Classes teach basics for a satisfying diet for diabetes

Extension agent John Garlisch, left, and extension home economist Cindy Schlenker Davies, center, lead Paulina Watchman through a diabetes-friendly recipe during the Kitchen Creations Diabetes Cooking School session. (DEAN HANSON/JOURNAL)

A healthier chile relleno, enchilada or tortilla is not only possible, it’s essential for scores of New Mexicans who have gone through the Kitchen Creations Diabetes Cooking School, a four-session program offered multiple times throughout the state by New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service.

“We offered the class because of the large numbers of people with diabetes in New Mexico and Bernalillo County,” says Cindy Schlenker Davies, home economist with the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service. “So many people need help in basic food preparation and cooking, and this class gets people back to the basics of cooking healthy. It doesn’t require deep culinary abilities. Nothing complex.”

In Albuquerque, the next session starts March 12.

The free class, which meets on four Tuesday mornings, is part lecture and part practical cooking lab, says Davies, who teaches it with registered dietitian Ruth Baldwin. It is designed to help participants improve their knowledge of meal planning, food preparation and nutritional concepts to better manage their diabetes and related conditions.

As part of the class, NMSU provides a workbook containing lessons for each of the classes. In addition, “the Cooperative Extension Service has put together a special cookbook for this class with recipes including a good sampling of traditional New Mexico foods, but prepared in a way to make them healthier for people specifically with diabetes and pre-diabetes,” says Davies.

The cooking course, says Baldwin, translates current health recommendations concerning diabetes into everyday use. “It’s really about having an understanding of the different types of nutrients in food and how they affect the body’s blood glucose, or blood sugar,” she says.

Baldwin also outlines some “behavior management” strategies that include eating from smaller plates, sharing entrees, planning healthy snacks, eating slower, staying hydrated and drinking 8 ounces of water before meals as a way to feel a bit fuller and ultimately satisfied with smaller food portions.

Last year, nearly 130 people attended seven of the four-week class sessions in Bernalillo County. Statewide, the course was available multiple times in 20 counties and attended by more than 600 people, says Cassandra Vanderpool, the diabetes coordinator for NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service.

If the number of Diabetes Cooking School classes seems a bit much, it is justified by the scope of the problem, says Dr. Mark Burge, an endocrinologist, diabetes specialist and professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Pointing to statistics from the New Mexico Department of Health, Burge notes that more than 168,500 state residents have diabetes and another 531,550 have pre-diabetes. “Add those numbers together and it’s more than 700,000 people, or about 35 percent of the state’s population. It’s enormous.”

People with pre-diabetes, he says, will likely develop diabetes within 5-10 years.

About 90 percent of people with diabetes have Type 2, which is characterized by inadequate insulin secretion to control blood sugar, Burge says. It can result in frequent urination, thirst, low energy and breakdown of vital bodily organs, including kidneys, eyes and nerves.

The less-frequent Type 1 diabetes, he says, is an immune disease characterized by the death of insulin producing cells in the pancreas.

The most effective way to prevent the progression of Type 2 diabetes is weight loss. “People do not need to become runway model skinny,” Burge says. “A 5 percent to 7 percent weight loss has really great metabolic benefits. People can often get there by a modest reduction in daily calories and committing to physical activity, such as walking at a brisk pace for 150 minutes a week,” or 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

The other component is a change of diet by eating more vegetables and fiber, and avoiding saturated fat, sugar and simple carbohydrates, which turn into sugar.

Diabetes and pre-diabetes are chronic illnesses, Burge explains. “To live a healthy life with either of those two conditions people have to dramatically change their lifestyle. Nobody questions that that’s hard to do, but studies show that people are more likely to succeed in a group setting. That’s why these cooking classes are great tools. They provide practical information as well as peer support to enhance the chances for success.”

Here are a couple of diabetes-friendly New Mexico recipes from the Cooperative Extension Service cookbook used as part of the Kitchen Creations Diabetes Cooking School.

SOUTHWESTERN SLAW

Makes 8 1/2-cup servings

6 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion

1 large bell pepper diced

2 teaspoons celery seed

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup salsa

2 teaspoons sugar

Dash of salt and pepper

Combine the cabbage, carrots, onion and bell pepper in a large bowl.

Make the dressing by combining the celery seed, vinegar, oil, salsa, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Toss until well coated.

Cover and store in the refrigerator until time to serve.

PER SERVING: 20 calories; 0 from fat; 0 g total fat; 0 g saturated fat; 0 g trans fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 125 mg. sodium; 4 g total carbohydrates; 1 g dietary fiber; 2 g sugar; 1 g protein.

CHILE RELLENO CASSEROLE

Serves 6

Green chile, roasted, peeled, split in half (enough to generously cover one large casserole dish)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup 1 percent milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat bottom and sides of an 8-inch glass baking pan with cooking spray.

Line bottom of the pan with the green chile.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese on top of chile.

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites with cream of tartar on high until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine cold milk with flour and stir until smooth. Add eggs and blend well.

Fold the beaten egg whites into the milk/flour mixture until well combined.

Pour the egg/flour mixture over the cheese and chile in the pan and spread evenly.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.

PER SERVING: 120 calories; 10 from fat; 1.5 g total fat; 0 g saturated fat; 60 mg cholesterol; 460 mg sodium; 12 g total carbohydrates; 2 g dietary fiber; 2 g sugars; 15 g protein.

ITALIAN VEGETABLE SOUP

Serves 8-10

1 pound lean ground turkey or chicken

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion (about 1 medium onion), chopped

4 cups chicken stock or water

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, grated

30 ounces tomatoes, diced

2 cans kidney beans, drained

2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cabbage, chopped

15 ounces corn, frozen

15 ounces green beans, frozen

1 cup pasta noodles

In the bottom of a large pot, brown meat, garlic and onion in the olive oil.

Add chicken stock or water, then carrots and celery. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the vegetables and spices.

Boil for 15 minutes then add pasta and boil for another 5 to 10 minutes.

COOK’S NOTE: Meat can be left out for vegetarian version of this recipe.

PER SERVING (based on 8 servings): 410 calories, 80 from fat, 8.8 g fat (2.0 g saturated fat), 53 mg cholesterol, 60.1 g carbohydrates, 469 mg sodium, 12.7 g dietary fiber, 27.5 g protein.