RECIPE: Quick Low-Carb Chocolate Cake

By Gretchen Becker

Cake isn’t usually very kind to our blood sugars as people with diabetes. So I thought I’d mention an instant low-carb chocolate cake recipe I got somewhere. Can’t remember where, so I can’t give credit.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it’s incredibly fast, so if you suddenly get hit by a yen for something sweet and chocolate but you wisely don’t keep stuff like that in the house, you can whip up a batch of this in minutes.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup nut flour (or wheat bran or rice bran)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 to 5 packets of sweetener

2 tablespoons melted butter, or sour cream

1 tablespoon water or DaVinci syrup, any flavor)

1 egg

Directions:

Mix everything together in a 2-cup microwavable glass cup and cover with plastic wrap. Cut a small slit in the center of the wrap to vent. Put in microwave for about a minute.

That’s it! I’m lazy, so I usually don’t bother to cover with plastic wrap and it turns out okay. I also don’t see a reason to waste the DaVinci syrup, as this is plenty sweet (5 packets of sweetener made it too sweet for me), and the chocolate flavor is intense so who needs more?

You can gussy this up by adding chunked nuts. Or you could add a low-carb icing or swirls of whipped cream.

I never particularly liked chocolate cake; I was more of an icing person. And I preferred fruit pie to cake. But I do occasionally feel chocolate-dessert deprived, and then I whip up a batch of this and feel satisfied for another month or so.

Tomato Scramble

Take advantage of lycopene-rich ruby red tomatoes and protein-packed eggs, and whip up this easy Tomato Scramble for breakfast or brunch. What a delicious way to eat healthy!

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 15 min

What You'll Need:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 roma or pear tomatoes, seeded, diced
• 1 1/2 cup liquid egg substitute

What To Do:

1. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic, cooking until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes.
   
2. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Add eggs to skillet and cook until eggs are set but not overdone.

Lighter Tiramisu

A classic Tiramisu is unbeatable, but unfortunately, laden with fat and calories. Try our Lighter Tiramisu instead. We promise you're not missing anything, and your friends and family will love you even more for keeping it healthy!

Serves: 9

Serving Size: 3/4 cup

Chilling Time: 2 hr

What You'll Need:

• 3 ounces package ladyfingers
• 1/4 cup strong black coffee, chilled
• 1 package (4-serving size) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 (8-ounce) package of fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups frozen, fat-free whipped topping, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

What To Do:

1. Split the ladyfingers apart and line the bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish with half of them. Drizzle ladyfingers with 1 tbsp. of coffee.
    
2. In a large bowl, beat the pudding mix and milk until thickened; stir in remaining coffee. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Spoon the pudding mixture evenly over the ladyfingers.
    
3. Place remaining ladyfingers on top of the pudding and top with whipped topping. Sprinkle with cocoa. Cover and chill for 2 to 4 hours, or until ready to serve. 

Fruit Stand Surprise

Summer is the easiest time of the year to get those all-important five-a-day servings of fruit and vegetables. With all our seasonal favorites picked fresh and available in our markets, a refreshing fruit-laden dish like our Fruit Stand Surprise makes any day seem like cause for celebration!

Serves: 10

What You'll Need:

• 1 (8-ounce) container low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
• 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 1 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into 10 wedges
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

What To Do:

1. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt and brown sugar; mix well. Add the strawberries, bananas, and kiwi; toss until the fruit is well coated.
2. Place each cantaloupe wedge on a serving plate. Spoon equal amounts of the fruit mixture over them and top with the sliced almonds. Serve immediately.

VIDEO: Understanding Insulin & Glucagon

By Ginger Vieira

What really happens in the body when insulin is produced (in those who still produce insulin), and what does insulin do when it’s present in the body (even if you injected it)? And last, but not least, what the heck is glucagon?

This clever video was created with “stop motion” animation from a fella named Armando Hasudungan.

Inhaled Insulin: Is It Effective?

By Ginger Vieira

The idea of being able to inhale our insulin rather than deliver it through a variety of methods that all involve puncturing the skin and stabbing our own flesh (syringes, pens and insulin pumps) is a very cool idea. But does it work? Is it really as effective as today’s methods? Personally, I wouldn’t trade my syringes for an inhaler if it means my blood sugars are going to be less controlled, so the proof would definitely need to be in the “pudding.”

While there have been several failed attempts in the development of inhaled insulin, MannKind’s Afreeza inhaler which uses “Technosphere Insulin Inhalation Powder” is getting closer to FDA approval.

At last week’s 74th annual American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in California, lead researchers Bruce W. Bode, MD, and Julio Rosenstock, MD, presented their results from comparing inhaled insulin with injections and oral diabetes medications.

In type 1 diabetes, the study found:

Technosphere Insulin Inhalation Powder (TI) showed equivalent HbA1c reduction for patients with type 1 diabetes compared with subcutaneous rapid acting analog (RAA) insulin and demonstrated significant differences in total hypoglycemia and weight gain.

This is all good news.

“TI provided effective glycemic control to subjects with type 1 diabetes and was not inferior in HbA1c reduction vs. insulin aspart,” explains Bode. “There was significant weight gain with insulin aspart vs. TI.”

The study also found that hypoglycemic events were lower in those using the TI, as well. Another piece of good news! Other improvements included fasting glucose levels!

The primary negative side-effect seen was a “cough.”

“This did not cause a large dropout; there was a small decrement in pulmonary function that was reversible,” Bode said. “TI had significantly less hypoglycemia no matter how you looked at it.”

In type 2 diabetes, the study found:

Similar results were found in the type 2 patients using the inhaled insulin.

“TI as the initial prandial insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with one or more oral agents effectively reduced postprandial glucose excursionconsistent with its time-action profile,” explained Rosenstock. “It was associated with increased, mild hypoglycemic events and neutral body weight changes.”

However, patients with type 2 did experience more hypoglycemic events in those taking a “sulfonylurea” such as Glipizide.

Wearing the Bionic Pancreas: Experiencing Life in a New Way

It’s been great to see all the recent press about the bionic pancreas since the ADA’s 74^th Scientific Sessions a couple of weeks ago. As many of you have seen here on Glu, it’s one of our favorite topics! In March, I had the great opportunity to speak about being part of the Beacon Hill Study at Camp Hot Shots in Omaha, Nebraska. This presentation was given to parents of children with type 1 diabetes. Cory Harter, the camp director and founder, introduces me, and after sharing some of my background, I dive into all the details about participating in the bionic pancreas study at the eight-minute mark in the video.

What was it like to wear the bionic pancreas? I lived in the moment without being distracted by the hundreds of diabetes decisions I make every day. The bionic pancreas did all the work. The mental relief let me and my family experience life in a new way. I felt like I was my true self for the first time since diagnosis—the impact was that significant. I hope you enjoy the video, and I look forward to your comments and questions!