The past couple of weeks, I’ve been struggling. It’s common. Anyone with a chronic health issue can relate. There are no breaks from it; and there are no holidays. It’s there 24/7 all 365 days of the year. That’s when your support system of friends and family become so important.
It can be such a relief when a friend or family member helps you with research. My friend, Sandy, is a great example. She’s learned how to decide what is the best possible food choice for diabetics. She knows to look at the serving size first, so you know how much you can eat. She looks at the carbohydrate and sugar gram counts, including sugar alcohols. When she tells me I can eat something, it’s a relief. Having another set of intelligent, trained eyes is wonderful. Reading through the labels on 10 to 15 products at grocery stores gets old. Having a buddy to help you is amazing; and I am very grateful.
Another source of support is a great friend, Leslie. She’s inspired to cook healthy recipes from time to time. She makes a fantastic blueberry brownie that I can tell you from experience is diabetic friendly. It’s great having a friend bring you a delicious sweet treat that is safe and tastes fantastic. Even when I splurge and eat several of them, my blood sugar is still at 90 the next morning.
A new supportive friend is Colton. He makes exercise fun. Exercise is the most effective lifestyle change to make to reduce blood sugar. With the weather cooling off, we decided to take an impromptu trip out of town to a state park to hike and enjoy looking at forest fungi. We followed it up by going to play tennis at a local park in the evening.
We all struggle from time to time. Let me be part of your support system. I suggest a simple, lifestyle change that includes drinking more teas. Here’s a little healthy tea recipe…
ingredients:
2 cups water
2 fresh marigold flowers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of 50/50 mix stevia and vanilla
Directions:
1.) Separate the flower petals from the seeds and stem cap.
2.) Get 2 cups of hot water from your Keurig or boil 2 cups of hot water and remove from the stove.
3.) Add the flower petals, lemon juice, and stevia vanilla mix and stir.
4.) Cover the mix and let it seep for 2 minutes.
5.) Remove the cover and strain off the flower petals as you pour yourself a cup of fresh tea.
Serving size: 1 cup Number of Servings: 2
These flowers aren’t just beautiful decorations used in wreaths and Indian celebrations. They are also grown in gardens for their insect repelling properties. Romans called them Calendula. Ancient Indian, Greek, and Roman societies used them for their medicinal properties. They have many health benefits…
1.) They are full of multiple types of antioxidants.
2.) This plant possess anti-inflammatory compounds that reduce chronic inflammation known to cause obesity, metabolic syndrome, or type 2 diabetes.
3.) They may help with wound and diabetic skin ulcer healing by increasing the amount of collagen in the wound.
4.) They may provide an anti tumor effect because of the flavonoid and triterpene antioxidants found in it fight leukemia, melanoma, colon, breast, and pancreatic cancer cells.
5.) Marigolds could have anti fungal and anti microbial properties.
6.) They may help treat gingivitis.
7.) Calendula may improve skin health.
Source: “7 Potential Benefits of Calendula Tea Extract”
Healthline 04/08/2020
This holiday weather has been fantastic! I'm headed out to gather more marigolds and trim my butternut squash monster plant that has taken over the fire pit and sitting area in the front yard. At least the cooling temperatures make harvesting more vegetables and cranberry hibiscus tea leaves pleasurable. I hope you find this tea just as enjoyable. If this recipe finds its way into your home, please let me know. Please comment, like, share, and come back next week for more recipes, ideas, and tips. Subscribe to the website, if you would like weekly email reminders to add more recipes to your recipe book.
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, but a compilation of research from medical sites. Make sure to see your doctor and have up to date lab work.