This week Marlene Koch is back with a very timely article for these tough financial times titled “10 Ways to Eat Well on Budget.” As many of us are trying to cut extra spending, one of the biggest expenses happens to be food. As you probably know, there is a temptation to save by eating plentiful yet starchy foods such as pasta and rice or cheap yet filling fast food. This poses a challenge to consuming a balanced nutrition every day, especially for those with diabetes. Marlene presents some great tips on how to continue to eat right…and spend right too!

Marlene also offers one of her great and healthy recipes by putting a new spin on an old homemade staple with Tuna Noodle Casserole. Make this old favorite better for you by using low-fat soup and cheese and partially substituting the amount of pasta with artichokes. It sounds like a great way to feed the family (and have enough for penny-saving leftovers) and cut the carbs and fat on this classic American dish.

If you are looking for some more healthy recipes or ideas for the dinner table or snack time, check out our selection of diabetic cookbooks, including Marlene Koch’s own 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes or Fantastic Food With Splenda by Marlene Koch.

Check out the American Diabetes Wholesale Newsletter Archive for useful health information, diabetic recipes and more!

The Diabetes Educator of the Year Award voting period has ended as of March 20, 2009 and the votes are currently being tallied. We appreciate all the great responses we received and wish to extend our appreciation to all who took the time to participate and cast their votes in the contest. The winner is to be announced on May 1, 2009 in a special ceremony, so please stay tuned for future updates.

I have been doing a horrible job of actually posting on my blog, I am going to start doing it a lot more.  I just find that a lot of times, I don’t have many diabetes related things to post about everyday.  Sunday night I actually had another high that was pretty bad.  It took me a long time to bring it back down.  My meter just read, “HI”.  I took 25 units of insulin and tried to just go back to sleep and finally after waking up several times to go to the bathroom, I got it down to a manageable level.

Other than that not much else has been going on.  Just working a lot, lot, lot.  I went to a clinic today to help out with Diabetes Alert Day.  There was free glucose screenings, blood pressure screenings, and neuropathy checks.  I was helping hand out “Goodie-bags” to those that decided to sit through the lectures and the screenings.  It is good to be there to help out with these free screenings to alert people that they may be at risk for diabetes.

This weekend is the local JDRF walk, I’ve been collecting some money, so I am looking forward to being one of the top individual fundraisers.  Can’t wait.

In this week’s edition of the American Diabetes Wholesale newsletter, we are happy to feature an inspirational and informative article by a new contributor, Dr. Wendy Rapaport, L.S.C.W., Psy.D. In the article “Are Comfort Foods Causing Discomfort?” Dr. Rapaport breaks down the psychology of how we often use food for emotional satisfaction which leads to over-eating, which in turn can lead to complications such as weight gain or aggravated symptoms in people with diabetes. Dr. Rapaport gives tips on how to avoiding using food as “comfort food” and developing a healthy, natural way to relieve stress and find the emotional satisfaction that everyone needs.

This week is also the final week to cast your vote in our Diabetes Educator of the Year Contest. We have five great finalists who all dedicate their lives to fighting the diabetes epidemic, so if you have not done so yet, please take a few moments to read the biographies and vote for your favorite. The winner will get a luxurious weekend at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida so it’s a quick and easy way you can help us express our appreciation for these dedicated professionals.

If you have not signed up for the free American Diabetes Wholesale newsletter, you’re missing out on great articles like these, product spotlight and reviews and savings on diabetes supplies and other medical products. Sign up today!

©2009 Keeping Diabetes Management Affordable. All Rights Reserved.

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I went to the driving range this weekend, and it was the first time that my pump gave me a problem when I went.  It was pretty hot out, so I was sweating, so one time I ripped into one with my driver and my pump fell out of my pocket and pulled my infusion set right out.  But I only had a quarter of bucket of balls left, so I kept on hitting.  As soon as I got back to my car, I tested and my sugar was about 150, so I knew I was good until I got home.  Once I got home, I took a shower, replaced the infusion set, tested again and was 185, not too bad.  I ate lunch and tested 2 hours later, and I was back down to about 120-ish.  I played a round of golf one time where I disconnected everytime I walked up to the tee and to the ball, and it was just really annoying, so I just trained myself to play with the pump on.

My other blood sugar scare was later that night however.  I went to the Florida Panthers game, and when I got there I felt really thirsty so tested my sugar and I was about 375, how the hell did this happen I haven’t ate anything for like 4 hours.  I was starving and had to eat something, so I didn’t know what to do.  So I took 25 units of insulin (the max bolus on my pump) and then as soon as that one was done, I took anothe 25.  I know it’s not the best solution, but I didn’t have anymore pens, so I had to do something!  Tested after the first period, down to 250, tested after the second period, down to 110, tested after the game before we got on the Turnpike, dropping to about 75, so I ate some Skittles for the 20 minute ride home.

Later that night we went out to a local hangout, Hurricane’s in Delray, and my sugars were fine, but I started to feel a little low again, so luckily my amazing girlfriend had some Skittles handy in her purse.  Her purse fits my little meter and skittles perfectly!

Saturday was a pretty eventful blood sugar day!

