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Dawn Desoto RD, CDCES, celebrates the fall and winter season with a collection of recipes that nourish and heal. Dazzle your taste-buds and energize your gut bacteria with this delicious and seasonal compilation.
Choose a pie pumpkin and wash it’s exterior. Cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and pulp. Roast in your oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Simply peel away the skin from the flesh and toss the pumpkin pulp into your food processor or blender.
Ingredients:
In a large bowl, whisk eggs and pumpkin puree together. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk them together while slowly pouring in the evaporated milk.
Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 390 degrees, reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 – 60 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Store in the refrigerator overnight.
Mix the melted butter or coconut oil, walnuts, and cinnamon together and pour over the apples. Bake in the preheated oven until the apples are soft, about 20 – 30 minutes. Stir once during the baking.
Pour the wine into a small saucepan along with the orange zest and juice and all of the spices
Bring almost to a boil and add the pear halves. Turn down the heat and let the pears simmer gently for 20 – 30 minutes, or until they have slightly softened. Carefully turn the pears over a few times throughout the cooking time to ensure they color evenly. When the pears are cooked remove them from the wine and place them on plates. Add a tablespoon of yogurt to each plate and sprinkle with toasted almonds.
Combine coconut milk, oats, chia, banana, maple syrup in a pint-sized jar and stir. Top with blueberries and coconut. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Heat up and sprinkle with walnuts and cinnamon in the morning.
285 calories, 6 gm protein, 57 gms carbohydrate, 7 gms fiber 6 gm fat
To add more color into our diets, I am sharing my Spinach Pomegranate Salad recipe
Toss the spinach leaves with the rest of the ingredients. Serves 4
All hours earned count toward your CDCES Accreditation Information
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the certification exam. CBDCE and ADCES do not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES or BC-ADM exams, except for those published by CBDCE & ADCES.
These treasured food and nutrition experts translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthier living.Some of my favorite people are RD/RDNs. I’ve been blessed to teach with many inspiring, kind, knowledgeable, and dynamic dietitians over a span of more than 20 years. RDN’s are trailblazers and advocates for improving the health of our communities through nutrition and are passionate about sharing their breadth of knowledge with their diabetes community and colleagues alike.
We are honored to highlight the significant impact RDNs have on individuals, communities, and society as a whole by promoting healthy eating habits, preventing disease, and improving our overall quality of life by encouraging us to eat a rainbow of foods filled with fiber and phytonutrients.
To celebrate Registered Dietitian Day, we are highlighting a leader in the field and the newest member of our DiabetesEd Team, Christine Craig.
We are excited to welcome our newest faculty member! Christine is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and a consultant dietitian. It is important to her that each person living with diabetes feels supported and empowered not only with information but an individualized approach for lifelong health. Winner of the 2023 Impact on Diabetes Award, she is a leader in the field of nutrition, technology, and diabetes care. She has served as a preceptor, lecturer, researcher, and is an active association board member. She has worked across health systems; within Diabetes Care Centers, Endocrinology clinics, Primary Care, Telemedicine Rural Health, and Virtual-First Primary Care. Currently she is owner of Nutrition for Daily Living, where it is her mission to increase access to compassionate and evidenced-based nutrition and diabetes care.
As an adventurer, travel, hiking and snow skiing are her favorite past-times. For Christine, having a moment to take in the landscape and beauty around us can re-energize and fuel a busy life.
Christine Craig, MS, RD, CDCES
Featured Articles by Christine
Are you a healthcare professional providing diabetes care in an under-resourced community? Are you working toward earning your certification in diabetes education (CDCES or BC-ADM?)
If yes, please consider applying for our Bridge Scholarship, which covers the registration cost for the DiabetesEd Training Conference in San Diego, Oct 22-23, 2026 (value of $559). This program will provide you with the content needed to prepare for mastery-level diabetes certification and beyond!
Recipients will be awarded the Training Conference reg fee, including the live program, printed syllabus, 30+ CE’s, plus access to the online bonus courses for one year! Applications Due on July 20th, 2026
🌟Updated Schedule: ADA Boot Camp, Tech, MNT & More
Live in Beautiful San Diego – Oct 22-23, 2026
Re-Ignite your Passion & Prepare for Diabetes Certification Exams
🎓 Earn 30+ CEs: AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, ACPE, ANCC, and CDR!
