Wordless Wednesday - Walking in My Shoes

 

Today is World Diabetes Day. The key phrase: "Think Blue, Wear Blue"

 I'm wearing my blue shoes.

For more information about World Diabetes Day, visit: http://www.idf.org/worlddiabetesday/

 

 

 

 

 

Drawer Full of Snacks - Caramel Corn

I think a lot of people who have desk jobs have a snack drawer. I know of least 4 people in my department that have one. If you do work at a desk and don't have a snack drawer, once 3 o'clock rolls around, what do you do?! I'm usually ready to crash and need a pick-me-up. Unfortunately, with being diabetic, I don't have the luxury of keeping junk food in my drawer and I have to be a little more picky so my sugars don't suddenly spike. Also not good for a diabetic is not to have emergency snacks. I had just started my insulin shots again and I had gotten lazy about restocking. One afternoon, I started to shake uncontrollably and I had trouble concentrating. My blood sugar was too low and I didn't have anything to eat to bring it back up. I had to run to the store for some orange juice so I could feel like I could function again. It's scary to feel like you don't have control of your body and I certainly don't want to go through that again. I've learned to keep my snack drawer stocked but again, sometimes it's hard to find something to snack on.

 

So with that said, November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and I've decided to focus on some homemade snacks to keep in my desk drawer that might be slightly healthier than what you find at the market. One of the staples in my drawer is popcorn and I know that with all that "butter," it can't be the healthiest thing to eat. But then again, I also want my popcorn to taste like something. I decided to experiment this weekend with plain organic popcorn and a bottle of Sohgave that I recently found at Home Goods.

 

 

Caramel Corn

Adapted from sparkpeople.com

 

1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (equivilent to 1 cup of brown sugar)

1/2 cup of agave nectar (such as Sohgave)

1/4 cup of butter

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

10 cups of air popped popcorn or 2 bags of plain microwavable popcorn*

 

 

Preheat the oven to 250*F. Spray a large baking sheet generously with cooking spray such as Pam.

Pop popcorn and set aside in a large bowl.*

In a saucepan, mix together butter, sugar, and agave over medium heat and stir occasionally. Cook for approximately 5 minutes. Lower heat if the sauce begins to bubble too much or it may burn. Remove from heat and mix in the vanilla, baking soda, and salt.

Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the popcorn and gently mix so the popcorn is coated. Continue to pour more of the caramel sauce over the popcorn and continue to mix.

Once the popcorn is coated, spread onto your baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Approximately 15 minutes into the baking time, stir to avoid burning or sticking.

Remove from oven and stir gently to break up any clumps. Cool before serving.

 

 

*Sueshine Notes

-I stared at all the various popcorn brands in the snack aisle for a long time before settling on plain microwavable popcorn because 1) I didn't have an electric air popcorn popper 2) Everything seemed to be either "movie theater butter" or kettle corn flavored. I went with Albertson's Wild Harvest popcorn because it was organic, unflavored, and has no trans fats or artificial flavors.

-I made the mistake of not separating the kernels from the popcorn before I started. The end result was the kernels sinking to the bottom of my baking sheet and sticking to the caramel. Talk about trying not to chip a tooth when you're distracted with all the sticky goodness! So in other words, please take the time to let the kernels settle to the bottom of the bowl then dump them out.

-Unless you have a giant bowl that can hold two bags of popcorn, I recommend mixing in smaller batches. My puppy thanks me for not realizing this earlier and dropping a few stray pieces all over the kitchen floor.

 

 

 

 

I've missed caramel corn and this was certainly a suprising treat. This was the first time I used agave nectar and it served as a great substitute to corn syrup. One new snack in my desk drawer....I can't wait until 3 o'clock!

 

 

note: I'm not a doctor or nutritionist. You know your dietary restrictions and your body so be sure to keep with your doctor's plan for you. Also, remember to eat your snacks in moderation

Diabetes Awareness Month, Team DiaBatman, and a Giveaway!

