Last Friday I went to the "Diabetes Cook-Off," an event sponsored by SANOFI and hosted by father and daughter actor team, Paul and Mira Sorvino. The event was a pie competition. Two woman had sent in recipes for their healthy pies and they baked them up with the Sorvinos in NYC where a panel of judges awarded one the winner. (Recipe below) It was a generous event - all invited got to eat pie! ;-)
But I was attracted to the SANOFI initiative Paul and Mira Sorvino are involved in, "Diabetes Co-Stars." It's awareness-raising around healthy eating and exercise, but also particularly, the importance of supporting a loved one who has diabetes. Paul was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes five years ago.
I had the opportunity to interview the two actors for a few minutes after the event. (There will be a longer interview in November which I'll post on the Huffington Post.)
When I asked Paul Sorvino, "Why do you do this work?" he extolled the pleasure of helping others and gave me a great quote, "I wasn't going to," he said. "I was afraid it would hurt my career. But then I thought this is doing something good in two ways, educating others and it makes me more fearless to say, yes, I have diabetes."
It turns out Mira didn't even know her father had diabetes until he slumped over his plate during a family dinner. As for Mira, she said, "What can you give someone who's given you everything, but sticking together through the hard times. It's about family values."
It was a lovely morning and all it took was one question to get these two sharing stories, recipes - now I know how Paul likes his salad - and I even have an invitation for dinner at the Sorvino's should I ever be in L.A.
But here's the take-away. If you have diabetes, don't go it alone. We all do better with support.
For Pie Crust
1 1/4 cup Panko
1 tablespoon Sugar Free Honey
2 tablespoons Splenda®
1/4 cup Soy Milk
1 tablespoon Butter
For Soy Milk
2 cups Soy Milk
4 tablespoons Corn Starch
2 tablespoons Sugar Free Honey
For Filling
6 oz Blackberries
7-8 Strawberries - cut into four
3 tablespoons Splenda®
1/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine 1 1/4 cup of panko, 1 tablespoon of sugar free honey, 2 tablespoons of Splenda®, 1/4 cup of soy milk and 1 tablespoon of butter. Mix well.
Transfer to 9-inch pie pan and with hand, press mixture firmly on the bottom of the pan and poke holes in bottom of crust. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool.
Make berry filling. In a sauce pan, put blackberries, strawberries, 1/4 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of Splenda® and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Heat over low heat and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then take both blackberry and strawberry out of the pan and place them on the plate. Set aside. Keep simmering the berry juice remaining in the sauce pan until the juice reduces to almost half. Then turn off the heat and let cool.
Make soy milk cream. In another sauce pan, put 4 tablespoons of corn starch, 2 tablespoons of sugar free honey and 2 cups of soy milk. Heat over low heat and simmer until thickens stirring constantly.
Pour the soy milk cream on the crust then pour the berry filling (pour the berry juice first and then place the blackberries and strawberries on top). Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Last Friday I went to the "Diabetes Cook-Off," an event sponsored by SANOFI and hosted by father and daughter actor team, Paul and Mira Sorvino. The event was a pie competition. Two woman had sent in recipes for their healthy pies and they baked them up with the Sorvinos in NYC where a panel of judges awarded one the winner. (Recipe below) It was a generous event - all invited got to eat pie! ;-)
But I was attracted to the SANOFI initiative Paul and Mira Sorvino are involved in, "Diabetes Co-Stars." It's awareness-raising around healthy eating and exercise, but also particularly, the importance of supporting a loved one who has diabetes. Paul was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes five years ago.
I had the opportunity to interview the two actors for a few minutes after the event. (There will be a longer interview in November which I'll post on the Huffington Post.)
When I asked Paul Sorvino, "Why do you do this work?" he extolled the pleasure of helping others and gave me a great quote, "I wasn't going to," he said. "I was afraid it would hurt my career. But then I thought this is doing something good in two ways, educating others and it makes me more fearless to say, yes, I have diabetes."
It turns out Mira didn't even know her father had diabetes until he slumped over his plate during a family dinner. As for Mira, she said, "What can you give someone who's given you everything, but sticking together through the hard times. It's about family values."
It was a lovely morning and all it took was one question to get these two sharing stories, recipes - now I know how Paul likes his salad - and I even have an invitation for dinner at the Sorvino's should I ever be in L.A.
But here's the take-away. If you have diabetes, don't go it alone. We all do better with support.
Submitted by: Hidemi
For Pie Crust 1 1/4 cup Panko1 tablespoon Sugar Free Honey
2 tablespoons Splenda®
1/4 cup Soy Milk
1 tablespoon Butter For Soy Milk 2 cups Soy Milk
4 tablespoons Corn Starch
2 tablespoons Sugar Free Honey For Filling 6 oz Blackberries
7-8 Strawberries - cut into four
3 tablespoons Splenda®
1/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice