Award-winning cookbook for diabetics

How can a diabetes cookbook win Best in the World, when the old stereotype for a “diabetic meal” is bland and flavorless? Jackie Newgent's The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook: The Whole Food approach to Great Taste and Healthy Eating (American Diabetes Association; 2007), broke through all the stereotypes last month when it won the 2007 Gourmand Best Health and Nutrition Book in the World Award in London, England. Created to increase knowledge of and respect for food and wine culture, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards reward those who “cook with words” and help readers find the best out of the 26,000 food and wine books produced every year.

Newgent, a registered dietitian, is a New York City-based culinary nutritionist, recreational chef instructor and consultant. Newgent’s inspiration for the cookbook was her father. She explains, “After my dad was diagnosed with diabetes, I wanted to be sure he had diabetes-friendly recipes that were tasty and easy to follow. Finding no all-natural book that met the guidelines of the American Diabetes Association, I decided to write my own.”

Tableside California Avocado-Black Mission Fig Guacamole
Serves 12
Serving size: 3 Tbsp
This chunky guacamole is not any ordinary guacamole. It has figs in it! You might find this fruity, yet spicy, figgy guacamole is better than the original.

2 Hass avocados, peeled and cubed
3 fresh Black Mission figs, diced, or 2 dried figs, finely diced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
1 small jalapeño pepper with seeds, minced
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Gently stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until just combined. Serve with baked blue corn tortilla chips.
Exchanges:
1/2 carbohydrate
1 1/2 fat
Calories: 90
Calories from fat: 617 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
150 mg sodium
8 g total carbohydrate
4 g dietary fiber
3 g sugars
1 g protein

Curry Chicken Breast Salad with Red Grapes in Wonton Cups
Serves 4
serving size: 3 wonton cups
Enjoy exotic-tasting chicken salad as a fun finger food. These fancy little cups will be a big hit at your next party.

12 wonton wrappers
1 cup finely diced, cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, chilled
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp mango chutney
1 tsp hot Madras curry powder
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
3 Tbsp diced celery
1/2 cup seedless red grapes, thinly slice horizontally
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a nonstick mini-muffin tin with natural butter-flavored cooking spray and press a wonton square into each cup of the tin, forming awonton cup. Lightly coat the wonton cups with cooking spray and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the chicken, yogurt, mayonnaise, chutney, curry powder and salt. Then add the celery, grapes, and cilantro and stir.
With a spoon, stuff about 2 Tbsp of the salad in each wonton cup. Garnish each with a tiny sprig of cilantro or a red grape sliver, if desired.
Exchanges:
1 1/2 carbohydrate
1 lean meat
1/2 fat
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 546 g total fat 1 g saturated fat
35 mg cholesterol
330 mg sodium
20 g total carbohydrate
1 g dietary fiber
6 g sugars
14 g protein

The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook is a crossover book written to appeal to people with diabetes and those who are simply looking for ways to live a healthier life. It features 150 recipes that focus on whole foods and unprocessed ingredients.