At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely
Golly … I can’t believe I started this blog about three weeks ago and I still haven’t finalized and posted it. We've had beautiful weather here for some time so I'm guessing this was written just after we arrived back in the Pacific NW. It's one of my back-up blogs when we've just been way busier than we should be. Here it is.
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When the weather is nasty it’s not even fun going out to eat because you actually have to go outside to do that. So, we have stuck around pretty much. One thing we have discovered is that 
sometimes eating in tastes better than eating out. At least it has around here. You get your food just like you like it most of the time. After all, you’re the cook so you know what you like. It’s usually seasoned perfectly …. because it’s just like you like it too.
sometimes eating in tastes better than eating out. At least it has around here. You get your food just like you like it most of the time. After all, you’re the cook so you know what you like. It’s usually seasoned perfectly …. because it’s just like you like it too.Speaking of food – and we usually are often – Terry is a diabetic. He’s the one who usually ate three or four desserts, filled up on bread and then gulped down his favorite foods which were white potatoes and pasta. Folks who know him know a lot about his eating habits. They’ve seen him down three and four helpings of bread pudding for dessert. Well, in January it finally caught up with him and he had to change. He has discovered all kinds of things in his system changed when his eating habits changed. Mostly they change for the good.
He has given up spiking carbs including most desserts most times. As a diabetic the carbs he’s concerned with are the ones that cause his blood sugar to spike. We have been testing for those spikes. White potatoes for dinner have been replaced by butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Brown sugar topping has been replaced by Splendid mixture with butter and the list of changes goes on.We have discovered a few low carb foods that don’t cause spikes and fill slots left open by foods we used to eat that did. For example regular pasta has been replaced by Dreamfields Pasta. Dreamfields advertise this pasta has having a net of 5 grams of carbs. Other pastas have about 40 grams of carbs. The key is digestible carbs. At first we doubted. However, after trying and then testing for blood sugar spikes, we no longer doubt. There were no spikes in blood sugar.
This is what we have found out ----- net carbs = total carb grams - fiber grams - sugar alcohol.
Some people subtract half of the sugar alcohol grams. Some people subtract all of it. Some people only subtract fiber. It really depends on how your body reacts to sugar alcohols and all the other "non-digestible" chemicals they toss into those products
Another food item we’ve replaced is bread. Breads can be really, really bad. We have a new bread. It’s Sara Lee’s 100% whole wheat with honey. Two slices of bread contain 14g of carbs and one slice is only 7g. Don’t forget to subtract out the dietary fiber which would leave one slice of bread with 5g of carbs!! Compare that to the bread you currently have. Actually, it’s really good bread too. We use it for sandwiches and even for
French toast.I did say French toast and we do eat it with syrup. It’s not regular syrup but low carb sugar. There are several syrups with low carbs. The one we bought was I Hop low carb syrup. However, there are others that might have even lower carbs. We just haven't checked them all out yet.
Terry loved pancakes. Pancakes was one of the food items that came right off his food intake list. However, we have discovered Adkins has a pancake mix we have yet to try. Tammi has ordered some of the pancake mix for us and when it arrives, we'll going to put it to the test. The carbs: Well, according to the package it only has 5g net carbs. We have yet to 
test the sugar spike but we will. Terry will get out his little blood sugar tester and test it before he eats, an hour later and then two hours after that. That just about does it.
test the sugar spike but we will. Terry will get out his little blood sugar tester and test it before he eats, an hour later and then two hours after that. That just about does it.Obviously our food items have changed. Terry’s been concentrating on protein and low carb green vegetables. It’s been like a miracle to his system. We’re continuing to test for sugar spikes and getting educated at the same time. Eating at home has been easier and with all the other changes we’ve been able to add items back in that we first took out of the diet.
Reading labels of products happens more often now . It’s amazing how much we’ve learned about foods. It’s certainly been an education.
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Check out the dessert that Sabrina fixed. It’s a cheesecake in a strawberry. Obviously there are carbs in cheesecake but by eliminating the graham cracker crust you do cut those down.
~ I bet you can’t eat just one??!! ~
‘Tis life on the road.
That is so awesome that Terry has made all those changes and that he is getting such great results.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the formula net carbs = total carb grams - fiber grams - sugar alcohol. Carbs are my big problem also. I never knew how to calculate what the final number really is. I think I can remember this when grocery shopping.
Also, I actually have to Google sugar alcohols. I am not sure what those actually are.
I think everyone calculates differently. With Terry the most important thing is that the blood sugar doesn't spike. At least we can test it. I think too much sugar alcohol isn't good either so we still watch the sugar alcohol. Some just deduct. I'm not quite comfortable with that.
ReplyDeleteWe just came from the doctor's. We are both perfect!!
ReplyDeleteI loved the part in your blog about "sometimes" things cooked at home taste better. I think it is most of the time.
Way to go Terry! I'm still seldom eating bread, rice, or pasta, but found I can add baked and mashed potatoes back in which made me happy as a clam. :)
ReplyDeleteWe continue to struggle with the diabetic food choices. Russ did really well at first but after so many years of dealing with it, we have both gotten sloppy. We ignore sugar alcohol, hasn't seemed to have much effect for Russ. Exercise makes a big impact on his blood sugar.
ReplyDeleteThose strawberries sure look good.
Great posting. Especially Bea is gonna love it.
ReplyDeleteGreat informative posting, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete"Bea's gonna love it!" Well, yes I do!
ReplyDeleteI am glad for you that you are finding ways to keep those spikes down. Thanks for sharing your results with us.
But isn't it sad that one has to get sick first to get aware of "modern" eating habits are not at all healthy.
I am declined to say that it is really necessary to start thinking about what you eat.
There is a saying I like because there is something to it: You are what you eat.
We, or rather I, am trying to get away from the "bad" carbs and food that is high in cholesterol.
Blogging about our "dinner" helped me to realize our bad habits.
But it would be easier if both of us would pull in the same direction.
Here I go and struggle - there comes Peter and bakes a strawberry shortbread cake! Ugh.
Jim is still doing really good (most days). I don't try to calculate too much - we just add something to the diet and if his sugar goes up we don't do it again. He's staying around 90 - 120. That's compared to the 250 -300 or more than we used to deal with. I am so proud of our guys. And us, too, because you and I are the ones doing the watching.
ReplyDeleteGood job Terry (and Jeri!!)
ReplyDeleteLife in the fast lane? Good thing you're slowing down and reading the labels.
ReplyDeleteYou are dealing with this challenge very well, Terry is worth the effort! ;c)
It truly is an education isn't it. But a very important one for sure. I was boondocking with you guys in January (I think it was ??) when Terry wasn't feeling well enough to even come outside.
ReplyDeleteThe extra effort to monitor and read those labels is sure worth it.