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Whether you’ve been recently diagnosed with diabetes or you’re confused about what you should eat as a diabetic, Joan Younce has some practical suggestions.
The Kosciusko County extension director for the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service will teach “Dining with Diabetes” in North Webster. She teaches the program twice a year.
Looking through the program information, Younce, who’s worked 20 years at the extension, conveys some shocking statistics.
“Over the past decade, the number of Americans who have been diagnosed with diabetes has increased 61 percent and is expected to more than double by 2050,” she reads from a page produced by Purdue’s Department of Foods and Nutrition in January 2004.
“The average yearly health care cost for a person with diabetes is $10,071, compared to $2,699 for a person without diabetes.”
Younce, 61, does not recall the year she started teaching the classes – it was either 2003 or 2004 – but says it’s also taught in other counties throughout the state.
“Because of needs assessments, Purdue decided that this would be a good topic to (present) to the people in our community,” she says. “All (the) recipes I’ve prepared for the program I took from each category.”
The “categories” are the subjects of the class’s four weekly sessions, which include making desserts, salads, main dishes and foods for special occasions using recipes from Purdue’s program.
Three of the sessions include demonstrations.
“(The) first session, ‘What is Diabetes’ is filling out papers,” she says. “We talk about annual tests. What the numbers mean. And what number they need to gear for. We talk about what Type I and II are, and we talk about the consequences.”
The second session focuses on preparing special-occasion foods.
“We do desserts. We talk about how to use the different sweeteners, which ones you can bake with and which you can’t,” she says.
“I suggest to beginners, ‘Use the recipes that are recommended for that sweetener.’ You can find an 800 number on the package/container. They’ll send you recipes because they’ve been kitchen-tested to work.”
Younce focuses on fats and sodium in the third session.
“We fix main dishes that week. The reason we look at fats and sodium is because people with diabetes are affected by heart disease,” she says. “We talk about how to flavor our food without salt and how to read food labels. We talk about what the better fats are, like olive and canola oils – according to current research.”
Vitamins and fiber in the diet are covered in the final session.
“That’s when I make that salad,” she says, referring to apple slaw.
“We encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables because they’re lower in fat, sodium and calories,” she says.
However, Younce warns, discretion is needed when eating fruit because of the sugar content.
“What you get in the fruit group you won’t get in the meat, dairy or vegetable group,” she says.
In addition to teaching diabetics how to make healthy food choices, the program stresses the importance of moderation.
“We encourage people to measure portions. We recommend people to use a smaller plate and at a restaurant, eat half a portion and take the rest home,” she says.
Younce also uses something called the plate method.
“The original idea came from the University of Idaho. Meat should only cover a fourth of the plate, vegetables would be half the plate, and your starches are the other fourth.
“This country is fascinated with meat. You only need 4 to 6 ounces a day. If you have a Quarter Pounder at noon, you don’t need any more.”
Mentioning that everyone, not just diabetics, should eat more seafood, Younce says beans are economical and nutritionally good.
“Nuts are good, too,” she says. “Again, in moderation, not the whole bag.”
Younce says her main focus with the program is to teach good nutrition. Clinical health questions are saved for a dietitian who makes an appearance during one of the sessions.
“I tell people to save their questions for her; I’m not allowed to answer those,” she says.
Younce says she didn’t have to hunt up recipes for the program.
“There was a state committee that pulled together the recipes for this ‘Dining for Diabetes’ program. Occasionally, I’ll find a recipe in a magazine. In the Diabetes Forecast magazine, I’ve found a few there. People want recipes that are simple,” she says.
Besides cookbooks by the American Diabetes Association, Younce suggests a couple of Web sites for diabetics to check out.
“There’s a lot of good information on nutrition at EatRight.org, and MyPyramid.gov has all the basic information that’s good,” she says.
1 cup sliced apple with peel
4 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper
1/2 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons orange juice
Dash of cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir well. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 8 servings.
Non-stick baking spray
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
8-ounce can “no salt added” tomato sauce
16-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup chopped onions
10-ounce package fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and chopped (or use one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed)
8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles
12 ounces 1 percent fat cottage cheese (or 12 ounces reduced-fat ricotta cheese)
8 ounces shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees; lightly coat baking dish with non-stick spray. In a large saucepan over low heat, sauté garlic in 2 teaspoons olive oil for 1 minute. Do not let garlic brown. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes, pepper and oregano. Simmer gently over low heat, uncovered, while preparing other ingredients. In a large skillet over low heat, sauté onions in remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, stirring constantly, until onions are transparent but not brown. Add chopped spinach, stirring constantly to separate and heat spinach. Layer uncooked lasagna noodles, sauce, spinach mixture, cottage cheese and mozzarella in baking pan; repeat, using all ingredients, ending with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese. Cover baking dish tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until lasagna noodles are cooked. (If noodles are cooked before assembling lasagna, bake uncovered and reduce baking time to 25 minutes.) Lasagna can be assembled and frozen, uncooked. To prepare lasagna that has been frozen, defrost in refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours and then bake, covered for 1 1/2 hours or more. Lasagna is done when cheese in center is melted, all noodles are cooked and casserole is very hot all the way to the center. Makes 8 servings.
2 teaspoons canola or olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 pound lean ground turkey breast
1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Heat the oil in a large skillet or electric frying pan. Sauté the onion and bell pepper until translucent. Add turkey and cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain off any fat. Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well. Simmer for 15 minutes. Can be served as chili in a bowl or as sloppy Joes on buns. Makes 4 servings.
Non-fat vegetable spray
1 pound mild white fish fillets (sole, flounder, orange roughy)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons reduced-fat margarine, melted
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with non-fat vegetable spray. Rinse and pat fish dry, and arrange in pan in a single layer. In a small bowl, mix almonds, margarine, lemon or lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and pepper. Top fillets with above mixture, spreading evenly. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Makes 4 servings.
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup margarine, melted
Filling:
3-ounce box sugar-free instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 cup skim milk
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
1 cup light whipped topping
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make pie crust: Combine crumbs and margarine; pat into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes; cool. For filling: Combine pudding mix and milk in a mixing bowl; beat well. Add pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well. Pour into crust. Chill for at least 2 hours. Combine topping ingredients; dollop on individual slices. Makes 8 servings.
3 cups cold skim milk
2 (3 ounces) packages white chocolate sugar-free instant pudding
4 cups light whipped topping, thawed
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
Pour milk into a large bowl and add pudding mix. Beat with a wire whisk for 1 minute. Gently stir in whipped topping and orange peel. Spoon into mold or serving dish. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 12 servings.
