Let’s Talk Diabetes: The Diagnosis

If you read my intro blog, you saw that fear was my most prevalent emotion upon being diagnosed with type meat131 diabetes at 13. Though I found a way to keep smiling (pictured right), I also felt anxiety, stress, confusion, sadness, and anger.

It was February and I was finishing up my 8th grade basketball season.  Within two weeks leading up to my diagnosis I began to have a number of symptoms. It started with an extreme thirst. I felt I could chug water all day and never quench my thirst. In response, I was going to the bathroom more, which later became uncontrollable. I wet the bed and peed my pants more than once and was mortified. I’m 13 years old, why am I wetting the bed? One day at school I found myself extremely exhausted. My mother being the school counselor, I went in her office to lie down. I fell asleep almost instantly and it took her physically shaking me to wake me after hours of sleeping. I stayed home the next day where I slept almost all day.  The biggest red flag was that I had lost 15 pounds in a week’s time. With symptoms accumulating, we knew a doctor’s visit was necessary.

Having no idea why I felt the way I did, I was anxious to hear the test results. When the doctor walked in and said, “You have type 1 diabetes,” all I could think was: diabetes? I don’t even know what that is! Fear is what drove me to learn what I know about the disease today. Just know if you have felt these emotions in response to a diagnosis; you aren’t alone and it’s the  normal response! sy

The Family Dinner

image (4)Not only is eating together important, but so is preparing the meal together. Getting everyone involved can be fun and it’s important to teach kids the necessary life skills of cooking. What better way than to do it as a family! We asked a patient of ours to describe how she and her husband involve their five children to prepare dinner (Easter Dinner).

Husband Larry and 13 y/o Danielle are in charge of the mashed potatoes while the mom, Jill, figures the time to prepare the sides and ham. 14 y/o John is the “master of asparagus” so he washes, snips and drizzles it with olive oil and lightly sprinkles it with salt.

11 y/o Nichol helps mom with the green bean casserole. He easily reads the directions, opens the cans, and gets it oven-ready. The 9 y/o, Kiera, is in charge of setting the table while 8 y/o, Jane, is summoned as the retriever; he will fetch anything needed to make dinner a success. He also loves to set the timers!

Jill says, “At a young age we had little stable chairs they could pull up to the counter to see what we were doing, and
of course they wanted to help. We put child friendly dishes where they could reach so they could set the table, and they were happy to be involved.”

At Banister Nutrition, we encourage you to let children help in the kitchen and start teaching them to cook at a young age. Cooking is a great avenue to teach about food, nutrition, planning, organizational skills,image (1) math, creativity and follow-thru of clean up. When a child serves a dish to the family he/she has prepared it is a great self-esteem builder.

Cooking as a family is a very fun activity to share.  When starting at a young age children will start a routine of helping and learning how to cook new dishes. This will also help children not eat out as much as they grow older, but
instead use fresh ingredients to cook something at home.

Mom/dad — if you don’t teach your children to cook and eat healthy foods, who is going to? This is an essential life skill for your children and future generations. sy

Grilling Tips to Keep Your Family Safe

Summer is around the corner and grilling season is upon us. It’s important to look at your grill as an extension of your kitchen.  Proper safety and sanitation is important when grilling outside.  Here are a few tips to keep your family safe from food-borne illnesses this summer:

Start Clean

  • Always scrub the grill with hot, soapy water before each use.
  • Wash your hands before, during and after food preparation. This is especially important when handling raw meat.

Safely Thaw and Marinate Meat

  • Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator or microwave, not on the counter.
  • Always marinate meat in the refrigerator.
  • Never use the same brush to baste raw and cooked meat.

Don’t Share Ware

  • Cross contamination can be avoided by using separate cutting boards, knives, grilling tongs, and forks for your raw meats and ready-to-eat foods.