Two great events are coming and we want to make them special:

• Tuesday, March 24th is American Diabetes Alert Day
• Sunday, April 12th is Easter

Diabetes Alert Day Offer

To support the effort by the American Diabetes Association to raise diabetes awareness, we are giving away FREE 1-Year subscriptions to Diabetes Self-Management magazine (with purchase).

You can receive your FREE 1-Year subscription to Diabetes Self Management magazine by placing an order before April 15, 2009.*

We recognize how important education is for successfully managing diabetes. The award-winning Diabetes Self-Management magazine provides up-to-date, practical “how-to” information on nutrition, exercise, new drugs, medical advances, self-help and many other topics people need to know about to stay healthy.

You’ll receive 6 bimonthly issues absolutely FREE! ($24 cover price.) No minimum order required!*

Please shop through this link to receive your FREE magazine.

Diabetes-Friendly Easter Basket

Easter is just around the corner. Now is the time to get hoppin’ and celebrate with our sweet and cuddly diabetes-friendly Easter basket. Not only does it contain diabetes-friendly candies, it has an adorable bunny and re-usable Easter egg bowl with cover.
Your hunt is over for that special gift for a special person who loves Easter. Put a smile on their face and a spring in their step with our gift basket.

BONUS! All gift baskets include an American Diabetes Wholesale $5.00 Gift Certificate good towards a future order of $50.00 or more!
Order early to ensure delivery before Easter!

©2009 Keeping Diabetes Management Affordable. All Rights Reserved.

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American Diabetes Wholesale is now carrying some more products from Walden Farms, including their famous Walden Farms calorie free salad dressing! We now carry the smooth Walden Farms Creamy Bacon Salad Dressing, the zesty Walden Farms Italian Sun Dried Tomato Salad Dressing and the light, fresh Walden Farms Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.

Here are a few more Walden Farms that ADW now carries:

Walden Farms Bacon Dip

Walden Farms Blueberry Syrup

Walden Farms Bruschetta Sauce

©2009 Keeping Diabetes Management Affordable. All Rights Reserved.

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American Diabetes Wholesale now carries the new line of diabetic drink mixes from the company that makes the popular ExtendBar – the Extend Shake! These tasty diabetes drink packets, when mixed with water or skim milk, provide a frothy, refreshing treat for any time. Available in chocolate, vanilla & strawberry flavors, the Extend Shakes are fantastic drinks for diabetics: low in fat, 15 grams of proteins, 5 grams of fiber, fortified with 24 vitamins & minerals, only 2 grams of net carbs and only 1 gram of sugar.

We also offer the Extend Shakes Variety Pack so you can try all the flavors for the price of a single flavor! It includes 2 packets of Chocolate Extend Shake flavor, 2 packets of Vanilla Extend Shakes flavor and 1 packet of Strawberry Extend Shake flavor.

And if you are a person on the go, you might want to add the BlenderBottle portable drink mixer to your order! No batteries + no cord = no hassle! Mix up your Extend Shakes or any other nutritional beverage mix or protein drink in this easy-to-clean handy container!

Check out our other diabetic-friendly foods and nutritional food and start living healthier today!

©2009 Keeping Diabetes Management Affordable. All Rights Reserved.

This week diabetes educator Marci Sloane and American Diabetes Wholesale recognize the 21st Annual American Diabetes Alert Day with this week’s newsletter, and Marci’s article “Do You Know Anyone at Risk for Diabetes? ” Marci gives great advice on how to recognize the symptoms of pre-diabetes, which can often go unnoticed and lead to more serious problems down the line. She also describes how to slow (and possibly halt) the progression of pre-diabetes into type 2 diabetes, or “adult” diabetes. With 8% of our population diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to acknowledge this widespread disease and raise awareness in communities all across the United States. Check out the American Diabetes Association’s online risk test along with the article to find out whether you and your doctor should plan some tests.

To help with following a healthy lifestyle, our newsletter this week features some products like the EatSmart Nutrition Scale &  AccuBase A1c Test Kit. Check out Marci’s section on Destination Diabetes for even more free health and nutrition tips!

If you have not done so, be sure to sign up for American Diabetes Wholesale’s free diabetic newsletters, full of informative articles, health tips and more!

©2009 Keeping Diabetes Management Affordable. All Rights Reserved.

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The American Diabetes Wholesale free newsletter offers an informative piece by diabetic cookbook author and nutritionist Marlene Koch. Continuing with the healthy heart theme this month, Marlene gives great advice in an article titled, “Deliciously Heart Smart.” In it, you will find the ways to love your heart by following the “heart smart plate” guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. Find out more about keeping a healthy heart in conjunction with the diabetic lifestyle.

Marlene also contributed some heart-friendly recipes to help get you off to the right (and delicious) start! Salmon Packets with Tomato Basil Relish will make a great entrée for a family dinner, and end the meal with the tasty Deep Dark Hot Chocolate!

If you have not signed up for our free ADW Newsletters, you’re missing out on health information and nutrition tips, delicious recipes and subscriber-only offers! Sign up today! 

©2009 Keeping Diabetes Management Affordable. All Rights Reserved.

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