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2-Day Conference
Oct 22–23, 2026
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15.5 Live CEs
+ 17 bonus CEs
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CDCES & BC-ADM
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San Diego, CA
1.7 mi from airport
The field of diabetes care is expanding and evolving rapidly. This unique training conference will keep you on the cutting edge plus prepare you for certification exams. It also fulfills the Standards of Care renewal requirement. Join us for two days of intensive education that is fun and inspiring. Add on the optional Day 3 (Engaging the Disengaged), to complete your conference exeperience.
Coach Beverly and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BC-ADM, CDCES co-lead an exciting day that brings the ADA and AACE Standards to life. Gain fresh insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of the latest in person-centered diabetes care. After attending, you will be empowered to share the latest in diabetes care with your colleagues and the people in your care.
Take your knowledge to the next level with this intensive deep-dive into insulin therapy, dosing and pattern management with Dr. Diana Isaacs. Next, stay for the diabetes tech show-and-tell as Diana demonstrates the specs of the latest pumps and sensors. After lunch, nutrition whiz Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES expertly details the latest in MNT and provides real strategies on translating this content to your clinical practice. You will have a chance to put it all together as Coach Beverly leads you through a series of case studies that integrates content from Day 1 and Day 2.
On Saturday, join this exceptional day-long program led by William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES & Susan Guzman, PhD (Behavioral Diabetes Institute) that reveals psychosocial forces behind diabetes self-management — tools to break through resistance and inspire change.
Read more below
📜 Essentials
Registration
+ Printed Syllabus
$559.00
🌟 Deluxe
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+ ADA Standards Book
$589.00
🏆 Complete – Best Value!
Deluxe
+ ADCES Review Guide e-Book
$669.00
Transform how you engage patients with diabetes — master behavior change, reduce distress, and overcome medication hesitancy.
Why do so many patients know what they should do — but still struggle to do it?
The answer lies in the psychology of diabetes.
In this transformative full-day course, world-renowned experts William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDCES, and Susan Guzman, PhD, from the Behavioral Diabetes Institute reveal the hidden psychosocial forces that drive — or derail — diabetes self-management.
You’ll walk away with a completely new toolkit for breaking through patient resistance, dissolving medication hesitancy, and creating clinical encounters that actually inspire change!
MR is frustrated that their morning glucose is almost always elevated. Since you have heard about the impact of “chronotype” on glucose, you ask them about eating patterns and explore whether they are early birds or night owls.
The 2024 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care introduced the field of chrononutrition, the science of how our body’s 24-hour cycle (circadian rhythm), nutrition, and health interact. Growing evidence shows that factors, including when and type of food is eaten, hormones, genetics, exercise, sleep cycles, and a person’s daily light exposure, influence health and risk for metabolic disease.
When we consider a person’s chronotype, we realize that it’s not just “what” individuals eat that impacts metabolic health. Could “when” they eat and their chronotype be just as crucial for glucose regulation? Can we leverage this information to suggest modifications in the type of nutrients consumed throughout the day to support improved glycemia?
We have learned the association between circadian rhythm disruptions and metabolic disorders from people who perform shift work. Working in shift work and having type 2 diabetes is associated with increased A1c, neuropathy, and decreased psychological well-being.1 Glucose metabolism and tolerance follow a circadian rhythm throughout the day. Hormones, such as insulin and cortisol, cycle daily and regulate insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism changes. Research suggests when food intake is out of sync with the daily cycle, this can reduce glucose tolerance and increase the risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.
“Meal timing and food nutrient components (chrononutrition) play an important role in regulating the circadian clock, enhancing metabolic health, and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.” 2
Post-prandial glucose response is affected by what and how much we eat and can vary based on the time of day the meal is consumed. Meal timing can affect type 2 diabetes, so it is important to consider timing in addition to composition alone. In a 2020 review article by Henry et al., they reported several different studies completed in individuals with type 2 diabetes and healthy subjects. These studies suggested both morning and late-night eating can contribute to the greatest glucose excursions. Eating after 8 pm was independently associated with an increase in A1C levels. Consuming more than a third of daily calories late in the evening led to higher post-meal glucose excursions and reduced morning glucose tolerance compared to other times of day. And a study of individuals with type 2 diabetes showed higher post-meal glucose trends after morning meals verses identical meals consumed throughout the day. These small studies suggest that modifying when a meal is consumed could reduce glycemia and the risk of diabetes. However, more extensive studies are needed to support causation and associate it with a person’s genetics and true chronotype.
