Asheville bed and breakfast / 1847 Blake House Inn B&B

If You Do Not Avoid Type II diabetes Now, You Will Probably Hate Yourself Later

Written on May 24, 2010 by Guest Blogger

Written by, Patricia Harris from Diabetic Menu Blog

While my son was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 17, Patricia’s blog offers very practical tips and menu options for anyone who is at risk for Type II Diabetes. – Leslie

Diabetes type 2 is easily the most common form of diabetes. An incredible number of Americans seem to have been told they have diabetes type 2 symptoms, and more are unconscious they’re at high risk. Some groups have a relatively higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes than others. Type 2 diabetes is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Indigenous Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, in addition to the aged population.

In diabetes type 2, either your body will not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary to the body to be able to use glucose for energy. After you eat food, the entire body breaks down the sugars and starches into glucose; that’s the basic fuel for any cells in your body. Insulin takes the sugar from your blood to the cells. When glucose builds up inside blood rather then going into cells, it can lead to diabetes complications.

Each person has the capability to improve and protect their present health. With proper nutrition and physical exercise and also making good lifestyle choices (like not smoking), you could feel better, stronger, and healthier, and can lower your risk of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart problems and cerebrovascular accident.

What exactly is Healthy Weight?

There’s a simple way to discover if your current weight puts you in danger of developing serious diseases. Visit www.diabetes.org/bmi and consider the Body Mass Index (BMI) test. The results will help you decide if you need to stress about your weight.

The Better You Eat, The Better You are

Below are a few basic guidelines that can help you and your family make healthier food decisions:

Eat numerous fruit and veggies.
Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products.
Try brown rice instead of white. Substitute whole wheat grains bread for white.
Eat fish 2 – 3 times per week.
Select leaner cuts of meat like those that end in “loin.”
Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
Eat low fat dairy
Drink water and calorie-free non-carbonated beverages.
Use liquid oils for cooking as an alternative to solid fats.
Cut back on junk food like chips, cookies, cakes, and regular ice cream.
Find baked chips and reduced calorie snacks. Or have a bit of fruit instead.
Watch your serving sizes. Even too much “healthy” food could potentially cause weight gain.

Tips:

Compare labels of similar foods, then opt for the one with smaller amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
Adults should consume lower than 2400 mg. of sodium daily. In case you have hypertension, it is best to prefer even less.
Try adding spices and herbs in your own cooking to take the place of salt for enhancing flavor.

A little bit of training goes a long way

Anything that gets you up and moving will work for you. Here’s what it can do:

Reduce your risk of developing diabetes type 2 symptoms
Reduce your risk of coronary disease and stroke
Lower hypertension and cholesterol
Reduce blood glucose (sugar) levels if you have diabetes, which can lessen your risk of developing diabetes-related complications
Decrease anxiety
Help you to lose fat
Provide you with more energy
Allow you to sleep better
Build stronger bones and muscles

You do not need to go to a gym, play sports or use fancy equipment. Certainly, it’s best to discuss with a medical expert before starting any exercise regimen.

If you have Diabetes

Maintaining a healthy diet and staying active are much more important in case you have diabetes. Well-balanced meals can help keep your glucose (sugar) level as near to normal as it can be. Being active likewise helps you reduce blood glucose. In case you increase your level of physical activity, you might be able to take less insulin or diabetes pills. In case you are inactive, have heart disease or maybe a history of foot ulcers, consult your doctor about safe exercise for you.

Check your blood glucose before exercising. If it’s under 100 mg/dl, eat some fruit, crackers or drink glass of milk or juice.

Check it again after exercising to understand how your blood glucose reacts to workout. Bring a snack if you’ll be active for a couple of hours.

About the writer

Patricia Harris writes for the http://www.diabeticmenus.org, her personal hobby web site aimed at guidelines to eat healthy to prevent and manage diabetes.

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Category Cooking | Tags:

Beer, Food & Fundraising: A Combination That Can’t Miss

Written on May 18, 2010 by Leslie

In just a few weeks, the 1847 Blake House Inn B&B will be proudly hosting the Kick Back & Kook Culinary Event: Feasting With Brew. The dates of the events are Friday, June 4 & Saturday, June 5. We almost changed the date due to another event going on in Asheville the same weekend: Beer City Brewfest. However, there are some major differences between the two events:

The Beer City Brewfest is ONLY on Saturday, June 5th while our event is on Friday AND Saturday. So people can attend both!
The Beer City Brewfest is a beer-focused event. Our event is primarily a culinary event with beer pairings. The focus of Feasting With Brew is not on the Brew; it’s on the FOOD with the BREW!
The Beer City Brewfest is not pet-friendly, but we are!!!
Ticket prices for the Brewfest are $35/each; our ticket prices are only $29 for each day, with cooking classes offered Friday & Saturday nights for $45 & $65 each respectively.
Feasting With Brew is a FUNDRAISER! All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Hope & Light Foundation (information below). Eat, drink & mingle while supporting a great cause!
Feasting With Brew will include raffles and silent auction items including a FREE night stay at the Inn, the cookbook: Passion on a Plate and apron from Chef Angela McKeller, items donated by local Asheville shops, plus other local arts & craft items. This event is about so much more than beer.

