Day of Stress Take 2

You know that stress that comes when your child announces that they have a choir concert in 1 hour, and you have other commitments, and the family hasn't eaten yet, and you have already had a full day? Yeah, that stress. Now add to that diabetes and the inability to skip dinner. Ah - you see the dilemma. Luckily everything worked out- except dinner.  I got some dinner on the table, but I used convenience products.  Often when you do that, you trade nutrition for easy. My sugar levels were at 156 two hours after dinner.  That is really high for me. So my goal in the coming days will be to come up with some FAST and HEALTHY diabetic friendly meal plans.

Until then, here is what I ate yesterday. :)

Cold cereal for breakfast. I had it with Almond milk. This has more sugar and carbs than cheerios, but my sugars were still low later, so it was fine.

In fact, my sugars were at 85, so I had a snack.  I kept looking for what I wanted and then found an apple.  I was so excited.  Strange, once again I passed on chocolate, caramel and chips.  Just not appealing any more.

For lunch I added cheese to left-over smashed potatoes and some sour cream.  It was delicious.  I should have added some protein and veggies, but I didn't.  Sugar levels were 79 two hours later.  That is too low.  At this point I should have had a snack, but I got busy and it was close to dinner.  This is not a smart move on my part- but it is the reality of what I did.

Dinner was a hot BBQ chicken sandwich, which yes, did kill my sugar levels. I also had strawberries and salad.  No dressing. I couldn't find one that I felt like eating and I was in a rush, so I ate it plain.

My sugar levels were high, so I couldn't really have a snack, but I was super hungry.  I opted for protein. Some shaved turkey and cheddar cheese. 

Shakes and Potatoes

Seriously, these potatoes are the best I have had in a very very long time, and there isn't a drop of butter on them.  Yum.  The shake, it is a protein shake, but it is delicious, and my own special twist.  Keeps my blood sugar levels down and me full for a very long time.

Okay, the shake first.

This is so easy, that it isn't really a recipe.  The Attain, is a Meleluca Product.  It is designed for weight loss, and as full as it keeps me, I imagine it does a really good job.  I am not supposed to be losing weight right now, but I really don't like breakfast, so I compromised.  I looked at the ingredients on the back of the Attain, and guess what? I know what they are, and they all come from FOOD.  Not chemicals- food!  So I use I powder scoop and 1 banana and 1 cup of chocolate silk, (I'm not losing- remember). I add these to a blender and and add 1 cup of crushed ice.  I blend it all up.  It makes 2 and 1/2 servings.  I give the 1/2 to my kiddo, and I eat 2 servings.  Yup, I really do.  It is still only 360 calories for the entire shake, so my share of the calories is about 280.  If you are interested in the Attain- I can get it for you. You can learn more about the company here.

Now for the potatoes.

Clean and boil some red potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are soft inside.

You need some yummy tasting Olive Oil.  Get the good stuff, first cold press, extra virgin.  It isn't much more money, but it is a much better taste.

spread around on your pan.

You will need salt, pepper and your favorite spice. You can use rosemary, basil, garlic, or anything you like.  Lemon pepper would be super yummy.  I used chives.

When the potatoes are fork soft, pull them out of the pan and dry them on a towel. Then put them on the olive oiled pan and smash them.  Yup, grab a cup or potato masher or strong spatula and give 'em a smash.  Ahhhhhh see all the money you save on therapy by cooking?

Once smashed, sprinkle with salt, pepper and your spices. Bake in a 450 degree oven for about 20 min.  They are done when they are brown and crispy.

I forgot to take a picture on the pan, but here they are scooped up into a bowl.  You can serve with a little sour cream, but keep butter away from these babies.  They taste fabulous without. Plus, this was you can tell yourself how healthy they really are because you used a healthy fat on them.  ha ha --- watch your portion sizes.  lol

Back to the Log

So you have probably noticed that I don't log my weekend meals.  I'm just too busy.  Also, I am not a vigilant on the weekends.  I have noticed that the new way of eating is becoming part of me though.  I tend to automatically add fruit and whipped topping to my pancakes instead of syrup. My husband made me a fabulous stir-fry for Mother's Day dinner.  It was great.  It was loaded with veggies and a New York Strip steak.  Since my iron is also low, this turned out to be a great meal for me.  I am automatically reducing my portion sizes. This is becoming a way of life, and that is good.

One big surprise to me is the almond milk.  Ummm. . . I like it better than milk.  I never thought I would say that.  It was nice because I thought I was going to have to "make do" and give up something I liked.  Turns out I like the alternative as well or more.  How often does that happen?  Maybe my tastes are changing.  I don't really care about the reason.  I'm just happy that it's the case. :)

Okay, yesterday's meal log; because you have been waiting on pins and needles, right?

This is a protein shake. I used a product called Attain from Melaluca.  If you have never heard of it, I will do a post about it later today. Done, use protein shake link. Suffice it to say, it was delicious, and kept me full for hours.  It also kept my blood sugars under control.  I am not trying to lose weight, so I made it into a shake with a banana and some Chocolate soy milk.  I'll post the recipe later.

What I used to make my shake. :)

Lunch was whole wheat bread with a small Spanish omelet on top, cottage cheese with mandarin oranges and left-over cole slaw from the other night.

My sugars were really really low in the afternoon yesterday. As in, 72.  That is low.  So I had a mango.  In the past I would have said, fabulous! Now I can have chocolate!  But I wanted the mango. I think it was a lot more satisfying too.

This is what my husband had for dinner.  Ribs, potatoes, and biscuit.  I know there is no green.  He is a grown man, I do not tell him how to eat. lol

This is my dinner.  I had left-over BBQ chicken with 2 Tbl BBQ sauce, over - you guessed it- cabbage.  I also had some potatoes.  I will post the recipe soon.  Done. These are AWESOME and there isn't a spot of butter on them, just olive oil. mmmnnnn.  I did add a little sour cream.  About 1 Tbl. Diabetics can have funny things.  Sour Cream is okay, in moderation, and even helpful to items like potatoes, because the fat slows the sugar absorption.  Weird, huh?

Okay, I only had one.  I shouldn't have had any.  But I did.  My sugar levels 2 hours later were a tiny bit high at 125, but that is high on the acceptable end, so it was fine. Still, I shouldn't have had one.

I do want chocolate milk. But I know it's not always the best choice.  This is 1/2 Soy chocolate milk, and 1/2 almond milk.  Delicious.  I admit, I had another glass of soy chocolate milk, straight- but only 1/2 glass. :) Sugar levels were at 95 this morning - fasting.  So a tiny bit high, but still in the acceptable range.  Tonight, only the 1/2 and 1/2 mixture.