Know Your Temperatures

  • Grilled foods can be harmful if not fully cooked. The only reliable way to ensure meat is safe and ready to eat is by using a meat thermometer.
  • Follow this temperature guide to ensure you are cooking to proper temperatures:
    • Steak: 145° F
    • Hamburgers: 160° F
    • Chicken: 165° F

Enjoy clean and safe grilling! sy

Oklahoma Food Cooperative: Organic, Locally-Grown Products

The Oklahoma Food Cooperative is a statewide organization of local producers hoping to reach consumers in search of “home-grown” foods.  This cooperative allows consumers to purchase fruits, vegetables, meats, and dozens of other products without mystery ingredients or modifications. By visiting their website at www.oklahomafood.coop, consumers are presented with hundreds of products to shop for. Every item offered is from Oklahoma and must meet the national certification standards for organic, certified naturally grown and animal welfare products.

The cooperative opens on the first day of each month and accepts orders until the second Thursday. Producers receiving orders are given a week to deliver, where consumers can pick up their orders from any of the pickup locations which can also be found on their website.  The cooperative offers multiple locations throughout the metro as well as home and/or work delivery for an extra fee.

Purchasing local foods not only offers a sense of community, but it also provides Oklahomans with foods that are free of chemicals, vibrant in color, and rich in taste and nutrition.  This co-op has continually grown as more people begin to recognize the importance of supporting local agriculture. In 2006 the cooperative contained 723 members and today contains more than 5,000 statewide. If you are looking for products straight from the farm and wanting to support your local farmers, this organization is definitely for you! sy

Let’s Talk Diabetes: New Intern

196Hi everyone! My name is Sabetha Young, the new intern at Banister Nutrition. I am a senior at the University of Central Oklahoma and I am majoring in Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Management while working on a Business Administration minor. I was thrilled to be selected as the new intern at Banister Nutrition for the next year. I will be learning many things I could never learn in a classroom.

You might be wondering why the title of this blog says, “Let’s Talk Diabetes”.  I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on February, 13th 2007 at the age of 13. I had all of the reactions you would expect a 13 year old to have. What is diabetes? Why is this happening to me? How will this affect my activities? The major feeling I experienced was fear. Fear of not understanding what was happening to my body.

Through doctor’s visits and my parents, we slowly learned. I say “we” because anyone who has diabetes knows the support of your family is helpful and they too, sometimes have to make adjustments. I was fortunate to have parents tell me that we weren’t going to let diabetes get in the way of pursuing my dreams.  They would say, “You control it, it does not control you.

I will continue this blog by sharing my diabetes experiences. I am sure all of you with diabetes will be able to relate. More to come with “Let’s Talk Diabetes”! sy

Cooking for Just One or Two?

Are you cooking for just yourself? Or maybe yourself and one other person? If so, I am sure that you have dealt with the struggles of making the most out of your ingredients.  Just because you are cooking for less does not mean you have to eat out more! Here are a few tips to help make those ingredients stretch.

 

Grains:

  • Cook a batch of whole grains such as brown rice or barley and freeze in individual portions using a muffin pan. Once frozen, the discs can be stored in a zip-top bag.
  • Have a six-pack of whole-grain English muffins or a whole loaf of bread? Tuck those extras into the freezer for another day; wrap them tightly in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.

 

Veggies and Fruits:

  • Embrace frozen produce. Just look for options without added sauces or sugar. Frozen fruits and veggies are great to add to smoothies, soups and stir-fries.
  • Bulk bags of fruits and veggies are only a better deal if you eat them before they spoil. Only buy what you can reasonably eat before the produce perishes.

 

Protein: Meat, Poultry, Eggs, Beans:

  • Eggs can make a meal happen in a flash, anytime! They are an excellent source of protein and contain a bounty of nutrients such as vitamin D. You can hard-boil a few on the weekend to have as an easy breakfast, snack or quick salad addition.
  • Buy a whole package of meat or poultry and wrap individual portions in freezer-safe paper; label each with the date and contents. sy

 

Reference: http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/planning-and-prep/cooking-tips-and-trends/cooking-tips-for-one

Simple Eating Tips For A Healthier Life

We all know making healthy choices can be a hard at times. Here are a few tips that can help you make better choices when choosing either the healthy or unhealthy option.

