Back Again

I took a break last week.  It was a rough week, and blogging just wasn't in the cards for me.  But I am back this week. My sugar levels were pretty good yesterday and this morning, so even though the end of day snack was a bit high in sugar, it was still alright.  Here is yesterday's food log.

I tried the vanilla Attain for the first time.  Sooo delicious.  I love this stuff.  I used coconut milk and a banana and it was a little tropical happiness in a glass.  And sugar levels stayed low and hunger stayed low.  Nice, huh?

Don't let the picture fool you.  I had a nice big helping of strawberries.  I did not add more cream, as I am getting used to eating without adding sweetness, but I did have triple this amount of strawberries.

Watermelon.  It is so hot where I live.  I seem to want fruit and that is it.  Watermelon is that fruit that hydrates and satisfies.  It is very sweet, but hasn't affected my sugar levels thus far, so I happily chow down.

Okay- when you only have strawberries and watermelon for lunch, you will get hungry very quick.  About an hour after lunch, I had some yummy potato salad. Only about a cup.

My sweet hubby bought me Rolos.  Because they are individually wrapped I can have just 2-3.  I get my chocolate/sweet fix and don't eat a whole candy bar.  It is a nice compromise.

Thanks to Pinterest I learned that you can bake potatoes in the slow cooker.  It was 108 degrees yesterday.  Being able to make dinner in the slow cooker was awesome!  I had one potato with broccoli, (actually, I ended up adding more broccoli after taking this photo- it was so yummy).  I also topped it with cheese, ham, gravy and yes, some sour cream.  It is an odd thing, but baked potatoes turn to sugar in the body really fast, so if you are going to eat one, putting fat on it is a GOOD thing.  Weird huh?  But the fats slow the absorption of  the sugar by slowing the digestion process.  It is also a small potato with lots of broccoli.  As a diabetic, you can eat anything- but you must understand what the food does in your body and how to compensate for undesirable effects. 

It is vanilla ice cream and raspberry soda.  No I did not opt for sugar free this time.  I could have, but it isn't as good.  Plus, I have a theory, that at some level, sugar is better for our bodies than substitutes.  It gets back to that whole moderation thing that I keep bringing up.  One soda float, once in a while, will not hurt me.  Seconds are not an option.  It also can't be a daily occurrence. 

You Can't Forget to Eat When You Are Diabetic

So yesterday, I forgot to eat lunch.  I had snacked some, but lunch just slipped past me.  Turns out, that is really not smart.  Snacks do not take the place of a good meal.  Lesson learned.  My sugar levels are finally evening out this morning, but the headache and the nasty feeling of nauseousness, it stinks. So there you go.  Don't skip meals.

I made a smoothie using frozen strawberries and slimfast and almond milk.  It was good, but it didn't keep me as full as the Attain shake does.  Since the attain also comes in strawberry, I am going to order some of that.  Don't get me wrong, the slimfast works. But the Attain does a better job at keeping my sugar levels even and keeping me full.  Additionally, they have added a GC control line which is designed for keeping sugar levels even and they have a Caramel Creme Brulee that looks fabulous, so I think I am going to invest in a few more shake flavors.

Just a few in the car to keep me from having a sugar crash, *wink*

This is a no-sugar added fruit bar.  It's only 25 calories, but it is tasty and cool. Yeah for tangerine.

 

Probably the best snack I had this day.  1 cheese stick.

Okay, I am weak- yes, I had some animal cookies. 

About the time that I realized that I had missed lunch, it was already 3:00.  I thought some whole wheat toast would be enough.  It really wasn't, but it helped.

Dinner was stir-fry over rice with some chow mien noodles.  I should have ditched the noodles.  I couldn't stop eating them.  Sugar levels were at 136 after dinner.  Too high, and it could have been avoided.  Oh well.  As you can see, one of the easiest ways to know if a meal is diabetic friendly- is the color test.  I strive to add as many colors as I can to my meals. Greens, reds, yellows, purples; lots of colors generally means lots of fruits and vegetables.  It's not the only indicator, but it is a helpful tip.

Pickles are yummy.

It took me 4 days, but I finally finished my cheesecake.

Salsa is a "free" food for a diabetic or a dieter.  I eat it with veggies, on cottage cheese and over eggs. 

But that night, I had corn chips. :)

I like this stuff now.  Who knew?

Chicken Kebobs -- Healthy and Yummy

I love kebobs, and they are so easy.  I use my friend Brooke's recipe for the marinade.  She actually uses it for tostadas, and I bet that is yummy.  I use it for everything.  I also use it on pork, and it is just as good.  Honestly, any recipe she has ever given me has been delicious.  I don't know why I wasn't smart enough to borrow and copy all her favorite recipes before she moved.  Major fail on my part. But I digress. . .

This is what we are making.  Yes, it is good.

This is the marinade. 1/2 c. lime juice, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/4 c. vegetable oil, 1Tbl. honey, (you can use splenda), 2tsp. minced garlic, 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder.

Marinade the chicken for at least 4 hours.  I did cube mine first.

I cut up green and red peppers, and a red onion and added 1/2 of the marinade to the bag of veggies. You could add mushrooms, bell tomatoes, pearl onions and even pineapple- which would be fabulous.  :)

Just being honest- I normally marinade them together.  I know you aren't supposed to, but I'm going to grill them together anyway, so I do. 

I assembled the meat and veggies on skewers.  Just a hint- soak your skewers for at least 4 hours also. Just soak them in water.  It keeps them from lighting on fire while they are on the grill.

Another view.  Lots of people grill their meat and veggies separately, in case they cook at different times.  I have never had a problem, as long as I have also marinated the veggies.

