Once you have diabetes, the key is to manage it.  The goal of food planning is to keep blood glucose levels close to normal.  By making a few simple changes, you can help control blood glucose and achieve a healthy diet.  What does this mean in your kitchen? Count carbs. Carbohydrates affect blood glucose levels more than any other nutrient.  Even small amounts of carbs will make your blood glucose rise and larger amounts of carbs will make your blood glucose levels rise more. Cut down on total fat and saturated fat.  When you think fat, think liquid.  use canola or olive oil rather than solid butte...

Tags: Betty Crocker 30-Minute Meals for Diabetes, blood glucose levels, calories, Chicken-Wild Rice Salad with Dried Cherries, exercise, lentils, phytonutrients, portion sizes, potassium, saturated fat, sodium, total fat

For the second year in a row when I went to my annual doctor visit, I'd gained 4 pounds over the winter.  He looked at my blood tests and was not happy.  The extra weight had pushed my blood glucose level to an almost pre-diabetes level.  (I'd had gestational diabetes twice, so I wasn't too surprised to hear this, yet it's not what you want to hear.)   "You've got to get this weight off", he said.  (How, I wondered?  I already work out every day and am pretty careful about what I eat.  It's obviously not enough.)  The endocrinologist and I spent some time tal...

Tags: Betty Crocker 30-Minute Meals for Diabetes, Betty Crocker's Diabetes Cookbook Everyday Meals Easy as 1-2-3, pre-diabetes

Consumers have a hard time getting Quick & Easy, (let alone Healthy) dinners on the table that their kids will eat these days.  (Heck, it's hard for me to do and I know about food and where to find the recipes.) That's why I wasn't surprised when our latest cooking class, "Quick Fix Healthy Meals" filled up within minutes.  I teamed up with my dietitian friend, Maureen Doran, to teach the class.  We work well together, I talk about the food and she talks about the nutrition, although at times we interject themes from each others' world, as we've been doing this for a while.  The General Mills Wellness Committee sponsored the class--I'm an active comm...

Tags: Betty Crocker 30-Minute Meals for Diabetes, Betty Crocker Health Heart Cookbook, Betty Crocker Kitchens, Betty Crocker Quick & Easy Cookbook, Betty Crocker Whole Grains Cookbook, Betty Crocker Win at Weight Loss Cookbook, Corn Chex®, Corn Crusted Fish Fillets, kids' favorites, Lemon Chicken with Tomatoes and Couscous, Lentil-Tofu Soup, Quinoa with Black Beans, Saucy Raspberry Rhubarb, teens, whole grains

So that General Mills employees can take part in heart-healthy foods and learn how to eat better, The Betty Crocker Kitchens has partnered with Sodexho, food service supplier who prepares and sells the items in the cafes at all 3 Minneapolis office locations.  In February, the cafes have been featuring heart-healthy menu items, using recipes from our healthy cookbooks.  Here are a few of the recipes they're offering, along with the cookbooks they're from: Breakfast – Chocolate Chip-Cherry Scones, Cookbook for ...

Tags: Fiber One bran cereal, Apple-Honey Cereal Bars, Betty Crocker 30-Minute Meals for Diabetes, Betty Crocker Cookbook, Betty Crocker Cookbook for Women, Betty Crocker Diabetes, Betty Crocker Healthy Heart Cookbook, Betty Crocker Whole Grains, Black Bean-Corn Wonton Cups, heart health, kids, teens