There is a lot to love about Leaf & Love

You know what I love about this little DOC of ours?  How innovative we can be.  There are so many cool products out there that only exist because someone with diabetes (or a loved one with diabetes) saw a void, and decided it was up to them to fill it.

Take, for example, Leaf & Love Inc.  It was formed by two childhood friends who became moms-on-a-mission.  Co-founder Sara Williams-Curran's daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 3.  Sara was frustrated by trips to the grocery store, where she would try to find beverage options for her daughter that were not either filled with artificial sweeteners or sugar

So she and Amy DiBianca (no affiliation with type 1, but wanted something healthy and delicious for her 4-year old son) took to the kitchen to develop a yummy, zero-sugar alternative to all the other high-sugar, empty calorie choices.

Why is Leaf & Love Organic Lemonade better?  Because it is made with all natural ingredients, including 100% USDA organic lemon juice.  They use organic stevia, which is a natural sweetener derived from the leaves of the stevia plant.  Stevia has no calories, a zero glycemic index (meaning no carbs), no artificial ingredients, and NO effect on blood sugar!

In the words of Elise, "you mean I can drink it even if I'm high?  AWESOME!"

Happy girl with her Leaf & Love Lemonade

It is also non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and provides 15% of the daily recommended vitamin C.

But most importantly, how does it taste?

Elise loves it. Loves. It. And is so excited that she has a juice box that is all her own.  We love sharing in this house, but these babies belong to Elise.

See that? only 2g of carbs.  Squeeeeeee!

Curious, I took a sip for myself and thought it was quite tasty.  There was a bit of aftertaste that I'm pretty sure is from the stevia, but my taste buds are ultra-sensitive.  Redheads are cool like that.

This past weekend, we took the kids to a birthday party at a bowling ally.  There was pizza, pop, lemonade and cookie cake; a carb-infested nightmare.  When the server announced that there was lemonade, Elise turned her big doe-eyes up to me and asked, "pleeeeeeeease Mom?" Ugh.

Luckily, I'm a planner, and had brought with me a bunch of Leaf & Love Lemonade juice boxes.  She was even more excited about drinking that than the "real" lemonade.  Winning!  

Good thing too, she consumed 4 pieces of pizza and well over 150g of carbs.  I threw up in my mouth a little when I bolused her.

So, now that I've espoused the incredible goodness of this lemonade, I bet you're asking where you can find it... good question! Currently Leaf & Love Organic Lemonade is being sold by the case  (32 boxes) on Amazon for $28.96 and will be available at retail locations soon.  Better yet, you can purchase the lemonade through Amazon Smiles and donate a little somethin'-somethin' to the JDRF while you're at it.  Double winning!

For more information, you can also visit www.leafandlove.com, or for those FB-type people; www.facebook.com/leafandlove.

Thank you so much Sara and Amy for making lemonade out of a big, fat lemon of a disease!

***Leaf & Love sent us a juice box to sample, but did not tell me what to think or write.  All opinions are my own.  Elise may have helped too.***

A Diabetic Dab'll do ya!

Sometimes I feel like Lady MacBeth muttering, "Out, damn spot!" when I see my daughter's laundry.

Spots of blood on her linens.

Dots on her pillowcase.

And lately, smears on her pants.  My daughter has decided that it's acceptable to wipe the blood from a BG check on her pants.

There are so many times we find ourselves without something to wipe her finger with, so I understand why she's using her clothes as a substitute.  I just wish she wouldn't.

Enter Diabetic Dabs.

Created by Liz Sacco when her oldest of four boys was diagnosed with Type 1, Diabetic Dabs were born after two years of searching for a solution of what to do with excess blood from finger pokes. What resulted was a simple, inexpensive and convenient way to keep the clothing of T1s spot free!

I was recently given a chance to try out Diabetic Dabs, AND host a fun giveaway.  Woo hoo!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I received them, but was pleasantly surprised by the softness of the dabs.  And that they were holey (that is; full of holes.  Not consecrated to God or a religious purpose).  They feel a bit like the hypafix tape we use to secure pods and dexcom sensors.  They're very absorbent, non-toxic, and easy to tear off and throw away.

Obligatory size comparison

Now, we may or may not have used the same sheet for more than one finger poke.  Because I'm frugal like that.  If I had my way, each pack of dabs would come with a little piece of cardboard that would sit behind the sheet in use, so the blood doesn't seep through to the next one (sort of like of like how you use that plastic flap in your duplicate chequebook).  

But I understand that this is not how the dabs were meant to be used, so it's not a big deal. I do wish that they were a bit smaller, because I feel a bit wasteful in throwing away such a big square with a tiny blood spot on it.  Just my two cents. 

The dabs come in a pack of 50 (4 packs to a box), and have an adhesive backing so you can stick them in your meter case and always have them with you.

My daughter case with dabs affixed.

Each box has 200 dabs and is $9.49 (shipping included), and can be purchased through their website.  The price goes down the more you buy.  It might sound a bit pricey, but if you add up the cost of using kleenex, paper towels, and clothes ruined from blood spots, and multiply that by the grossness factor of wiping your fingers on unsanitary surfaces like your meter case, then it's a pretty good deal.

Plus, don't forget you're supporting one of our own, as well as the best cause ever!  Diabetic Dabs donates a portion of the proceeds from their sales to Diabetes research.

I love it when a member of our community is able to create something to fill a need we have.  

So... onto the giveaway.  I have two boxes, which means there will be two winners.  To enter, just leave a comment telling me the grossest place you (or your child) has ever wiped their finger after a BG check.  I will randomly (read: have my child pull two numbers out of a hat) pick the winners on Monday.

Good luck, and happy wiping!

Random, but cute shot of my little man trying to destroy the vacuum.
He's the reason I never have time to write anymore.

I was provided samples of Diabetic Dabs as well as two extra packs to give away, but all opinions are my own. Free stuff is great, but nobody tells me what to say!