Pacific NorthWest Diabetes Week

Today, diabetes is a growing problem nationwide with a prevalence 35% higher than it was 1- years ago. Just in Oregon, during the year 2006, diabetes related hospitalizations costs were as high as $1.1 billion.

Each year another 7 million people will develop diabetes.

In 2025, an estimated 50 million people (15% of the population) will get diabetes, which is more than twice the current number. Diabetes may become the #1 killer in America (which is currently heart disease), and it is completely preventable!

One of the ways you can prevent diabetes is to be aware of your risks and the diabetes warning signs! Check out the information below to see if you are at risk!

RISK FACTORS for Type 2 Diabetes:

• Obesity/Overweight
• Lack of ecercise
• Unhealthy diet
• Increased age
• High blood pressure and high cholesterol
• Family history of diabetes
• Ethnicity (basically if you're a person of color)

WARNING SINGS:

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Increased hunger
• Weight loss
• Tiredness
• Lack of concentration
• Vomiting and stomach pain
• Tingling sensation or numbness in the hands or feet
• Blurred vision
• Frequent infections
• Slow-healing wounds

If you think that you're at risk - talk to your health care provider and get checked out!

OK, now that this public service announcement is over, let me get to the real post :) Couple of weeks ago Elisa (AmeriCorps), Allyn (our chronic care coordinator), John (one of my roommates) and I built a fabulous prize wheel for the Pac NW Diabetes Week events at our clinic. Here's what that day looked like:


Power tools are totally rad! Thanks, John for helping us out!

We cut the 2x4 and shaped them into the stand for the wheel-to-be.

Elisa and Allyn did a great job painting the wheel that we cut out of plywood.

Yeah! John was the master with the tools!

This week Elisa and I set up a table at our clinics with our wheel and delightful prizes. We talked to our patients about the diabetes warning signs, encouraged people to talk to their PCPs and offered free eye exams to the uninsured diabetics. It was great. Throughout the week we talked to about 60 patients and gave out awesome prizes! Elisa made coupon books and healthy diabetes recipe books. We invited people to our walking group, and gave them passes to the YMCA gym, and 24 Hour Fitness - who even donated an hour long personal training session to our patients!

Yay! It was a really great week!

Elisa at our Diabetes Awareness table in the lobby in my clinic.

Tasty Tuesday!!

Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups chopped onion
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
16 oz whole tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
Fresh ground pepper
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup shredded nonfat mozzarella cheese
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Coat a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add onion and garlic and saute over low heat until onion is tender, about 6 minutes.
2. Stir in undrained whole tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, salt, oregano, basil, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. To steam eggplant slices, place 1 inch of water in a large pot. Arrange eggplant slices on a steamer, cover pot, and steam until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. Combine mozzarella and cottage cheeses together and set aside.
5. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with cooking spray, and place half of the eggplant in the pan.
6. Top eggplant with half of the sauce mixture and half of the cheese mixture, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Repeat the steps in layers until all the ingredients are used.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, and serve hot.

Nutrition Information
Exchange/Choices
1 1/2 Carbohydrate (or 4 Vegetable)
1 Lean Meat

Calories: 161
Calories from Fat: 22
Total Fat: 2 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat:
Monounsaturated Fat:
Cholesterol: 11 mg
Sodium: 556 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 23 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Sugars: 10 g
Protein: 15 g

Retreat

These last two days I spent at an AmeriCorps retreat out in Indianola, WA (by Seattle). The weather was gorgeous, the food delicious and all the stuff just plain ol' good.
It has not been the best couple of weeks for me, for many reasons that I can talk to you about individually. So, getting together with some friends, however anti-social I remained, was really great. I was really glad that I was able to connect and get support that I needed from a few strong and kind souls that I've come to love and depend on. That's what our team is all about.

Here are some highlights.

We chopped some wood for the camp we stayed at. I think that it will last them the whole winter!

This was empty when we started.

We went on a hike and looked at some slugs

We went skinny dipping in the Puget Sound

We celebrated some birthdays.

Tobacco Tuesday?

I don't have a tasty recipe this week, BUT, I do have a cool video to share.
I hope that this will show you how far we've come as far as tobacco advertising goes.

Tasty Tuesday!

Aloo Gobi

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 1 medium

Potatoes - 2 big or 3 medium

Peas - 1 to 2 cups

Onion - 1/2 medium

Garlic - 3 cloves

Fresh Ginger - 1 oz (1 inch piece)

Turmeric - 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons

Garam masala - 2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 1 heaped teaspoon

Salt - to taste (I add 1 and a 1/2 teaspoon)

Cumin Seed - 1 teaspoon

Oil - 2 tablespoon

Directions

1. Chop the potatoes, and cauliflower and keep aside.
2. In a wide frying pan add: Oil, garlic, onion and ginger. After a while add cumin seeds.
   
3. Once the onions have browned - add the potatoes.
4. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of water.
   
5. When the potatoes are slightly brown, add the spices (red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, masala and salt), and stir for a while until all the potatoes seem evenly covered in the yellow goodness!
6. At this point I also added one green chili/jalapeno pepper. I tried to take off as much of the pulp so it's not too spicy, but ended up regretting that move in the end - my curry wasn't that spicy.
   
7. Add 2/3 - 1 cups of water, and put a lid on it. Leave it to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
8. Add the cauliflower and peas. Mix in with the rest of the pan's contents. Keep it on a high flame while mixing for about 2 minutes.
9. Close the lid and keep on simmer for 5 more minutes.

I also adjusted the spices to taste. I haven't quite figured out the perfect combination of spices, but I'm getting there. Here's the original recipe that I used, and changed a little by reading other recipes online. Serve over rice and enjoy!