease’, which simply means that it can be prevented by taking some positive lifestyle improvement measures, and controlled by resorting to multiple natural remedies. The following few paragraphs enunciate some of the effective natural remedies to treat Diabetes.

The first thing you can do is to change your lifestyle from lethargic to a more active one. Daily regular walk and moderate exercise form part of a natural health routine. Physical exercise must be supported by Yoga asanas to be performed under the assistance and guidance of an expert. Remember, Yoga is definitely beneficial for your health, but if performed in a wrong manner, it can also lead to further health complications. The aim is to reduce the weight in a healthy manner and to achieve ideal bodyweight.

Diet restriction is also part and parcel of a Diabetic’s life. Don’ts include alcohol, soft drinks, sugary desserts, fruit-juice, fatty, fried, and cholesterol-rich food. Do’s include vegetables, fruit, fermented whole grains, fiber-rich food, bitter gourd, almonds, and substances high in omega three oils (olive oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil, borage oil).

As an integral part of natural health, plenty of home remedies are also prescribed for the treatment of Diabetes. Some of these include:-

Take 1-liter of boiling water and add 3-tablespoons of cinnamon. Simmer for 20 minutes and then, strain the mixture. Drink this mixture daily.

Drink watery juice of a small Bitter Gourd every morning.

Boil 3-4 fresh leaves of mango tree in the morning and drink.