On Friday afternoon I stopped at the grocery store for a few last-minute items, mostly just more veggies and salad greens to get us through the snowy weekend. I was thinking long-and-skinny, along the lines of asparagus and carrots, but changed my mind abruptly when I saw the mountain of Brussels sprouts at the entrance to the produce section. Next thing I knew, the woman behind me in the checkout line was tapping my shoulder. “Excuse me,” she said, “But what do you do with those? I’ve always thought they looked so great, but I have no idea what to do with them.”

Really quickly then, because the bill had been tallied and I was already in the process of pulling out my wallet, I said, “Rinse them, cut off the stems, slice them in half, sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and few shakes of salt, and roast them at 425 ‘til the outer leaves turn brown and crunchy! And check out my blog!” “I will!” she said with a big smile. Yes, it’s that easy. And that delicious.

I spent all day yesterday enjoying watching the snow fall and recharging my batteries, and ventured outside just once, to feed the chickens who, if you were wondering, appear completely unfazed by the cold, wind and snow. I also discovered that roasted Brussels sprouts taste great cold in salad, by the way.

This morning I met a bunch of folks from the Diabetes Partnership (home page here) for breakfast at a local deli. We ordered all kinds of different things, including lox, eggs & onions; rye toast; veggie omelets; salads with chicken; wraps and oatmeal. One bagel and lox platter. No pancakes, french toast, waffles, syrup, sugar, cereal, hot cocoa, muffins or biscuits. Almost nothing guaranteed to spike your blood sugar. And it’s not like everyone at the table was diabetic. In fact, most weren’t. And, obviously, we’d all like to keep it that way.

This year, 2014, finds the Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland celebrating its 60th year of advocating on behalf of individuals with diabetes, giving kids a great summer camp experience, providing supplies for those without the means to access them otherwise, and more. I’m looking forward to working together, to educating caregivers and patients alike, to celebrating together, and to doing whatever it takes to lower the rates of diabetes in Northeast Ohio and across the country.