Hi guys! Today I wanted to share a great FREE resource with you. According to NPR, Leanne Brown wrote this cookbook to help inspire folks on SNAP benefits/food stamps to eat healthier. For any of you who think it's too expensive to eat healthy, this is the help you needed (and finally, evidence that it CAN be done!)

Download for free here: Good and Cheap

Now remember - not all of these recipes are guaranteed low fat or low carbohydrate - but I do think they will give you some new ideas for using a lot of different types of vegetables in creative ways, and getting through the week more efficiently! Don't forget about portion size - everything in moderation.

Have a good weekend!

If you watch or read the news, you may have seen a headline lately stating "Eat Butter", or this Time Magazine article - "Ending the War on Fat". I think the information circulating is confusing - let's clear up a few points.


1. The association between saturated fat and heart disease may have been overstated or overemphasized - but this does not mean there is no correlation. The two are still linked. It just seems that there are some other factors - such as what ends up replacing them in our diets, and how full we feel without them. For a more balanced analysis, check out this PubMed overview of the evidence.

2. Fat does seem to keep people more satisfied. People on low fat diets seem to feel less full and have a harder time sticking to their diets than people on the Mediterranean Diet, which emphasizes reintroducing unsaturated fats such as olive oil and nuts. These type of fats seem to be definitely beneficial for heart health. Calories still count - and fat is still a dense source of calories - but including some of these foods in moderation will definitely help you feel more satisfied.



3. Cutting out saturated fat, and replacing it with refined carbs, does not help. It seems like the biggest mistake we made in the American Diet was not reducing saturated fats, but replacing it with the wrong foods. Avoiding fat by eating unlimited amounts of bagels, sweetened yogurts, and fat free cookies was a popular strategy - and has been blamed for the simultaneous rise in rates of obesity and diabetes nationwide. Now, a new study indicates that the amount of added sugar in our diets puts us at increased risk of heart disease, regardless of how healthy a person eats otherwise!

But are we really surprised? I think we all knew that low fat cookies were not helping us. The truth about nutrition is always simpler than we want it to be.

What is the solution? A whole foods, plant based diet like the Mediterranean Diet. In other words - vegetables, fruits, whole grains, "good" fats, lean protein. Simple but delicious. For some recipe inspiration, check out oldwayspt.org.

I don't know about you, but in this hot weather I haven't felt like turning the oven on lately (or the stove or crockpot for that matter...) and I've been looking for some no-cook options for easy suppers. I made up this recipe and it fit the bill perfectly. I made a big batch of it, and had it for both dinner and lunch the next day alongside some quick grilled chicken.

We use the term "diabetes self-management" a lot. One patient recently asked me, "does that mean I have to do everything myself?"

At Valley Medical, we offer Diabetes Education, Nutrition, and Endocrinology because we want to make sure you have everybody on your team that you need to better manage your diabetes. That includes:

� Endocrinology
� Eye Care
� Foot Care
� Behavioral Health Services
� Physical Therapy

And, of course, Diabetes Self-Management Education. That means classes or one-on-one appointments with diabetes educators and/or nutritionists to help you learn more about diabetes, trouble shoot your lifestyle choices, answer your questions, and help you to set goals.



So what does Diabetes Self-Management look like? It might include:
- monitoring your blood sugars at home
- keeping a food diary
- counting carbohydrates or measuring out your portion sizes
- incorporating physical activity into your routine
- seeing your doctor regularly
- managing stress

But you don't have to do any of it by yourself - we are here to teach you how, help you through, and continuously adapt your plan to your personal wants and needs.

Our goal is to see you empowered with the tools you need to manage your diabetes effectively - but when you need us, the resources are here. That's what self-management education means to us.