Note: Okay, so on my last Wordless Wednesday post, I said I would let everyone know where I've been and why I went MIA from my blog for a couple of weeks. I then realized I had a much more important topic to write about this week so I promise I will get around to writing about my most recent adventure.

When I was a little girl of about 7 or 8, I remember sitting in the living room with my biological father as he showed me how to draw a tiny drop of blood to test his blood sugar. At that time, I didn't understand what it meant and I'm sure I just wanted to go outside and play with my friends. Fast forward to my 1st year in college when I had to go to the student medical center to get a check up. I remember being told by the doctor that I was prediabetic and that I needed to start monitoring myself. At the time, like most people in their early 20s, I was in denial and didn't want to think about being "sick." As I entered my mid to late 20s, I started to notice I was getting tired all the time. My mom had recently gone to the doctor for a physical and she had been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Since diabetes is highly heredity, I decided it was time to face the facts that I needed to get myself checked.

This topic is not my usual light hearted subject about baking and recipes but just like baking, it's a topic that I hold very dear to my heart. November is National Diabetes Awareness month and along with 18.8 million diagnosed children and adults in the United States, I am a diabetic (type 2). I just wanted to share a few shocking statistics about diabetes:

Total: 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes.

Undiagnosed: 7.0 million people

Prediabetes: 79 million people*

New Cases: 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older in 2010.

* In contrast to the 2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet, which used fasting glucose data to estimate undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes, the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet uses both fasting glucose and A1C levels to derive estimates for undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes. These tests were chosen because they are most frequently used in clinical practice.

Under 20 years of age

• 215,000, or 0.26% of all people in this age group have diabetes
• About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has diabetes

Age 20 years or older

• 25.6 million, or 11.3% of all people in this age group have diabetes

Age 65 years or older

• 10.9 million, or 26.9% of all people in this age group have diabetes

Diabetes can also cause complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, nervous system damage, and amputation when not controlled. In 2007, the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $174 billion.

Information obtained from http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/?loc=DropDownDB-stats

Unfortunately, there is no cure for diabetes yet. Many of us who are diabetic have to monitor our blood sugar everyday, exercise, and take medication such as pills or insulin. It's not an easy road but with your help, we're on our way. So how am I doing my part and how can you help this year? I'm doing it by assisting a family friend and her daughter who has a form of type-1 diabetes. Her name is Rachael Stickles and although we have two different forms of diabetes and our paths are very different, we share a common goal to make people aware of diabetes and agree that something needs to be done to find a cure. Read more about Rachael's journey here. On November 12, 2011, Rachael's team, Team DiaBatman and half a million walkers will be involved in the JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes in San Diego, CA. You too can help by donating on Rachael's page and help her reach her goal of $500. As of today, she's just about halfway there.

As an incentive to donate, I'm holding a small giveaway. Here's how it works:





1) Go to Rachael's Team DiaBatman homepage HERE and make a donation for any denomination. Enter your name to be listed on the Fundraising Honor Roll (you don't have to leave the amount you donated). Every dollar counts! In order to qualify for the giveaway, please make your donation by Saturday, November 12 at 9:00PM PST.

2) Leave a comment on this page letting me know you made a donation.

3) If you've already made a donation, to gain an extra entry, tweet a link to my blog and leave a separate comment with your Twitter name.

4)  The winner will be chosen at random using random.org. I will announce the winner on my blog on Sunday, November 13th. The winner then has until Sunday, November 20, 2011 to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

The winner will be sent a Jessie Steele hostess apron with the design on their choice such as the one pictured (value up to $30, picture from http://www.laylagrayce.com/ ). The giveaway is open to everyone and not limited to those in the United States.

I hope you will help Rachael reach her goal by making a donation today. Tune in next week for the announcement!

Please note that this giveaway is strictly for the promotion of Team DiaBatman & reaching their goal for the JDRD's Walk to Cure Diabetes. www.SweetSueshine.com  was not given anything by JessieSteele.com or any vendors that carry the line. The prize itself was puchased out of my own pocket because I just plain like the product, think they are ultra cute, and think every baker should have an apron. Shipping costs will also be covered out of my own pocket.