Of course I have a bias for the Feasting With Brew events, but I am in no way dissing the Beer City Brewfest. The timing of our events still allows people to attend both! Following are the full details of our Kick Back & Kook Culinary Event: Feasting With Brew:

Dates & Times: Friday, June 4 from 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm & Saturday, June 5 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Culinary Themes: Friday – Beer & Truffles & Saturday – Simple Summer Desserts Sampling & Brew Tasting
Additional Cooking Classes: Friday evening (6-9 pm): Souffles Made Simple ($45) & Saturday evening (6:30 – 9:30 pm): Iron Chef Competition ($65)
Participating Brewery: Pisgah Brewing Company – they brew handcrafted certified organic beer
Music: Davin McCoy & The Coming Attractions
Charity this event supports: The Hope & Light Foundation

Tickets can be purchased HERE as well as on the day of the event at the Inn. There is a DISCOUNT if you buy tickets for Friday & Saturday! If there are any Asheville businesses that would like to sell tickets, please contact Angela McKeller. Ticket sellers can make a little $ for each ticket you sell!

Book a room at the Inn for the weekend (at least 2 nights) and receive a 10% discount off the ticket price of ANY event you attend! Plus, the FIRST room reservation for that weekend will receive a FREE 1847 Blake House Inn B&B soup mug. The mugs just arrived this week!

Hope to see you there!

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Category Cooking, Special Events, Specials | Tags:

Asheville, NC B&Bs: Perfect for the Small Destination Wedding

Written on May 9, 2010 by Leslie

Asheville, NC has become a destination wedding locale in recent years. What exactly is a destination wedding? Well, it started out meaning an elopement where the people involved had to travel somewhere in order to get married. Now, it has expanded to mean a wedding at a location other than where the bride and groom live that can also include guests.

As such, Asheville is a great location for people to travel to to get married. This city and the surrounding area offer so much for the wedding guest and traveler. Some of the backdrops for weddings include hills and mountains, rivers and waterfalls, historical houses and loads of interesting architecture, gardens, barns, and even hot air balloons!

While Asheville has event locations that can accommodate hundreds and hundreds of guests with costs in the tens of thousands of dollars, this city is more receptive to smaller destination weddings with budget-conscious brides and grooms. We run the gamut of wedding/reception locations from small, quaint churches and B&Bs to large conference centers and, of course, the Biltmore Estate. What this city does not have, and probably never will, is the drive-through chapels you see in Las Vegas, although I get calls at the Inn from people looking to do the quickie ceremony. What people need to understand is that we are a destination wedding location, but we do not offer the cheap, cliche-type ceremonies you find elsewhere.

At Blake House, we can accommodate weddings up to 150 guests, but the average size that I see here is under 60. I have seen a trend in the past four years from larger groups to smaller groups, of just the closest family and friends. People would rather spend their money on a down payment for a house, than for a huge wedding attended by people they don’t know. This bed and breakfast offers an alternative to the typical hotel banquet hall or conference space at a reasonable price. And Asheville is filled with wedding locations just like mine.

This past weekend, the Inn welcomed the Riddle/Robbins wedding party for a BEAUTIFUL wedding for just under 50 guests. I am posting several photos below (with permission from the bride and groom, of course). I was most impressed with the Mother of the Bride (MOB) and her incredible organizational skills. In no way was she overbearing or uncontrollable (we don’t see those kinds of guests here just by virtue of the types of people we attract at the Inn). Sharon should become an event/wedding planner because her attention to detail is just fabulous. The colors chosen by the bride and groom were white, black, and lime green. The flowers included purple as well and I thank the MOB for generously donating the flowers to the Inn for our guests to enjoy this week.

The weather called for thunderstorms, wind, and low temperatures. We only experienced one of the three, wind and that was only in spurts. We did not have any rain and the low temperatures only went down to the 40s at night. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for the wedding ceremony, held at 3:00 pm. The Rehearsal Dinner on Friday was catered by Luella’s Bar-B-Que and Colorful Palate catered the Wedding Reception on Saturday. The guests and I were impressed and happy with both, me with the professionalism of the staff and the wedding party with the quality of the food! Jeanne from Appearances Salon & Spa provided onsite makeup and hair services to the bride. The delicious carrot wedding cake was provided by Tiffany’s Baking Co. and the acoustic trio Strictly Clean and Decent played some fabulous bluegrass and folk music when the bride’s daughter walked her down the aisle as well as during the reception.