Macronutrient meal composition and the time of day consumed may also play a role in chrononutrition. Whether it is a variation of calories consumed or manipulating different macronutrients from meal to meal, the relationship between food type and timing could affect glucose metabolism. Changes in insulin sensitivity throughout the day can affect post-meal glucose in response to varying carbohydrate quantity, quality, and rate of digestion. Davis et. Al, 2019 found that increased protein and lower carbohydrates at dinner meals reduce night post-prandial glucose compared to standard meals.
The key nutrition recommendations from the 2024 ADA Standards of Care are focused on individualizing eating patterns, meal plans, and dietary approaches. Research continues to evolve in this field, and there is much more to understand and validate. Most of the articles regarding chrononutrition referenced in the ADA Standards of Care are specific for type 2 diabetes, but we know circadian cycles and metabolism also play a role in type 1 diabetes. More research is needed to improve our understanding of why nutrients consumed at different times of day have differing effects, how this relates to the individual’s circadian biomarkers and genetics, and how it interplays with psychological factors that drive sleep cycles.
There is much to learn, but are there practical approaches we could consider implementing now? Yes! We can start by:
Blog contributed by nutrition expert Christine Craig, MS, RDN, CDCES
References:
Class Topics & Webinar Dates:
Intended Audience: This library of critical information is designed for individuals or groups of diabetes specialists, including RNs, RDs, Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Physician Assistants, and other health care providers interested in staying up to date on current practices of care for people with diabetes and preparing for the BC-ADM or the CDCES certification Exam.
Can’t make it live? No worries. We will send post the recorded version to the Online University within 24 hours of the broadcast
Instructor: Beverly Thomassian RN, MPH, CDCES, has been Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management for over 20 years. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF, a working educator, and a nationally recognized diabetes expert. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from UCLA, with a focus on behavioral health and education.
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and our CPEU courses have received Prior Approval* from the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since our CPEU courses received Prior approval* from the CDR, these CPEU courses satisfy the CE requirements for the CDCES /BC-ADM regardless of your profession!
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the certification exam. CBDCE and ADCES do not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES or BC-ADM exams, except for those published by CBDCE & ADCES.
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
JR lives with type 1 diabetes and is excited to eat a stack of blueberry pancakes with a new type of maple syrup sweetened with allulose. The syrup label reads that there are 28 grams of carbs in 2 Tablespoons of Zero Sugar Maple syrup. JR adds up the total carbs in the pancakes and syrup, and takes 6 units of bolus insulin (4 for the pancakes and 2 units for the syrup). Within a half hour, JR realizes their blood sugar is dropping fast and grabs some glucose tabs to treat the sudden low. Trying to figure out what went wrong, JR double confirms the nutrition in the pancakes and then takes a closer look at the Maple Syrup label.
Is the Maple Syrup to blame for the Unexpected Low Blood Sugar?
Looking at the label, JR confirms that there are 28 gm of carbs per serving of this unique maple syrup and 26 of those carb grams come from Allulose. Allulose is a low-calorie sugar that is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) approved by the FDA in 2022. Allulose is considered a rare sugar found naturally in figs, raisins, wheat, maple syrup, and molasses or it can be commercially produced and added to foods. It’s roughly 70% as sweet as sugar and it tastes very similar. Allulose is hardly digested or absorbed, so it provides very few calories – approximately 0.4 calories per gram, compared with 4 calories per gram in table sugar.
Allulose labeling Can Cause Confusion for People Matching Insulin to Carbs
In 2019, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance, allowing food manufacturers to exclude allulose from total and added sugar counts on Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels. Like sugar alcohols and dietary fiber, allulose still counts towards total carbohydrates on the nutrition label.
The fact that allulose hardly raises blood sugar may lead people who match insulin to carbs to take more insulin than needed.
FDA Labeling Rule for allulose:
• Not included in “Total Sugars” or ”Added Sugars”
• Included in Total Carbohydrates
• Calories calculated with 0.4 kcals/gram
• Must be in the ingredient list
Take home message for People Counting Carbs for Accurate Insulin Dosing
Look on labels to see if allulose is listed under carbohydrates or included in the ingredient list. If it is, subtract allulose carbs from the total carbs to get an accurate carbohydrate measurement.
For other people, allulose may be a sweet-tasting alternative to sugar that provides few calories and doesn’t raise blood sugar.
In a recent study published in Circulation, large, multisite produce prescription programs were associated with significant improvements in fruit and vegetable intake, food security, and health status for adults and children. At the conclusion of the food prescription program, participants experienced clinically relevant improvements in A1C, blood pressure, and body weight.
