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There isn’t anything as wonderful as fresh tamales or hearty sancocho or budín de pan. But if you love Latin foods and you have diabetes, you may be worried your favorite foods are a thing of the past. Now with the American Diabetes Association’s Cocinando para Latinos con Diabetes, 2nd ed., you can follow a meal plan designed just for you, one that will help you keep your blood sugar levels where you want them and still enjoy the culinary traditions of a culture that cherishes flavor. With a high percentage of diabetes incidence, it’s especially important for Latinos with diabetes to manage this disease through healthy dishes. The good news is that basic Latin foods already include a healthy variety of meats and seafood, plenty of fruits and vegetables, crunchy nuts and grains, tortillas, and fresh herbs.

Cocinando para Latinos con Diabetes captures the zest of authentic Latin cooking with more than 100 healthy recipes and is displayed in English and Spanish side by side. Suitable for any diabetes meal plan, the recipes in this book are lower in fat and eliminate unhealthy amounts of sodium and calories.

Included in Cocinando para Latinos con Diabetes are recipes for salsas, sauces, soups, empanadas, rice and beans, desserts, and more. There’s even a chili chart, so you can know precisely how hot those popular chilies are. Adjusting carbohydrate amounts and altering cooking methods will transform classic favorites to healthier versions the entire family will enjoy.

Writing in Spanish and English, Fusté offers important tips on managing carbohydrates (it’s not just sugar that makes blood glucose levels soar), measuring portion sizes, and specific ways to reduce fat and sodium in recipes. Cocinando para Latinos con Diabetes also provides shopping lists, a food glossary, a walking program, and diabetes resources for Latinos with diabetes.

Olga V. Fusté, MS, RD, Professor Emerita, Washington State University, runs a nutrition management program, chairs a local Latino network dealing with community problems, writes for Latino publications, and is a member of the Latino Education Alliance. She is a guest host at local Latino broadcasts and contributes nutrition articles for Spanish-speaking newspapers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes affects 25.8 million people or 8.3% of the U.S. population. After adjusting for population age differences, a 2007–2009 national survey data for people aged 20 years or older indicate that 11.8% of Hispanics had diagnosed diabetes. Compared to non-Hispanic white adults, the risk of diagnosed diabetes was 66% higher among Hispanics. Among Hispanics, rates were 7.6% for both Cubans and for Central and South Americans, 13.3% for Mexican Americans, and 13.8% for Puerto Ricans.

Cocinando para Latinos con Diabetes is available at www.ShopDiabetes.org, at bookstores nationwide, or by calling 1-800-232-6733.