Retinopathy

****been having blurred vision might be worth another check ?????
Combating Retinopathy

Prevention is crucial in keeping your eyes healthy
By Erika Gebel, PhD

Spotting Symptoms
Early detection and treatment are keys for preventing vision loss in people with diabetic eye disease. A common symptom is blurred vision, which can be caused by macular edema or blood vessel growth on the retina. Leaky blood vessels may make floating spots appear or increase in the field of vision. Even though blurred vision or spots may go away, these symptoms require a prompt checkup by a doctor familiar with diabetic eye disease. Failing peripheral vision may signal glaucoma, while overall blurriness could indicate cataracts.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people over 10 years old with type 1 diabetes should have a comprehensive eye exam within five years of diagnosis and then each year. People with type 2 should be tested shortly after diagnosis (since many will already have had diabetes for years) and then annually. Pregnant women with preexisting diabetes are at particular risk for eye disease, and ADA recommends an examination during the first trimester of pregnancy.

During an eye exam, the doctor will test vision, check eye pressure, and dilate the pupils to allow a thorough inspection of the retina and optic nerve. Sometimes a doctor injects a special dye into a patient’s arm that travels to the eyes, making the blood vessels easier to examine.

Getting Treatment
People who have had diabetes longer, are older, and have poor blood glucose control are all more likely than others to get diabetic eye diseases. High blood pressure is thought to worsen retinopathy, because it stresses the capillaries in the eyes. Studies show that optimal control of blood glucose and blood pressure can reduce the risk of developing retinopathy or slow its progression.

If nonproliferative retinopathy is detected, the first step is usually to get blood glucose and blood pressure under control. If macular edema or proliferative retinopathy is discovered, prompt treatment is needed. Laser photocoagulation, which can “burn” damaged blood vessels shut, is the most common therapy. Another treatment option for severe bleeding is a vitrectomy, surgery that removes some or all of the gel-like vitreous humor from the eye. Glaucoma may be treated with medication, lasers, or surgery. Treatment for severe cataracts involves removing the eye’s lens and replacing it with an artificial one.

Vision problems are far from inevitable. By getting regular medical checkups and keeping a sharp eye on blood glucose control, people with diabetes can greatly up their odds of a life full of seeing the sights.

Italian Stuffed Jalapenos

joels-italian-stuffed-jalapenos/

Going to make these for hubby this weekend :)

If you’re not afraid of a little jalapeno kick (yes, that’s a dare!), give these ultra flavorful and just plain addictive Italian Stuffed Jalapenos a try.

Joel’s Italian Stuffed Jalapenos

15 jalapenos cut in half, seeded and deveined

1 T. canola oil
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1/4 c. minced red onion
1/4 c. minced red bell pepper
3 T. minced fresh garlic
2 c. cream cheese
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
minced chives for garnish
Preheat oven to 350°.
Place halved jalapenos on a pan wrapped in aluminum foil, for easy clean up. Or place jalapenos directly on an oven safe serving dish, to serve directly from. Roast for 10 minutes, or until nicely softened. Remove from the oven and let cool.


Heat the oil in a medium saute pan. Add the sausage and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, and garlic and cook to soften for about 5 minutes. Remove and place in a large bowl. Cool to room temperature, then add cream cheese and Parmesan. Mix ingredients thoroughly and season with salt and pepper, as needed.

Place approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture into each jalapeno half, and top with a bit of mozzarella cheese.
Turn broiler on medium-high.
Place the stuffed peppers back in the oven and broil until the mozzarella cheese melts and is nicely browned. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with a bit more shredded Parmesan, and then the chives. Serve warm.

*Note: This does take some time to assemble, but it’s easy to prepare most of it earlier in the day. Have your jalapenos ready by slicing, deveining and seeding them, and then place them in the refrigerator. Prepare the stuffing mixture of sausage, onion, pepper, garlic, cream cheese, and Parmesan (salt & pepper, to taste), and place in a bowl in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake the jalapenos, most of the work has already been done!

