So I have this blog . . .

I have recently been reminded, by more than one party, that I do indeed, have a blog.  I humbly apologize to my followers.  All 3 of you.  Just kidding.  I know that there are at least 5 or 6.

Actually, I have been tracking my re-pins on Pinterest, and have found that I have a few recipes that are pinned quite a bit.  They are not the recipes that I would have expected.  I thought it would be fun to list my top 5 pins for you.  :)

 5) The first meal log.  apparently, that first log is popular. I thought it would be the post about the day I found out I did have diabetes.  That post has the most comments.  But this one is pinned.


4) Egg cups are next on the list.  I'm so embarrassed at the photography.  It is truly horrid.  But people seem to care more about the recipe than the photo so --- whew!

3) Next up are my favorite little indulgence.  Peanut butter balls!  Mnnnn.  Again the photography is just awful.  But the peanut butter balls are fabulous.  You should try them, even if you aren't diabetic.  They are awesome, easy, and fairly healthy! 

2) This is a funny story.  My kids were complaining about how much salad I was making them eat.  To "cure" this, I declared 'Salad Week.'  Meaning, every meal was a salad.  This was such a hit, that my kids still beg for it!  This is Cheeseburger Salad.  Once you make it, life as a diabetic, or low-carb dieter, will never be the same.  You will discover that you can eat real food, and feel satisfied!  It really is so good!


1) This one shocked me!  My Peanut Butter and Chocolate malt smoothies are pinned lots and lots and lots.  They are good, to be sure.  But the picture is not! But please, make the smoothies, then judge the picture.  You will be too enraptured with the creamy goodness to worry about my silly photography.  :)  Enjoy!

Top Ten Things You shouldn't say to a Diabetic

Let me start by saying that I have made all of the comments below.  I can remember really getting after my dad for not taking care of his diabetes that way I thought he should.  I remember telling him that I wanted my kids to have a grandpa and he needed to do better at controlling the disease.  I don't think I said it that nice.  Hello!!!!  Guilt trip city.  I got after my older brother for not taking care of himself.  I did it out of love, because I love them.  Because I don't want this disease to take them from me.  I thought I was right. Then I got gestational diabetes.

For only 5 months I needed to follow a diabetic regimen.  It was hard.  I was lousy at it.  I hated it.  I felt deprived.  And it dawned on me, I was wrong!  My dad and my brother were doing the very best they could.  It is hard. And while my diagnosis would reverse as soon as I gave birth, they have no end in sight.  They live with the disease everyday. 

I have changed my responses.  My diabetic friend was eating a piece of cake and a friend walked up and said, "don't eat that, it's not good for you."  My friend said, "don't tell me what to do."  Can you blame her?  

We all want to help our friends who are diabetic.  We find ourselves thinking, "they shouldn't eat that."  But should we really say it?  Well, probably not.  Here are the most common comments that I have heard, or made and a better way to say it.  :)



1) Should you be eating that?  ---  My response, in my head, is usually, "what's it to ya?"  This is one that you shouldn't say period.  There is no sweet way to say it.  Leave it alone and trust that a diabetic knows what they can or can't have.

2) I made everyone this for dessert, but I made you this. ---  Really?  I'm not a child who is unable to abstain if needed.  But you were trying to do something nice.  How about this instead: (announce to everyone) "for those who would rather not have so much sugar, I have made this.  For those who would like to splurge, I have made this.  Please enjoy."  Now, don't get upset if the diabetic splurges.  They spend most of their life going without, once in a while it's okay to have that beautiful dessert you made.

3) You aren't taking care of yourself. ---  If you are a spouse, a parent, or a doctor you can say this.  If you are a buddy that meets for lunch once in a while, uh uh.  Don't say it.  Better is this:  "I don't know much about diabetes.  Please tell me what you have to do to manage the disease."  Mostly this is reserved for close friends.

4) Don't eat that. ---  this is usually followed by a grab for the offending food item.  Again, unless you think the item has been poisoned, don't say this.

5) Oh, you can't eat there can you.  We'll pick a different restaurant. --- Diabetics live in the real world and learn how to navigate menus.  If you want to be sensitive to where a diabetic will enjoy a meal, a better way to ask is: "Do you have a preference for where we eat?" 

6) Wow, I've heard of all the problems diabetes causes, like blindness.  Does that freak you out?---  YES!!!!!!!  Yes they are very freaked out.  They never get to stop worrying about it.  If you are close friends, you can ask this.  But time it well and start with, "I know there are some complications with diabetes, if you ever want to talk about that, I'm here for you."  Or even " Are you worried about your eyesight and all the complications that go along with diabetes?" Most of the time, they don't want to think about the disease, but trust me, 4 times a day, when they are pricking themselves with a needle to test their sugars, they are very well aware of what the disease is doing to their bodies.

