Cover of Angela's new cookbook

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Win The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook.

Hippocrates said to make food our medicine. That statement is especially true for individuals living with diabetes; what–and how much–they eat can help them to manage their disease and even, for some, keep the need for medication to a minimum.

Few know this as well as Angela Shelf Medearis, affectionately known as The Kitchen Diva. Her latest cookbook is inspired by necessity: The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook, 150 Delicious, Healthy Recipes for Diabetics and Those Who Dine with Them.

Angela cooks for and dines with a diabetic–her husband, Michael Medearis. She also has other close family members who have diabetes. When Michael was first diagnosed with the disease 15 years ago, Angela read the diabetic cookbooks of the day for inspiration.

What she found time and again were books that were unimaginative, written by doctors, and featuring recipes developed by dieticians. While the recipes adhered to nutritional guidelines for diabetics, they fell flat when it came to variety, flavor and overall appeal.

“I looked through those books and got depressed,” she told me on the day I visited her at her Southwest Austin home. “Nobody should have to eat food that doesn’t excite them, and there wasn’t anything to write home about in those books.”

Meet The Kitchen Diva on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, 1165 Angelina St, Austin, Texas 78702, for A TASTE OF JUNETEENTH. The Kitchen Diva will dish up a healthy dose of fun and flavor.  The event takes place from 12:30 to 1:30, and you need to call ahead and reserve a seat: 512.974.4926.

So The Diva took to her home kitchen and set her sights on creating recipes her husband and family members could safely eat, and that she and other non-diabetics in her family could enjoy right along with them.

“I want this book to help keep families from having to cook one meal for the diabetic  member and another for everyone else. That’s time consuming and costly,” said Medearis, who doesn’t waste a thing.

The book covers everything from entrees to sides to snacks and desserts, and is beautifully photographed by award-winning food photographer, Penny de los Santos. “I told my editor that I wanted this book to be a fun, sassy, sexy, beautiful and delicious book. I want people to want to lick the pages of the cookbook because the food photography is so good.”

The books is a fun and flavorsome foray into cooking that anyone can enjoy. Licking the pages is optional.

RULES TO WIN A COPY OF THE KITCHEN DIVA’S DIABETIC COOKBOOK

We all have dishes we love, but because of the fat, calories or sugar in them, we limit their consumption to “special occasions.”  For your chance to win one of two copies of The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook, in the comments section below, tell us about that dish and what makes it so good. Winners will be drawn at random using random.org.

RULES of Eligibility:

1. Must be 18 years old to enter.
2. Open only to people living in the Austin, Texas Metro Area.
3. Winners must pick up book from the KUT 90.5 FM studios on the UT Austin campus.
4. Entries must be received by 6 p.m. CST Monday June 18, 2012 to be eligible for the drawing.
5. Must leave a comment on this page telling us about your favorite “special occasion” dish that’s too high in calories, fat or sugar to eat regularly.
6. Comments that do not meet that criteria will not be entered into the drawing.
7. Only one entry per person | household | IP address.
8. Must include your name and valid email address to be eligible for drawing.
9. Only entries from people who haven’t won anything from Field & Feast in the last three months are eligible to win.
10. Two winners will be selected at random after 6 p.m. CST Monday June 18, 2012, and contacted via email by the show’s producer to arrange pick up of their book.

NOTE: These comments are monitored, so don’t fret if you do not see your comment for several hours. It will be time stamped and counted if it meets the deadline and eligibility requirements.