Paper Trail

PLASTIC WRAP
best for covering puddings and custards to prevent a "skin" from forming and for keeping food fresh. Work it: wrap an open container of ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming. (do not use plastic wrap in the microwave)

ALUMINUM FOIL
Best for grilling or for use in the oven. Work it: to soften brown sugar wrap it tightly in foil and bake at 300 for 5 minutes. Also you can roll alumnium foil into a cone and use it as a funnel

WAX PAPER
Great for covering food in the microwave to prevent spattering. Work it: Line the bottoms of cake or loaf pans with the paper for easy removal of baked goods.

PARCHMENT PAPER
Best for lining baking sheets. Work it: bake seafood and vegetables in parchment for easy clean up

Peanut Butter Cookies

They say they are diabetic friendly :)

1/4 cup margarine, softened

1 cup creamy style peanut butter

1/4 cup egg substitute

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup Splenda sugar substitute (or any powdered sugar substitute that is the equivalent of 1 cup of sugar)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 29 mins

1 Preheat oven to 350° F. 2 In a large bowl, beat margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer until creamy, approximately 1 minute. 3 Add egg substitute, honey and vanilla. 4 Beat on high speed for approximately 1½ minutes. 5 Add Splenda and beat on medium speed until well blended, approximately 30 seconds. 6 In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. 7 Slowly add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, beating on low speed until well blended, about 1½ minutes (mixture may be crumbly). 8 Roll level teaspoons of dough into balls and drop onto a lined sheet pan, about 2" apart. 9 Flatten each ball with a fork, pressing a crisscross pattern into each cookie. 10 Bake 7-9 minutes or until light brown around the edges. 11 Cool on wire rack.

el Pollo Loco Marinade

Ingredients

1/4 cup corn oil
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup onion, minced 
2 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
2-3 drops yellow food coloring (I OMMITTED)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice 
1 chicken, 2-1/2 to 3 pounds, halved
How to make it

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Combine oil, butter, onion, garlic, food coloring, cumin, lemon and orange juices in a large shallow pan.
Add chicken halves, turning to coat well.
Cover and marinate several hours, or overnight.
Remove chicken from marinade, then cook over medium coals on barbecue grill, or in a broiler 4 inches under source of heat, until browned on both sides and meat is done, turning and basting frequently, about 25 minutes.

Cut chicken halves into pieces.

Serve with beans and rice, corn or flour tortillas, and fresh salsa.

CAKE POPS

You see these everywhere and they are so small and so cute.
I have really been wanted to try them however as we all know sugar and diabetes don't mix, however if the frosting is sugar free we might be able to try them and do they make sugar free cakes???? I will be looking into it!!!
Difficulty: Easy
Things You'll Need:

1 box cake mix of your choice

1 can fosting of your choice

1 bag candy melts or chocolate bark, sucker sticks and a styrofoam block

Step One

Bake and cool one 13x9 cake, according to package directions.

After cake has cooled smash cake and mix in 1 can of frosting.

Then refridgerate mixture for 15 minutes.

Step Two

Remove mixture from fridge and form into balls.

After forming all balls insert a sucker stick into each ball.

Then refridgerate again for another 15 minutes.

Step Three

While cake pops are in the fridge melt your candy melts or chocolate bark.

I usually use candy melts since they come in several colors.

Step Four

Remove cake pops from fridge. Dip the cake part into the melted chocolate.

Step FIve

After the cake ball is covered insert the stick into a styrofoam block to allow the chocolate coating to harden.

Step Six

After the chocolate has set ENJOY!

El Pollo Loco Mexican Beans

Servings - 6
Ingredients:
1/4 cup corn oil (WAY TO MUCH 1 narrowed down to 1 tbs)
5 whole serrano chilis
2 tsp ground serrano chilis (substituted cayenne pepper)
1 can pinto beans, (28 ounces) drain (i didn't drain) (used low sodium beans)
3/4 cup water

Directions:
Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
1. Heat oil in large saucepan.
2.Add whole chilis. Cook until tender.
3.Add ground chilis, beans and water. Stir well.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer 17 minutes, stirring often.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 6 oz (168.0 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 138
Sodium 330mg14%
Total Carbohydrates 24.0g8%
Dietary Fiber 7.0g28%
Protein 8.0g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 7%
Iron 10%