7) I know you're diabetic, but I just had to share this plate of cookies with you.  ---   Better: "Hey, I really wanted to share some cookies I made, so I brought you 2, just so you would know I was thinking of you."  Or even better:  "I made you some bath salts, or I made you a card, or a phone call ahead with a "I just made some cupcakes that I would like to share with you, can I bring you one or a dozen?" and let them say- "oh just one." or "oh I'm so glad you thought of me.  I don't need treats, but I'd love a visit.  or even "heck yeah!  I've been so good this week.  I want the whole dozen." (As an aside, the diabetics I know, don't love sugary treats dropped off to temp them, but they love loaves of wheat bread with low sugar jam, or a quart of strawberries with a bit of whipped cream.)

8) You are so amazing, I could NEVER go without sugar. (sometimes followed by stuffing the face with a giant cupcake.) ---  Um, they didn't get diabetes on purpose.  No hero worship necessary.  Try: "I admire how you have handled this."  Enough said. 

9) If you lose weight will the diabetes go away? ---  Let me answer the question first.  Maybe, maybe not.  There are a lot of things that contribute to diabetes.  Weight is only one of those things.  However, for a diabetic, losing weight is soooo hard.  They have to eat on a schedule.  They have to eat!  And they have to eat enough.  Their bodies hold on to the weight.  Don't remind them of their shortcomings.

10) Is it contagious? --- No no no no no!  It is not contagious.  However, for many in America, it is preventable.  You can't catch it, but you can develop it, so keep working on becoming the healthiest you possible.

Funeral Potatoes - Healthified ... Mostly

Funeral Potatoes - Healthified

  If you are not from the Northwest, then you have probably never heard of Funeral Potatoes.  If that is the case, I am truly sorry. You have been denied the ultimate comfort food for far too long.  Funeral potatoes, or at least the name, probably originated in Utah. An organization called the Relief Society made it famous.  This organization, which just happens to be the largest service based womens organization in the world, is often called upon to bring meals to a funeral for the family of the deceased.  One of the standard dishes is a cheesey potato casserole that is like heaven in your mouth.

Funeral Potatoes - Healthified

Funeral potatoes are made of bakers (Idaho talk for really large russets), which are shredded.  The potatoes are mixed with a little meat, usually ham, and lots of butter, sour cream, cheese and more butter.  Have I mentioned that they are like heaven in your mouth? MMMMnnnnnnnn.  Anyway, they are served at Northwest funerals so much that they earned the name Funeral Potatoes.  You learn something new every day.

The thing about Funeral Potatoes is that diabetics and anyone watching their weight or fat intake is also denied this little bit of heaven in the mouth.  (I just noticed the irony of Funeral Potatoes tasting like Heaven in your mouth. . . never mind.) Anyway, a sane person does not eat Funeral Potatoes on a regular basis, and a diabetic, just doesn't eat them.  However, I LOVE them and I WANT to eat them.  I really really want to eat them.  So I thought about how I could do this without feeling guilty.

Now I'm not saying that these potatoes should be part of your weekly meal rotation.  These are still fairly decadent.  However, for a special occasion, at least you could enjoy a serving. And I mean really enjoy it, because after all, it is potatoes, yams and carrots.  And it is lower in cheese, sour cream, butter and condensed soup than the original.  It's still creamy and satisfying.  It is still comforting.  It should not shoot your blood sugar levels to the moon, faster than a moon pie, and I promise, the original will.

If you are not diabetic, I highly recommend that you try real Funeral Potatoes at least once in your life.  But if you do, you will want them again.  But if you want them more than once a year, you might try this version and grab a bit more vitamin A for your trouble.  :)


Funeral Potatoes - Healthified

2 large bakers - Idaho Russets
1 large Yam
2 medium carrots
1/2 red onion diced
1/2 C. diced ham OR 2-3 strips bacon, crumbled OR 2-3 strips turkey bacon, crumbled
1 can cream of whatever soup (I used chicken)
2/3 C. Sour Cream OR Greek Yogurt
1/2 C. Low Fat (or not) Cottage Cheese
2/3 C. Swiss Cheese
1/2-2/3 C. Cheddar Cheese
1/4 C. Butter
Salt
White Pepper
Your favorite spices - I used garlic salt, and Old Bay


Peel and grate the russets.  Take a clean kitchen cloth and spread on counter.  Put the grated potatoes on the cloth and wrap it up.  *Over the sink, wring the cloth out and squeeze out all the excess water.  Repeat with the Yam.  Place in a bowl. Grate carrot and place in the same bowl. Add the onion.  Mix.

