Diabetes is a chronic disease. It's going to be around. A few type two diabetics have been able to reverse the disease through diet, exercise, and life change. Most of us have not been able to find our personal cure. We are struggling with it for the rest of our lives, and diabetic burn out is a real challenge!
It takes time to learn about the disease. My father was diabetic with Alzheimer's and dementia. The nursing home didn't understand and neither did I at the time. The nursing home followed the dietary guidelines outlined by the state. They cut back on his water and substituted with Ensure. They didn't understand why he kept gaining weight.
Removing the water from his diet was the worst decision! I repeatedly told them to add the water back! Water flushes sugar out of the system. It's the body's natural way of trying to flush excess sugar out. Unfortunately, one side effect of allowing our blood sugar to rise too often is that it wears out our kidneys.
Remember your organs don’t get a break from diabetes either. You have to look at it as a matter of being kind to them. Thicker blood from high blood sugar can make your organs have to work harder. The stress leads to organs wearing out. This is why so many people with uncontrolled blood sugar levels find themselves on dialysis or have other health complications.
Still sometimes we need a break from being good. Just like a professional athlete, we need a splurge day! Sometimes you need a cheat day with caution. We may choose to have some sweets or starches. We make a choice to eat or drink something that isn’t good for us because we want a break from our diabetes. It's ok.
I used to enjoy the Simple Mills brand. They have flat golf ball sized cookies that taste pretty good. Their muffins aren't too bad either. I just have two problems with the brand... small serving sizes and cost. This led me to start working on my own recipes.
Often, we are told we can't have certain foods. That isn't completely correct. Many times, we can enjoy many different options. We just have to do some research. I spend a lot of time finding alternate ingredients that don't blow up blood sugar and have reasonable serving sizes.
We go into grocery stores and are bombarded with sweets right at the front of the store! We may not be able to enjoy those sweets, but there are options. This week I'm sending you some love for Valentine's Day. This cupcake recipe may be right up your alley. Please remember to only indulge in one serving at a time,
Cupcakes Servings: 12
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Cupcakes Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes
Frosting Prep Time 10 minutes Refrigeration: 4 hours
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 eggs
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp maple flavor extract or vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
butter spray
muffin pan
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°.
Stir the almond flour, flax seed, cocoa powder, and baking soda together with a fork to get out the lumps. Set to the side.
Beat the eggs in a separate container. Whisk in the maple flavoring, stevia, and almond milk.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until all large lumps are gone.
Coat the muffin pan with butter spray.
Spoon the mix into the pan and cook for 17 minutes.
Pull out of the oven. An inserted fork should come out clean.
Set on a wire rack to cool 5 min. Pop out 10 minutes later and add the frosting.
Frosting
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Maple Grove Farms sugar free maple flavored syrup
1/4 cup Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp melted Earth Balance soy free butter
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Place all the ingredients in a small food processor and blend for 4 minutes.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight is better.
Spread over cooled cupcakes.
The almond flour in these cupcakes is an amazing ingredient! It is a protein flour made of ground almonds and water. The flour is gluten free. It is full of magnesium that helps control blood sugar. Our bodies use manganese to process carbohydrates and assist with blood clotting to heal injuries. The monounsaturated fats in it help with heart health lowering the risk of heart disease. The vitamin E in almonds lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Almond flour is full of probiotics to aid in digestive health. You can even make it at home.
Source: "Health Benefits of Alm0nd Flour"
Nourish by WebMD 08/20/20
If nursing homes and doctors struggle to find a cure, it makes sense that it would be difficult for us. Kudos for just taking on this huge challenge! Being diabetic is not for the faint of heart. Now you can add almond flour to your list of good ingredients for cooking.
Go on ahead and get off the sofa and try out this recipe. Amaze your loved ones with a healthy sweet dark chocolate treat that they can enjoy too! Please comment, like, share, and come back next week for more recipes, ideas, and tips. Subscribe to the website, you will receive a weekly email reminder when a new recipe comes out.
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.
Photo by: Peter Hall