The South African Diabetes Cookbook, by Amanda Jeffrey and La-Rentia Marx

The South African Diabetes Cookbook, by Amanda Jeffrey and La-Rentia Marx. ISBN 9781770073654 / ISBN 978-1-77007-365-4

In their South African Diabetes Cookbook, Amanda Jeffrey and La-Rentia Marx provide the tools for making tasty, uncomplicated dishes that will stimulate culinary creativity.

La-Rentia Marx is a qualified dietician (B. Dietetics, Pretoria University) and manages her own private practice in Johannesburg. The South African Diabetes Cookbook fulfils part of her goal to assist people who struggle with disorders such as diabetes in the most simple and practical way possible. Amanda Jeffrey is passionate about cooking having spent some years catering for special events and functions. She particularly enjoys the fun of experimenting with ingredients and cooking methods. Backed by qualifications in nursing, marketing and diabetic management, her career has spanned the nursing environment and diagnostic management in the pharmaceutical industry. Eating to live is so much more exciting if you are enjoying what you eat. Living with diabetes encourages you to have fun and adventure while experimenting with new ways of preparing and cooking food. The use of herbs, spices and fresh ingredients - with a dash of creativity - will result in appetising and exciting food. The following recipes and food tips are intended to inspire you to eat with relish, while living with diabetes. It has been drilled into most of us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should eat like a king. In fact, breakfast is the start of your six small meals for the day and with diabetes, it is also the time, should you be insulin-dependent, when your daily injection routine will normally start. You may not inject yourself without having a good substantial meal. The important thing to remember is that all your main meals should be more or less similar in size, and breakfast is no different. […]

Recipe: Winter-warming Crumpets

Makes 8
1 cup (250 ml) self-raising, enriched bran flour
2 1/2 tsp (12.5 ml) sugar
2 ml ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
1 egg
1/2 cup (125 ml) skim milk
1 tsp (5 ml) melted margarine or butter

For the sauce:

1 x 410 g can apricots or peaches (e.g. Naturlite range), drained and chopped
a pinch ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (125 ml) fat-free yogurt (use a vanilla flavour or one that complements the fruit)
sweetener (optional)
20 g flaked almonds, toasted

Sift the flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt together. Be sure to tip the husks back into the dry mixture. Whisk the egg and milk together, add the margarine (make sure it is cooled) and whisk again to mix. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the fluid mixture and blend together. A fork usually works well for this. If the mixture appears too stiff, add approximately 2 Tbsp (30 ml) water. Heat a stove plate to a medium setting and coat a very flat frying pan well with baking spray. Drop dessertspoonfuls of the crumpet mixture into the pan, leaving enough space in between, as they tend to spread out. When bubbles begin to surface, flip over. Remove from pan when golden on both sides. To make the sauce, reserve the juice from the can, blend together the chopped apricots or peaches and the cinnamon, or puree through a sieve. (Put aside some of the fruit as a garnish if you like.) Add about 2 tsp (10 ml) of the juice to aid the process, or a little more if necessary. Blend in the yoghurt, taste for flavour and add sweetener if necessary. If you prefer, the almonds may be mixed in as well or save them to sprinkle over the sauce before serving. Two crumpets with Fruit Sauce make a delicious morning meal. Cook's note: Crumpets may be used as a between-meal snack. As an alternative, omit the sweetener and add a dash of cayenne pepper or curry powder. Try some garlic and freshly chopped parsley or other herbs for a savoury snack.

Carbohydrate: 65 g
Protein: 16g
Fats: 14g
Energy: 1752 kJ

This is an excerpt from the cookbook: The South African Diabetes Cookbook, by Amanda Jeffrey and La-Rentia Marx.

Title: The South African Diabetes Cookbook
Author: Amanda Jeffrey; La-Rentia Marx
Imprint: Lifestyle
Publisher: Random House Struik
Cape Town, south Africa 2007
ISBN 9781770073654 / ISBN 978-1-77007-365-4
Softcover, 20x25 cm, 144 pages, throughout colour photos