Three Sisters Casserole - Great Recipe for people living with Diabetes

As the Diabetes Diva, I wanted to let individuals know that there is an incredible recipe available from the Food is Elementary curriculum, that is delicious, nutricious, and excellent for your blood sugars. This recipe is called the Three Sister's Casserole, and is based off of the Native American trilogy of corn, beans, and squash. These three items support one another not only during their growth, but also within a meal. When grown together the corn stalk helps to support the climbing bean plant, while the bean plant fixes nitrogen into the soil for the heavily feeding corn. The squash then helps to shade the soil and retain moisture for each plant.

When eaten together, these three items create a complete protein chocked full of essentail amino acids and vitamins, A, B, C, and E.

After eating the Three Sister's Casserole for lunch, I have noticed that my blood sugars remain under much better control throughout the rest of the day. This dish provides my body with a great deal of energy, while the large amount of fiber within the beans helps to balance out my blood sugars and keep them from rising at a quick pace. Below is the recipe for this delicious recipe. Not only is it quite yummy and nutricious, it is also super quick and easy to make. ENJOY! Sincerely, The Diabetes Diva

Three Sister's Casserole

2 cups kidney beans
2 cups corn

1 cup pre-cooked butternut squash

1/2 cup maple syrup (or less if you prefer)

1 tablespoon of dill (or more if you prefer)

Combine all of the above ingredients in a saucepan. Heat for at least five minutes until thoroughly warm.

All about the Glycemic Index from the Diabetes Diva

Here is another post from your Diabetes Diva, helping give you some information about the Glycemic Index.

You may have seen this new buzz-word around, but many people ask; what exactly is the Glycemic Index and how does it effect me?

Well, the Glycemic Index is actually a system which ranks foods, mainly carbohydrates, according to their effect on your blood glucose levels. The Glycemic Index measures how much your blood glucose increases 2-3 hours after eating a particular food. Every food item is then placed, by number, somewhere within this Glycemic Index.

Individuals with Diabetes, such as myself, are always checking their blood sugar levels to make sure they remain within a safe range, but understanding how foods can effect your blood sugar is an important concept to comprehend for those individuals without Diabetes as well. The higher a food is ranked within the Glycemic Index, the quicker this food will raise a person's blood sugar, give you a burst of energy, but then provide you with an energy drop as well. Foods that are ranked high on the Glycemic Index do not provide the body with a sustainable reserve of energy and give your body lots of highs and lows. When trying to keep blood sugars under control, or give your body a sustainable supply of energy, it is important to pay attention to where foods fall within the Glycemic Index.

Below are just a few of the rankings for particular foods within the Glycemic Index. A more detailed, in-depth list of foods and where they are placed within the Glycemic Index can be found at: www.glycemicindex.ca/glycemicindexfoods.pdf.

Foods with a low ranking within the Glycemic Index are ranked at LESS THAN 55
Foods with an intermediate ranking within the Glycemic Index are ranked at 55-70
Foods with a high ranking within the Glycemic Index are ranked at more than 70 (These are the foods that will raise your blood sugars the fastest, give you an energy burst and then a low)

FRUITS
Cherries - 22 low

Grapefruit - 25 low

Apples - 38 low

Peaches - 42 low

Mangoes - 56 intermediate

Pineapple - 66 intermediate

Watermelon - 72 high

GRAINS

Multigrain bread - 48 low

Whole grain bread - 50 low

Pita bread, white - 57 intermediate

White bread - 71 high

All Bran Cereal - 42 low

Oat Bran Cereal - 55 intermediate

Muesli - 56 intermediate

Rice Krispies - 82 high

Corn Flakes - 83 high

For those of you with or without Diabetes, pay attention to the foods you eat and how they make you feel just a few hours later. I know that I have to take much more insulin, and have many more problems with my blood sugars, when I eat foods ranked high on the Glycemic Index, especially foods that include processed grains or refined sugars. Always be aware of how the foods you eat will effect your body!!!

Sincerely, the Diabetes Diva

Living with Diabetes

As a Food Educator working with Local Matters, and the Food is Elementary curriculum, I am passionate about teaching individuals,

both young and old, about the importance of eating well, taking care of your body, and living a nutritious lifestyle. I am also passionate about teaching these topics for a very personal reason.......................

I have been living with Type 1 Diabetes for almost twenty years.

Living with this illness has been far from easy, but it has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about the human body, what is best for the human body, and how to talk with people about diabetes and how it can affect a person's life. I am always hopeful that by talking about my life with diabetes, I can help make more people aware of how we can best fight this disease.

Diabetes can be a test of a person's self-discipline and will power. Each day is spent thinking about the foods I eat, when I eat them, how much I am eating of these foods, and what other factors might occur during the day that may affect my blood sugars. I have my moments when I just want to throw in the towel and not pay attention to what foods I am putting into my body. But the minute I choose this route, I suffer for it and end up feeling physically horrible! I fight with my feelings about food all the time, and work every moment to shift my perspective of what really are "tasty foods."

As I spend more time learning about whole foods and their benefits, I am realizing how great my body can feel and how well controlled my blood sugars can be when I eat foods that are naturally nutritious. Don't get me wrong, I love sweets and still think about them from time to time. But, I am beginning to understand that the foods we have determined as "yummy tasting" foods are just based on a mind set and not on an absolute truth. If we take the time to re-train our brains to see whole fruits and vegetables as the "yummy tasting" foods, instead of a chocolate chip cookie, we could learn to choose the healthier option and as a result have blood sugars that are under control. Foods high in fat and sugar may taste great for that moment, but continuing to include them in my daily diet would lead to a life of lost eye-sight, lost limbs, heart disease, and even death. I try and ask myself, are eating these traditional "yummy" treats really worth all of that?

Diabetes is rough, but it can be fought!! We as a nation do not have to let this illness control what happens to ourselves and the people that we love. Because I have Type 1 Diabetes, I will always live with this disease unless a cure is found. If I knew that by changing my eating and exercising habits I could get rid of my illness, believe me I would be doing whatever I could to make it go away. Many individuals who are at risk for Type 2 Diabetes have the opportunity to stop this disease by adjusting how they eat each day. LISTEN TO ME...................YOU DO NOT WANT TO LIVE WITH DIABETES!

Changing eating habits is very hard, but there are so many resources available now to help us make these important changes in our lifestyles. If you know that you are at risk for Diabetes, or you know someone close to you who is at risk, take the time to look at the following websites. These websites are also incredible resources for those of us who are already living with diabetes. Make a change now to get your health on the right track. By taking care of my diabetes I have been able to run a marathon, travel to another continent, ride a bicycle for 6 days from Minneapolis to Chicago, as well as live a much fuller life. Diabetes will not stop me, so don't let it stop you!!!!

http://www.dlife.com/, http://www.diabetes.org/, http://www.diabetesaction.org/, http://www.diabetes.com/