However, for this food-is-medicine strategy to work, it’s clear that the people will need long-term support.
The idea of food as medicine dates back to the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates, and this new study adds to the evidence that a diet full of fruits and vegetables can help improve heart health.
Researchers evaluated the impact of “produce prescriptions,” which provide free fruits and vegetables to people with diet-related diseases including diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. The study included nearly 4,000 people in 12 states who struggle to afford healthy food. They received vouchers, averaging $63 a month, for up to 10 months, which could be redeemed for produce at retail stores or farmers markets, depending on the location.
Many people with diabetes struggle not only with food insecurity but also with nutrition insecurity. Improving nutrition security is about providing the right food to prevent or decrease the prevalence of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.
By providing adults with hypertension with access to healthy fruits and vegetables using a prescription program, this study demonstrated a systolic blood pressure decrease of 8 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure decrease of about 5 mm Hg. In addition, among people with diabetes, A1C levels also declined significantly, by about 0.6 percent.
“Anything that lowers hemoglobin A1C and improves blood pressure control is beneficial,” says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University, where the research was conducted. The challenge is to maintain these reductions.
The research clearly indicates that food prescription programs are an effective strategy to improve health outcomes, but long-term funding for these programs is difficult to secure.
More research is needed to establish which individuals and communities will most benefit from which food assistance programs. Options include medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and community-based programs. The ultimate goal is to get to a place where these programs cover long-term benefits for people who need them most.
Resources and Related Articles
Wholesome Wave – partnering with community organizations to provide the right food to people at risk.
White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health
7 Ideas to Eat Healthier in the U.S.
Join Coach Beverly and Team for two and a half days of knowledge-sharing, fun, networking, games with prizes, and “aha” moments in beautiful San Diego.
You don’t want to miss this one-of-a-kind learning opportunity. Get away from all those daily responsibilities and immerse yourself in a fun and intensive conference with plenty of networking opportunities.
Attendees will leave this conference with new tools and a more complete understanding of the latest advances in diabetes care, from medications to technology to Medical Nutrition Therapy!
Bring your colleagues and enjoy our friend discount.
Our team expertly translates the complex science of diabetes into understandable terms while keeping it real, practical, and fun.
Team of expert faculty includes:
All hours earned count toward your CDCES Accreditation Information
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
Several studies over the last decade support that post-meal blood sugars can be improved by changing the order of the foods eaten. By starting with vegetables and protein foods, then moving to carbohydrates, participants across studies experienced a significant improvement in postprandial blood glucose levels. This simple adjustment of food order provides people living with diabetes with an easy tool to reach glucose targets.
In a 2015 study published in Diabetes Care, a dozen subjects were fed the same meal of grilled chicken, ciabatta bread, orange juice, lettuce, and tomato salad plus steamed broccoli with butter on two different days. The researchers measured glucose and insulin levels before food ingestion and 30, 60, and 120 min after the start of the meal.
When vegetables and protein were consumed first, before carbohydrates, compared with the reverse food order, there was a 28.6% decrease in average post-meal glucose. The authors concluded that “the temporal sequence of carbohydrate ingestion during a meal has a significant impact on postprandial glucose and insulin excursions”.
The simple action of eating veggies and protein leads to improvement in glycemia through optimal timing of carbohydrate consumption during a meal.
In a different study where researchers recruited 15 participants from Weill Cornell Medical College. Participants consumed the same meal for 3 days changing the three separate food-type orders: carbohydrate, protein, and vegetables.
As with the previous study, researchers found that “although all baseline fasting glucose concentrations were similar, glucose levels were decreased at 30 and 60 minutes after the protein and vegetable first order.”
In addition, the vegetable first meal order resulted in lower glucose levels at 30 and 60 minutes than the carbohydrate first meal order. Researchers found that the vegetable first meal pattern reduced insulin excursions and that incremental AUC for insulin was 43.8% lower than for the carbohydrate first meal order.
Researchers say the reason for improved glucose is complicated, but is probably due to a combination of factors. Eating protein and veggies first may stimulate the early release of GLP-1 hormones and consuming fiber-rich vegetables can slow down carbohydrate digestion.
Fiber Foods – the Unsung Heroes
The benefits of fiber have been supported by over 100 years of research. Studies reveal that eating more fiber can lower your risk of developing serious illness over time.
“When compared with those who consume very little fiber, people at the high end of the fiber-eating spectrum saw their risk for dying from heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and/or colon cancer plummet by 16 to 24 percent, investigators reported.”
