Eat and Beat Diabetes Book Review and Brownies


Ever craved for a brownie that's healthy? well,this is it.

The Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture Perfect Weight Loss by Dr.Howard M.Shapiro and Chef Franklin Becker is complete with such healthy transformations of foods otherwise considered taboo for diabetics.But wait,you don't have to be diabetic to try these wholesome ,low calorie,low fat and low sugar recipes.Those over weight ,diabetic,pre-diabetic or at risk for diabetes and also those worried about heart disease or looking for options to lower weight, blood pressure or cholesterol or simply a health nut determined to find alternatives to unhealthy eating,would cherish this book.The book is an eye opener of healthy yet most delicious foods imaginable.

The Beat Diabetes Team
In Eat & Beat Diabetes with picture perfect Weight Loss,Dr.Howard Shapiro uses the same visual method of food comparisons that made his best selling weigh loss books so popular and easy to use.Now he has teamed with executive chef,Franklin Becker,a diabetic himself,and together they reveal the secrets to a diet that can actually help you prevent and beat diabetes - without depriving yourself of delicious foods.
Besides Chef Franklin Becker,other premier chefs from major restaurants around the country have contributed their shared of healthfully transformed tasty recipes.Also includes a 7 day sample meal plan.

Beat Diabetes Pyramid
Dr.Shapiro's Beat Diabetes Pyramid depicts a simple understanding of food groups that fight diabetes and lose weight.It not about depriving food but about making the right choices from the bounty of foods that can provide good defense to stay healthy.The pyramid reveals the secret weapons,the specific nutrients that actually targets diabetes,beating back its potential side effects and maintaining the healthy weight that is key to controlling the disease.

A Call to Action for Parents of Kids at risk
Children pay the terrible price of being overweight ,by being at risk for type 2 diabetes ,heart disease ,asthma,digestive disorders,joint problems,vision problems,liver disease besides the psychologically painful toll.
The books offers the solution of changing the unhappy unhealthy state of kids,by asking parents to take the responsibility,teaching them to make the right choices through the beat diabetes pyramid,while keeping in mind the dos and don'ts for building a strong foundation of healthy eating for children.

The Food comparisons
A picture is worth thousand words,that so true with this book.Includes more than 100 capturing photos of picture-perfect food comparisons(calories,fiber,fat and sugar) that help you make the right choices.
Visually compare your favorite foods loaded with calories and fat to much healthier and equally tempting choices.Like the kiddie treat even a mother can love ,a scoop of frozen yogurt with cone 140 calories instead of 4 ounce chocolate chip cookie with 640 calories and 40 grams of fat!.
You actually get a more satisfying healthy food portion if including more fruits and vegetables than the unhealthy meal concentrated with fats or sugar.For example ,the small breakfast of a muffin and chai latte with as high as 840 calories can be substituted with 2 whole grain low sugar waffles,generous serving of berries and coffee with low cal sweetener totaling just 205 calories.
A glimpse of the picture perfect food comparisions :


Sweeteners
Contrary to the assumption of abandoning the sweet foods for diabetics,Dr.Shapiro's beat diabetes pyramid allows indulgence in right kind of sweets- that includes fruits,no sugar added frozen treats and no added sugar candies.The lo-cal sweeteners(including the artificial) pose no fear as long as the sweetener is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA)

Soy Power
The book highlights the Soy protein and its good role in beating or preventing the disease.The phytonutrients in soy protein are power houses of blood vessel protection,preventing weight gain and regulating insulin levels,hence said to be heart's best friend and a key diabetic fighter.

The Diabetic recipes
The recipes have been prepared keeping in mind the guidelines of the beat diabetes pyramid,by including whole some grains,soy products,good fats, low calorie or sugar free sweeteners and lots of fruits or vegetables.While I cannot reveal all of them but to get the picture here is one of my personal best recipes in the book.

The Beat Diabetes Brownies

I never doubted Heart Healthy dark chocolate's good benefits,Dr.Shapiro resonates the same love for pure dark chocolate and cocoa.My first recipe to test was obvious,the richly chocolate beat diabetes brownies.
I follow the original recipe in most parts except for the sweetener.I don't use any artificial sweetener(Splenda as in this recipe) in my cooking,with liberty to choose a low calorie sweetener,I chose the agave nectar,that has low glycemic Index,and is 25% sweeter than sugar,so you use less,in fact for a cup of sugar you will need only about half cup of agave nectar.Rest of the ingredients remain as in the original recipe.

Be sure to use 100% cocoa powder to get the most of the benefits,Pure canola oil and the soy protein powder used in the recipe is available in health food stores and many super markets in the health foods aisle.


Recipe : Beat Diabetes Brownies
Yields 12 brownies
Ingredients
1/2 cup fine ground whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened soy protein powder
5 tablespoon unsweetened 100% cocoa powder
1 cup granulated Splenda(or 1/2 cup agave nectar)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brewed coffee regular or decaffeinated
1/2 cup sugar-free syrup(preferably chocolate,but any flavor is fine)
1/3 canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup roasted nuts and seeds of choice(Almonds,walnuts,peacans,sunflower seeds,pumpkin seeds etc)
1 tablespoon raisins(optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 350F.
Oil an 8 or 9 inch square or round baking pan,coat with non stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine flour,soy powder,baking powder and salt.Add the sweetener(splenda or agave nectar),coffee,syrup,oil and vanilla,stir until well blended.
Pour mixture in to the prepared pan.Sprinkle the nuts,seeds and raisins evenly over top and press gently in to batter.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.Cool for 15-10 minutes on a rack.Flip on a cutting board,flip again with nuts side up,peel the parchment and cut in squares.Can be refrigerated for 2 weeks in air tight container.



The ingredients sure speak out loud about health.When it comes to taste and texture, moist with crunchy topping and intensely chocolate and coffee flavor,I could skip my morning coffee for these.Diabetic or not,enjoy them with a glass of light in calories soy milk for a completely healthy snack.

Order your copy of this phenomenal book at Amazon,Barnes & noble,Borders,Books-a-million,Walmart and Target.

Comments

GEETHA ACHAL said…
Nice Information and tempting recipe...Thanks for sharing...
Faith said…
This sounds like a great book. I love how healthy these brownies are! All the goodies on top remind me of trail mix...delicious!
nice informative post :-)
brownies look delicious !!!
Priya Suresh said…
Fabulous brownies, very beautiful post with loads of informations, first time am hearing soya protein powder,will go for search here, thanks for sharing Yas..
Myndie said…
Thank you for the post and recipe. I'll be buying this book. My husband would like to beat diabetes and this would be great to add to my collection of healthy recipe books.
Joanne said…
Wonderful review Yasmeen! With the diabetes epidemic being so rampant, it's good to know that there are recipe books out there for delicious, diabetic-friendly food. These brownies look awesome! I love agave nectar in place of sugar.
Cool Lassi(e) said…
Awesome brownies and an even better review post. Dark brownies look divine!
Umm Mymoonah said…
Very good post and lots of useful information with a healthy and yummy looking brownies, thank you for sharing these information Yasmeen.
Dershana said…
nice recipe. how different is soy flour from soy protein?
Hamaree Rasoi said…
Thanks for posting this guilt free brownie recipe. Looks awesome!!!

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Yasmeen said…
Thank you all :D
Dershana ,
the soy flour and soy protein powder have some subtle differences:
*The soy flour is ground whole soy beans while the protein powder is isolate of just the protein in the soy beans.
* Soy flour has about 11 grams of carbohydrates in each 1/3 cup of serving along with 11 grams of protein.The Soy protein powder has about 25grams of protein in same amout of serving and no carbohydrates.
*Soy flour has more intense flour of soy were as the soy protein has much milder flavor
*You could use soy flour for soy protein,but will yield more denser texture of brownies,and more intense soy flavor along with the added carbohydrates.
Rachana said…
A very informative post and the brownies are so inviting... I love them!
They look gorgeous. Love the dark, rich color. I wonder if there's any suitable sub for the soy protein flour for those who are soy sensitive and/or avoid it? Hmmmm. Either way, they look great!
Those healthy brownies look divine!

Cheers,

Rosa
Nitha said…
looks delicious... and happy that they are healthy...thanks for sharing all the info..
Carolyn said…
These look great...but as a diabetic, I would probably sub out the whole wheat flour for nut flour. A lot of us cannot handle ANY grains whatsoever without a significant rise in glucose levels. Thanks for sharing.
Unknown said…
Nice post very helpfull and delicious looking brownies yummm
Very interesting and useful post..Brownies look awesome !!!
Nice post and healthy one too..loved the brownie.. I have bookmarked it as i did not read fully, I will be back here to read the full post coz i am in hurry.. but the finished picture of brownie brought me to your space dear...looks sooooooo moist and yummy
Unknown said…
Wow Yasmeen, that is one lovely looking brownie and how healthy for diabetic people. Thanks for all the wonderful info on diabetes :)
Ivy said…
I must definitely get this book. Thanks for letting us know about it. The brownies look really delicious.
Swathi said…
Yasmeen,

I haven't tried with agrave nectar, i need to try. Brownies looks really good. Nice info
Kiran said…
Nice review and write up with delicious healthy brownies.
Jamie said…
A very useful post.I have a diabetic in my family,will forward this post.
Unknown said…
That brownie is sensational and unbelievebly healthy.Thanks for the review.The book is must for diabetics.
meeradiabetic said…
I don't use any artificial sweeteners either,would prefer a natural and low glycemic sweetener like agave.
Wait, a healthy brownie? I'm so tempted :)
sarah said…
Yummy!!!!!never came across a brownie so rich in pure chocolate,sure must be healthy =)
Suganya said…
Yummy looking brownies. Look so good loaded with nuts... nice recipe. YUM!
Anonymous said…
Good! good! Good!
Unknown said…
The silken feel of the brownie is making crave for them.
sharada said…
informative post...& the healthy brownies looks tempting!!
M D said…
That sounds like a great book to invest on. Now u r tempting us on these brownies. They look fabulous!
"Guppy" Honaker said…
My wife just tested Diabetic (type 2). I am definitely getting this book. Thanks for the info and book review.

- David

Aloe Vera 101
Holistic Health Info.
divya said…
First time here u have wonderful blog...love to follow u....
Muneeba said…
I think I'll buy this book for my mom. She's pretty good at controlling her diet, but it always helps to have new ideas about how to eat with diabetes.
Nice to see the diabetic recipes here.There are so many myths surrounding the same that many patients are confused as to the intake diet for them.

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