-DIABETES TK

June FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES MONTH

NO CHURN CHOCOLATE SWEETPOTATO ICE CREAM

TALKING POINTS y Consuming fruits and vegetables are part of a diabetes friendly, balanced diet. And fruits and vegetables are so versatile you can eat them at breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack time. You can use fresh, frozen, canned (in real fruit juice), or dried fruits. If you use canned vegetables, try to use canned with no added salt to cut down on your sodium intake if needed. If you use canned fruits, try to purchase canned fruits that are packed in their own juice to help cut back on added sugars (and carbs). y Grilled fruits and vegetables are a fun and tasty way to prepare produce. Grilling is diabetes friendly because it doesn’t add any more carbohydrate to your fruits and vegetables. y Fruits and vegetables contain carbohydrate, but this doesn’t mean people with diabetes should avoid eating them. If you count carbohydrates, there are general portions you can memorize (or look up) to know how many carbs are in the various fruits and vegetables. y The best method for measuring the carbohydrates in a sweetpotato is to use a food scale. Place the sweetpotato on the food scale and use about 6 grams carbs per ounce of sweetpotato as your base to calculate the carbs in the sweetpotato. NEWSLETTER COPY Fruits and vegetables can and should be a part of a healthy eating plan for people with diabetes. They provide vitamins and minerals including fabulous fiber. Why is fiber important? Foods that are higher in fiber can help slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and help lessen spikes in blood sugar levels after eating. Fiber is also important in supporting your digestive health. Another blood sugar management tip for eating fruit is to combine the fruit with a lean protein or healthy fat choice which has been shown to reduce spikes in blood sugar after eating. For example, a small apple with a handful of nuts or an orange with a slice of cheese.

SOCIAL POSTS Happy National Fruit and Vegetables Month! Heat up the grill for sweetpotatoes this summer. The instructions are simple as 1,2,3. Grilled Sweetpotato Instructions: 1. Just before putting on the grill, season sweetpotatoes liberally with salt. 2. Place sweetpotato wedges directly on the cooking grate over direct heat; grill until well-marked, about 3 minutes on each side. 3. Move to indirect heat. Finish cooking, turning halfway through, until soft and tender, 20-30 minutes. Remove from grill. Remember to use the calculation of about 6 grams of carbohydrate/ounce of sweetpotato to figure out how many carbs are in your sweetpotato serving. Happy National Fruit and Vegetables Month! Fun fact: The best way to store sweetpotatoes is in a cool, dry and well-ventilated container ( not the refrigerator). #ncsweetpotatoes #nationalfruitandvegetablemonth #grilling NUTRITION TIP Knowing how much a serving of fruit and vegetables is helpful with managing blood sugar. We are looking at the grams of carbohydrate in a serving. One serving is equal to 15 grams of carbohydrate. For example: a small apple, nectarine, orange, or banana (4 ounce) 1 cup cubed honeydew, 17 grapes, 1 cup raspberries, or 1 ¼ cup whole berries. For non-starchy vegetables, ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw = 5 grams of carbohydrate For starchy vegetables, ½ cup corn, parsnips, or peas or 2.5 ounces sweetpotato, or 1 cup winter squash. TEACHING TOOL We created this downloadable list of Fruit & Vegetable Portions from the USDA Foods datab ase to have available at a glance!

Recipe Link

• ¾ cup sweetpotato cooked and mashed • 3 ½ ounces lite canned coconut milk 1 can, room temperature, shaken • 5.75 oz chocolate chips (½ bag milk chocolate chips) • ½ Tbsp vanilla extract • ¼ tsp salt Ingredients

Directions

1. Add the mashed sweetpotato, coconut milk, vanilla, and salt to your favorite blender. 2. Following the instructions on the bag of chocolate chips, melt the chocolate chips. Add the melted chocolate chips to the blender. 3. Blend until smooth and mixed thoroughly. 4. Pour the sweetpotato/chocolate mixture into a loaf pan. 5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. 6. Every 30 - 45 minutes stir the chocolate mixture, the edges will start to freeze first and you will want to stir that in to ensure an even creamy texture. Do this at least 3 times. 7. Your ice cream will be ready to enjoy in about 3 - 4 hours. If you freeze your homemade ice cream overnight you will need to allow it to thaw on the counter for about 5 minutes to ensure it will be soft enough to scoop.

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