  • Prepare more of your own meals. Cooking more meals at home can help you take charge of what you’re eating and better monitor exactly what goes into your food.
  • Make the right changes. When cutting back on unhealthy foods in your diet, it’s important to replace them with healthy alternatives. Replacing animal fats with vegetables fats (such as switching butter for olive oil) will make a positive difference to your health. Switching animal fats for refined carbohydrates, though (such as switching your breakfast bacon for a donut), won’t lower your risk for heart disease or improve your mood.
  • Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. Focus on avoiding packaged and processed foods and opting for more fresh ingredients.
  • Read the labels. It’s important to be aware of what’s in your food as manufacturers often hide large amounts of sugar and salt in packaged food, even food claiming to be healthy.
  • Focus on how you feel after eating. This will help foster healthy new habits and tastes. The more healthy food you eat, the better you’ll feel after a meal. The more junk food you eat, the more likely you are to feel uncomfortable, nauseous, or drained of energy.
  • Drink plenty of water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices. sg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference: http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm

Tips To Cut Your Calories

When it comes to healthy weight management, small steps add up. In fact, little changes in eating have better positive impact on health than drastic ones. This is because you are more likely to stick with smaller changes over time than drastic ones. Here are a few small changes that will decrease your calorie consumption.

  • Savor Your Meals. Eating slowly helps you consume only what your body needs to feel satisfied. Eating too quickly, in less than 20 to 30 minutes, leads to overeating and feeling uncomfortably full afterwards.
  • Leave Some Food on Your Plate. This is especially important if you grew up in the “clean plate club.” By leaving even a few bites, you can focus more on your internal signals of satisfaction and less on eating food just because it is there.
  • Don’t Eat Out of a Bag or Box. When you eat out of a package, you are likely to keep eating until it’s all gone – no matter how many servings the package actually contains. Pour one serving into a small bowl.
  • Rethink Your Drinks. High-calorie beverages like soft drinks, juice drinks, energy drinks, specialty coffees and alcohol add calories just like solid foods. Whenever possible, replace these drinks with plenty of water.

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Reference: http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/weight-loss/tips-for-weight-loss/ways-to-shave-calories

Say Goodbye to Cravings and Eat Right!

Do you ever have cravings that are so hard to resist? When your mind keeps yelling, eat me! eat me! eat me! Some dieters may believe a craving is an intense desire for a certain food, but it is actually a signal for their bodies needing the nutrients that food provides. Overindulging on cravings can quickly add up your calories for the day. Eating your cravings in moderation is the key, but sometimes it’s hard. Here are a few extra tips to beat your cravings!

  • Put your craving off. Tell yourself you’ll deal with the craving in 20 minutes. Food cravings are typically short-lived, and while the desire for chips, chocolate or cake feels overwhelming now, it will wane, especially if you can find a healthier food substitute or distract yourself.
  • Choose alternatives for your cravings. Yearn for potato chips? Buy a brand that
    ‘s low-fat or fat-free. Desire something crunchy? Skip the chips: try fruit or a salad packed with crisp greens and veggies. Want something sweet? How about baking an apple or even roasting some veggies? Roasting brings out the sweetness in many foods.
  •  Buy single servings of foods you crave. Instead of buying a whole box of cookies, buy just one cookie from a specialty bakeshop.
  •  Schedule your snacks. Plan for nutritious snacks to prevent between-meal hunger. Keep portable, healthy snacks in your desk, backpack or car.
  • Take a walk, work on a hobby or call a friend. A brisk walk outside or at work can get your mind off the craving. A chat with a sympathetic friend that will help you talk through your craving may also help.

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Reference:http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/weight-loss/tips-for-weight-loss/stop-the-cravings-eat-right

Taste of India

While traveling in India for two and a half weeks I ate foods that were different from American delicacies, and found neat things that would be beneficial for me to use back in America.

Tiffin

 

 

 

Tiffin Jar: the Indian lunchbox. This container will keep items hot up 3 to 4 hours. I love taking this to work and school because its easily portable.

 

 

 

 

 

LADUUimages

 

 

Besan Laddu: a popular Indian sweet dish made of Besan (chickpea flour or gram flour), sugar and ghee.

 

 

 

 

plaitains masala chai

 

 

Fried Plantains & Masala chai: in India these are either served to house guest or served after a meal for dessert. Plantains are a member of the banana family. They are a starchy, low in sugar variety that is cooked before serving as it is unsuitable raw. Masala chai is a flavored tea beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs.

 

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