Take about 1/3 of this mixture and set aside.  I made some yummy hash browns.  You could probably use 1 large and 1 small russet and then you wouldn't have any excess, but I liked the hash browns and I liked the orange to white ratio for appearance and taste.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixture still in the bowl.  Stir well and place in a greased 9X13 pan.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Remove foil (add a little cheese on top if desired) and continue to bake for 15-20 minutes.


*If you choose not to squeeze the juice out of your veggies, you will get a creamier sauce.  However, the few that you remove for other uses need to be squeezed if you are going to make them into hash browns like I did.  Removing the moisture is what allows them to crisp up.

Potato, yam and carrot hash-browns.

**In case you were wondering.  I added salt, pepper and Old Bay, along with onion to the yam and potato mixture and I threw them on a waffle iron that had been sprayed with cooking spray.  I cooked for about 10 minutes and they were golden.  Tasted great.  The hardest part was getting them off the iron.  But a little patience and grabbing from the center with a fork and it all worked out.  :)

Low Carb Chicken Nuggets

I'd say these are pretty healthy.  For Chicken nuggets, they're slamming on the health charts!  They are also diabetic and diet friendly, because they are low carb.  They are also baked.  Seriously, make these for your kids and don't feel bad.  Feel good, cause you're the cool mom, who gives real chicken nuggets.  :)


Low Carb Chicken Nuggets

2 large chicken breasts
1 egg
1 c. raw almonds
1/2 of an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (optional- this can be done without the cream cheese, but I liked the flavor)
1 Tbl parsley flakes
2 1/2 tsp. garlic salt - divided
spices that you like--I chose Old Bay (thyme, lemon pepper, cumin are also good options)
White pepper

Boil your chicken breasts until they are white all the way through.  (I save the water to make soup later.)

While your chicken is boiling, beat the egg and cream cheese together with the paddle attachment on your mixer. Add 1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and 1/2- 1 tsp old bay and a couple of shakes of white pepper. 

When your chicken is done, cut it in 3 or 4 large chunks, and with the mixer going, toss the chicken in with the cream cheese mixture.  Beat until the chicken is all shredded and starting to form a ball. Set aside.

Put almonds in a gallon sized bag and beat with the back of a spoon until your almonds are almond crumbs.  Add the rest of your garlic salt (1 tsp), the parsley, another 1/2-1 tsp. Old Bay, or whatever spice you are using (thyme, lemon pepper, cumin), and 2-3 shakes of white pepper.  Close bag and shake to distribute spices.

Form chicken mixture into patties and throw 3-4 at a time in the baggie.  Shake to coat and place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  When you have all patties made, add a little spray on top and bake at 375 for 10 min.  Flip and bake another 2-3 min.  You can drizzle with butter to make a bit crispier, but that is up to you.

  :)  Enjoy!

Spanish Quinoa

Spanish Quinoa - Easy and Healthy

 

 

I have to admit, when I made this, I forgot to write down what I was doing as I went.  Darn it!  I know that some of you like nice, neat, perfect measurements.  And truthfully, so do I.  Often I create something like this, love it, and can't duplicate it.  I should learn, but when I'm cooking and everyone is hungry and I'm trying to get it on the table as fast as I can, I am not always good about stopping to write down what I'm doing.  Sigh---

Happily, this recipe is so easy, that it really doesn't make a huge difference.  You should use the recipe as a foundation and make it your own.  :)  I know Martha Stewart says that cooking is a science, but I disagree.  I think baking is a science and cooking is an art!  However, if you want to reproduce the art, you better get it down to a science.  See what a nice circle I just made there.  lol

I served this dish with tacos, as a replacement to Spanish rice.  It had a nice Tex-mex flavor.  However, unlike rice, this was light.  Tacos, re-fried beans, and Spanish rice can be a very heavy meal.  The quinoa had all the flavor of the rice, but it was light and fresh.  The veggies really came to the front.  It was such a surprise when I first tasted it.  A very nice change in texture from the rest of the meal. And it was easy to make.  Bonus!!

