All About Diabetes

Lower limb amputations are a common complication in diabetes. Now, researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK have discovered why patients develop a condition which leads to amputation of the lower limbs. They say it is caused by an alteration in the skin tissue before leg ulcer develops. Read more… »

In today’s fast-paced world, we usually try to think of meals that can be whipped up in a jiffy. And more often than not, these can also mean dishes that have higher fat content or are laden with cholesterol, in pursuit of tastier meals. However, cooking can always be done faster, if one is armed with some handy tips that can help diabetics and non-diabetics alike enjoy great-tasting and healthy dishes in half the time.

Tips:

1. Secret’s in the Sauce: Always prepare some extra sauces in your free time. It is easier to prepare big batches of pesto or tomato sauce that can easily be stored in the refrigerator. In emergency meal situations, just bring it out for great pasta meals, sandwich spreads or dips for chicken and fish.
2. All Stocked Up: In the same vein as making extra sauce, stocks are handy meal enhancers, that can be used for instant soup and in our recipe for this issue, a savory Brown Rice Risotto.
3. Salad Time: Salads are one of the easiest meals to prepare, especially with the advent of bagged lettuce leaves which save up time on washing and picking leaves. Add more fillers such as fruits, chicken slices, fish fillets – all of which can be prepared in no time.
4. To make cooking meat items easier, buy prepacked meat cuts. Buy boneless chicken cuts if possible, to make the stewing time shorter.
5. Try to prepare things in advance such as cooked rice and pre-cut ingredients so that actual cooking is much faster, with all the ingredients prepared ahead of time.

Enjoy preparing your short-cut meals in half the time…

• Basil Pesto Fish Pasta
• Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto
• Fruit and Prawn Salad
• Hungarian Chicken Goulash Stew

Yield: 8 portions

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup Basil leaves
• 2/3 cup walnuts
• 4 pieces garlic cloves
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, for gilling
• 4 pieces tilapia fillet
• 8 cups whole wheat pasta cooked

Procedures:
Basil Pesto:

1. Combine basil, walnuts and garlic in a food processor or blender and blend until ingredients are chopped finely. It may be necessary to clean up sides two to three times to get everything chopped evenly.
2. Add 1/3 cup of oil slowly and blend. Add remaining oil and blend.
3. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add parmesan. Stir to mix.
4. Taste and add salt only if necessary.

Basil Pesto Fish Pasta:

1. Reheat pasta in salted hot water and set aside.
2. Coat fish with 1 tablespoon pesto and grill both sides until done.
3. Transfer to paper towel to drain oil from fish.
4. Slice fish into strips.
5. Combine pesto and pasta. Top with fish strips and serve.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 546
• Carbohydrates (g) 36
• Protein (g) 24
• Fat (g) 34

Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups brown rice, washed
• 6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
• 2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Procedures:

1. Cook rice in rice cooker with 5 cups of vegetable stock. Set aside. Rice may be done ahead of time and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms and saute.
4. Add rice and stir to coat it with mushroom mixture.
5. Add wine and cook until absorbed.
6. Add remaining stock. Make sure it is hot.
7. Add soy sauce. Season with pepper if needed.
8. Just before serving, add butter and mix.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 344
• Carbohydrates (g) 57
• Protein (g) 8
• Fat (g) 9

Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 16 pieces prawns, skinned and deveined
• 1/2 cup seedless grapes
• 2 pieces mandarin orange, peeled and cut into segments
• 1/2 cup pineapple tidbits
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 head lola rosa lettuce
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
• 1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard
• 4 tablespoons plain yogurt

Procedures: Dressing

1. Whisk vinegar with sugar.
2. add mustard and yogurt. Season to taste with pepper if desired

Procedures: Fruit and Prawn Salad

1. Grill prawns and set aside.
2. Combine lettuce with dressing.
3. Top with assorted fruits and prawns and serve.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 496
• Carbohydrates (g) 28
• Protein (g) 54
• Fat (g) 19

Yield: 6 portions

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Sweet Paprika
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 piece garlic clove, crushed
• 750 grams chicken thighs, sliced into strips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pieces onions, chopped
• 2 pieces beefsteak tomato, skinned, seeded and diced
• 2 pieces green bell pepper, cored and cut into wedges
• 2 pieces carrots, skinned and cubed
• 6 pieces whole wheat toast

Procedures:

1. Combine paprika, tomato paste and crushed garlic.
2. Coat meat with paprika mixture.
3. Heat oil in casserole over medium heat. Fry onions until transparent.
4. Add chicken and stew covered for 15 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, bell pepper and carrots to chicken stew and cook until vegetables and chicken are done.
6. Serve with whole wheat toast.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 245
• Carbohydrates (g) 11
• Protein (g) 30
• Fat (g) 9

Taking light mid-morning and afternoon snacks has become a staple everyday routine for Filipinos. Although some would say eating three meals a day is enough to keep us going, a quick nibble on a healthy treat in between breakfast and lunch and some time in the afternoon can help bring back focus on school or office work. Health experts agree that consuming the right kind and proper amount of food for snack time is advantageous, even for people with diabetes or those who want to lose weight. Read more… »

As the old saying goes, “An ounce-of prevention is better than a pound of cure”. Prevention is the best cure for any disease, especially diabetes, as lots of things can be done to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. Good diet is one of the most important components of your diabetes prevention plan. Knowing what and when to eat, as well as what to avoid is very important. Read more… »

When an individual is diabetic, the need to keep one’s blood sugar or glucose in the normal level is essential to manage the disease. Frequent monitoring of one’s blood sugar at home is a great way to keep track of it in order to guide treatment of diabetes. However, to know the overall condition of blood sugar, one test will surely help – the HbA1C test, also known as glycosylated hemoglobin test. Read more… »

A couple in their early thirties gushed at the sight of their lovely first-born, tickled pink with that perfectly delicate smile. The mother, who had gestational diabetes (pregnancy-related diabetes), almost wept while recalling her difficult pregnancy. But it was all over, she thought. Although the baby was bigger than usual, he had a complete set of fingers and functioning vital organs. Read more… »