Exciting enough, the more fiber a person consumed, the risk of developing those illnesses continued to decrease. The range of illnesses that a higher intake of fiber seemed to impact surprised scientists.
Researchers say that American’s on average, eat less than 15 grams of fiber per day. However, increasing intake to 25-29 gms per day is just “adequate.” The more fiber a person incorporates in their diet, the greater the decrease in the overall risk of early death.
Every additional 15-gram bump in daily whole grain intake was found to curtail an individual’s overall risk of early death — as well as their risk of early death from heart disease — by between 2 and 19 percent.
Researchers also found that increasing fiber intake had no risky health effects and that it is never too late to start embracing fiber every day!
“When considering all the trials of increasing fiber intakes, those participants that did reduce both their body weight and the total cholesterol in their blood, two important predictors of disease.”
Although none of these discoveries are surprising, scientists hope this will lead to changes in dietary recommendations. “This is just one more piece of evidence that supports and further solidifies the recommendations registered dietitian nutritionists have been making for years,” said Sandon.
It is never too late to start eating healthy and fiber may be a great starting point for many!
Here are some common foods and their fiber content:
Please see our Plant-Based Eating Resource Page for more info!
Your team is invited to our Virtual DiabetesEd™ Training Conference! Set your team apart and prepare for diabetes certification!
Join this state-of-the-art conference taught by content experts, Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BC-ADM, CDCES, Beverly Thomassian RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM, and Ashley LaBrier who are passionate about improving diabetes care.
Group discounts are available!*
All hours earned count toward your CDCES Accreditation Information
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
Ramadan Mubarak… Happy Ramadan.
This evening, Ramadan begins. It is the most important spiritual time for the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world.
In Islam, Ramadan is the month in which the first verses of the Quran, were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. In observance, many Muslims fast by abstaining from food, drink, smoking, and sex, from pre-sunrise to sunset. This fasting achieves greater “taqwa” or “consciousness to God.”
As Diabetes Care and Education specialists, we have the chance to provide tools for those who fast while keeping diabetes in mind.
The Association for Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES) put together some helpful handouts to better support people who are fasting and living with diabetes.
Below is the list of resources shared by ADCES
To read more about Ramadan, click here.
To take our Question of the Week that considers Type 1 and fasting during Ramadan.
Last month, we launched our very first Community Fridge in our local area!
A few months ago, a group of us got together with the goal of helping to bridge the gaps that lead to food insecurity in our community.
While there are several food banks in our town, there weren’t a lot of options for whole, fresh produce or dairy – focusing on shelf-stable dry goods or meats. We knew other cities had created community fridges and wanted to see if we could offer something similar.
The first step was to find a location; we knew we wanted it to be accessible, but also in an area that could prevent vandalism. We reached out to our local LGBTQ+ center and asked if they had space for a fridge and would be willing to host. After a few conversations, we secured our location.
The second step was to find a fridge. We looked around on Craigslist and found one for free. We got a group of volunteers together to pick up the fridge and drop it off at the LGBTQ+ center.
Lastly, now that we had a fridge and a location, we needed to get the word out. We set up an Instagram and Facebook account, made some flyers, and started sharing posts with our followers.
To ensure there is a rotation of donors throughout the week and that the fridge is cleaned regularly, we created a Calendly to establish a schedule.
During our research, we noticed that other community fridges had best practices and guidelines, such as only donating food you would eat yourself, washing your hands before donating/picking up, and tips for cleaning the fridge. We typed up our own set of guidelines to put on the fridge along with a whiteboard for suggestions/requests for specific foods.
The LGBTQ+ center already has a monthly food bank event, which we decided was the perfect opportunity to introduce the fridge to those who already use the food bank.
The morning of the food bank event, we got together early and made a run to the grocery store. We knew we wanted a variety of fruits, veggies, and dairy, focusing more on items that have a longer shelf life. We decided to also pick up frozen veggies such as spinach, broccoli, and corn, in case someone had access to a freezer and wanted foods that would last a little longer.
We made our way to the LGBTQ+ center and started stocking the fridge. As we were adding in items, person after person came by to pick up food, sharing their ideas for what recipes they were going to make. It was such a joy to hear their inspiration for which produce or dairy matched the meat and dry goods they already got from the food bank.
We are so excited to have this resource available to our community and are looking forward to more people using it.
Written by Bryanna, our Director of Operations & Customer Happiness