Spanish Quinoa

3 c. cooked quinoa (about 1 c. dry)
1/2  10oz. can of enchilada sauce, (or make your own and use about 2/3 cup)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (I like the ones with green chilies)
1 15oz can Black beans
1 C. frozen corn
1/2 green pepper diced
1/2 orange or red sweet pepper diced (a few of the little ones that you get at Costco are great too)
1/2 large onion
1 Tbl. Olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Rinse your dry quinoa for two minutes to get rid on the bitter flavor. Set aside.  In a large skillet heat olive oil and onion until oil gets hot.  Add quinoa and cook for about a minute until the moisture evaporates.  Add 2 cups of water, cover and lower heat to med low.  Cook for 20 min.  (This is how you normally cook quinoa, but I thought someone might not know.) :)

Once the quinoa is cooked add all the rest of the ingredients and cook until hot and bubbly.  the quinoa will absorb the liquid from the tomatoes.  Once that happens, and your peppers are soft to your liking, it's done. 

I topped mine with cheese, but it really doesn't need it. 

Super easy, huh?

If you want it spicier, use spicy enchilada sauce.  If you want it a bit wetter, use more sauce.  If you don't like peppers, don't add them.  Fresh avocado would be fantastic added over the top. 

Try it out and let us know how it worked for you. 

Apple Cinnamon Chip Cake

Apple Cinnamon Chip Cake

Like I said, I've been on a sweets kick.  Actually what happened is, I served my kids some homemade applesauce and they didn't finish it.  Then I worried that it would go bad.  It bothers me to just throw good food away, so I had to do something with it.  --- Seriously, I had to, there was no other option. lol.

This turned out to be such a good experiment though. It tastes exactly like a cinnamon roll!  I'm not kidding.  It really does.  But it's made with 1/2 whole wheat flour, Greek Yogurt and applesauce.  Yum, huh?

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  If you try this with 100% whole wheat, please let me know how it turns out.  I really want to know, but I'm taking a baking break for the next 2 weeks.  (Instead I'm blogging the past 2 weeks worth of baking!)

Apple Cinnamon Chip Cake

1/4 C. butter (Yes you could substitute coconut oil)
1 C. Apple sauce
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 C. Plain or Vanilla Greek Yogurt
1 1/4 C. skim milk (Almond milk will work)
2 C. Flour
1 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Bag Cinnamon Chips -- I used Hershey's- find them here.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 lb. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbl. milk
8oz cream cheese (1 block - you can use reduced fat or neufchatel)
1/4 c. butter

Instructions: Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yogurt and applesauce. Mix until smooth.  Add milk and mix until incorporated.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients- but not the cinnamon chips. Gradually add to the wet ingredients.  Fold in cinnamon chips.

Pour into a greased jellyroll pan. (or a sheetcake pan). bake at 350 for 25 min.  Check with a toothpick.  You may need to cook longer so keep an eye on it at this point.  Allow to cool

For the frosting: add the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and blend.  Keep mixing until it starts to become a ball.  Add milk one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Frost your cooled cake.  Yum!

+Hershey's Kitchens

Chocolate Quinoa Cake (Includes a quick Ganache Recipe)

Chocolate cake that uses quinoa instead of flour. Amazing!

 I've been playing around with making "healthy" sweets.   Well, healthier anyway.  And I have some friends who are gluten intolerant.  As in, just plain can't eat the stuff. I saw a recipe for chocolate quinoa cake and my interest was piqued.  However, so was my skepticism.  Seriously, could a cooked grain- actually a cooked seed, make a light, moist cake with an actual cake-like texture? Only one way to find out.  I made it. 

It was good.  The texture was a little dense, but not bad and I actually like that anyway.  My family devoured it.  They really didn't know the difference.  It stayed moist for 3 days.  That's how long I managed to hide the last few pieces, 3 days. I expected a weird texture or flavor.  Instead I got a really nice cake that I can make for people who can't eat traditional flour.  I think it's probably a bit healthier too.  Don't get me wrong.  There is sugar in it.  It is a treat, like any cake.  However, it is a treat that is a little better for you without sacrificing flavor.  Because I would rather have a small amount of fantastic, rather than a big amount of only okay.  So to have fantastic that is better for me; bonus!


I am going to direct you to the link that harbors the recipe that I used.  I normally make my own recipes, so I don't often redirect you, but it's not my recipe and I want to be fair.  But please come back and see me again.  I am posting my recipe for Whole Wheat Lemon Yogurt Blueberry Cake soon.  It was divine!

Any way the link is here: Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Oh- by the way, you may notice that my frosting is quite different.  I made a simple ganache by heating 1/2 c. cream (don't let it boil) and adding about 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips.  I use a mixture of semi-sweet and dark chocolate.  I stir until melted and let it set up to a pudding like consistency. I make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge.  When I made this cake, I pulled it out and spread it on the warm cake.  Then I added some more chocolate chips and let them melt into the cake a bit.  I spread it out with a knife.  It was a little like eating a layer of fudge on the cake.  Very yummy!