Grill them up until the meat is done.  Looks yummy huh?

I wish I would have added the pineapple.  Pineapple is one of the few fruits that would work, because it takes forever to caramelize.  It always amazes me as to how long it takes to cook fresh pineapple.

But I did add the pineapple to my plate. Yum.

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Making my Favorite Meals Diabetic Friendly

Well yesterday I got the news that my glucose test did indeed come back high.  Luckily I had already planned a meal that would be tasty and keep my sugar levels in check. (BBQ Chicken Sandwiches) If you looked at my diet yesterday, I don't think you would even realize that I was watching my sugar or diet. It was pretty normal, but still kept my levels in check. I do feel like I spend a lot of time thinking about food and what I can and can't have.  I'm hoping it becomes 2nd nature soon.

Breakfast is always Cheerios when I am crunched for time or uninspired.  The trick here is making sure that I only use a serving size.  It is important to measure.

Lunch was left-over hamburger soup. Filling and yummy.

I had 1/2 apple for a snack.  I tried to have a whole one, but one of the kiddos took the rest from me. It happens.

I made a BBQ chicken sandwich with coleslaw. I did add some commercial BBQ sauce. I also used a whole grain bun and I only had 1. Absolutely no seconds, but the first was so big and filling I didn't even consider seconds.

I was out with some people who were making and eating a lot of yummy looking treats; Extra gum to the rescue.  I didn't even have a taste of the treats.  Yea me!

When I got home, I had a snack of cottage cheese and mandarin oranges. Honestly, it tasted like dessert. I also had a glass of 1% milk about an hour after this.

Another Typical Day

Yesterday I started out with high blood sugar and not feeling great, so I decided to run before breakfasting.  I don't really recommend this, but it worked for me yesterday. And let us not forget, breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day. lol

Around 11:00 I decided I was hungry and had some toast with thin slices of cheese. Grain and protein.

by 12:30, I was hungry. I had a bowl of strawberries. Yum!

This is my new favorite drink.  Water with a few slices of lemon. I never get lemon at restaurants because if they don't wash the outside of the lemon, they pass on all sorts of nasty stuff.  However, at home, I wash the lemons and then slice.

A favorite meal in our family- taco salad. I'm pretty sure my kids only eat it for the chips. Diabetics and anyone watching their weight should count out 5-7 chips. I have to admit, I had as many as I wanted last night and 2 plates this size of taco salad.  But I only had a smattering of dressing on the first helping and none on the 2nd. Taco salad is flavorful enough to not need dressing, or at the very least to only have some salsa. I did not use sour cream.

cheese stick for a snack

I shouldn't have made it- darn Pinterest! I did only have a piece- not 4, so that was good.  I also had some of my husband's steak.

Another day, another veggie

In the past three days I have lost 2 lbs.  My doctor will most likely not be thrilled, but since I know that I am eating a lot of food, just lower calorie food, I'm not going to stress about it.

 Breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day.  I don't love eating in the mornings, but it is required.  So I figured a bowl of cheerios would do.  My blood sugar was a bit high after a breakfast of pure carbs, but not bad.  I was still in range at 111.  As far as cold cereal goes, Cheerios is a winner.

Lunch Was yummy.  More Tuna salad and cottage cheese, plus 1/2 an avocado.  I love avocados!

I didn't have a snack.  I know I should have, but I was sleeping. lol  I will always take sleeping.  Anyway, dinner was hamburger soup and two pieces of whole wheat bread.  I dunked my bread in olive oil and Parmesan cheese. No butter here. 

It was a friend's birthday, so we went out for ice cream.  Actually we went to TCBY.  What you see here is a small waffle cone with white chocolate yogurt and pink lemonade sherbert.  I enjoyed every minute of it!  I was careful to not have any more snacks and my morning blood sugar level was only 91, so I think it worked out okay.

I'm Hungry

I'm not gonna lie - Yesterday I was hungry.  That is bound to happen any time you change your diet significantly.  I also added up my calories and noticed that I was way too low.  So I ate and it helped. lol.  I'll take you through yesterday's menu. I'll add another post in which I will add some photos of how I made some of the items that I ate. I bet you're excited right about now. I do know that if I ate more protein I wouldn't be as hungry, I just struggle with that.  I'll get there.

 Whole wheat toast, 2 Tbl. Peanut butter, 1/2 of a 3" banana, and a glass of 1% milk.

Lunch was cottage cheese with mandarin oranges, salad with 1 Tbl. honey mustard dressing, and 3/4 of a fat tomato.  My dog got the other 1/4 because he thinks he needs to eat tomatoes with me.

I forgot snack time after breakfast, which made me feel sluggish and sick, so I did not forget after lunch.  I had 2 big strawberries, 1tsp sour cream, and 1 tsp. brown sugar. I actually only ended up eating half of the sour cream and sugar, but what you see on the plate is a tsp of each.  I think it's okay to have sugar in moderation- so I did.

Dinner looks funny, but it was delicious. I had my standard salad with my favorite honey mustard dressing and some crystal light to drink. The main course is actually spaghetti, but I substituted cabbage for noodles.  Looks weird, but really yummy.

Snack time and I was STARVING!  I had sugar-free chocolate pudding, made with 1% milk and 5 graham cracker sticks.  I was still hungry so I went back for 4 more crackers. 


Even with all this, I was still only at 1000 calories, so I did snack before bed, (so my blood sugar wouldn't drop over night). I had a string cheese and a serving of potato chips dipped in 1 Tbl sour cream.  I probably should have had an apple, but I just wanted something yummy.  Still only 1300 calories and my fasting Blood sugar when I woke up was only 95, so I think I did alright.