The other day I found a spiral notebook full of menus and recipes which was published by the American Diabetes Association. The name of the book is Month of Meals. I told Ellen about it on Sunday. It turns out she is the one who gave it to me, ... a long time ago. I am finally using it now Ellen, and I really like it. I now understand how to use it, thanks in part to the diabetes management class Doug and I took in Wichita. The menus, which include 3 meals a day for 30 days, are written for 1200, 1500 and 1800 calorie diets. Yes, rest assured, if you are diagnosed then you will be counting calories. That is no big deal if someone shows you the easy way to do it. The dietitian in Wichita did just that.
I have used some of the recipes from the notebook and they turned out well. The ones I have used are vegetarian. I made a lentil loaf, which is similar to a meat loaf. I did not serve it to Doug because he doesn't like meat loaf. I liked it, however, and I will make it often for me. I did make black bean soup for both of us. Doug liked it, in fact, it is what's for supper tonight. The next recipe I want to try is cauliflower cheese soup. A recipe for stuffed vegetarian peppers also caught my eye.
Most of the recipes are not vegetarian. I might make chicken ratatouille for Doug sometime. That dish has zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant in it. For breakfast, Doug can have creamed chipped beef over toast. I thought that would be off limits. Not so, but portion control is important no matter what is served. The dietitian said that only solid protein counts for a diabetic, not liquid protein. Therefore, Doug can not count a glass of milk for breakfast as a protein. He must have an egg, bacon or some other solid protein plus a couple of carbs.
Doug and I have stuck to the plans our dietitian designed for us when we were in Wichita. It has not been too difficult yet. I am on a 1200 calorie diet. You would think the pounds would fall off of me. So far I have lost half a pound. I feel good though. I guess that is the important thing.
I am glad that I discovered the Month of Menus Ellen gave us. It has helped me to plan meals and shop for groceries. Thanks Ellen. I am also happy that we attended the class in Wichita. I think Doug and I are both healthier because we went.
Getting physical
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Training sessions have been going really well these past few weeks. I
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12 years ago
3 comments:
You sound very enthusiastic about your new meal plans, Honor. I'm happy for you and proud of you for taking on this challenge with an open mind and determination.
The meals you are planning sound delicious -- flavorful and nutritious. Yay!
This reminds me -- I don't know why -- of a Chef Boyardee commercial I saw this weekend. It's an advertisement for the Chef's famous canned pasta, except now the pasta is made with whole grains.
In the commercial, the parents are bickering about whether or not to tell the kids that the pasta they're enjoying is made from whole grains. The dad says, "What's the big deal?" while the mom tells him to zip it because she's worried the kids will stop liking the food when they find out it's healthy. (Well, healthier.)
Frankly, it seems a little counterintuitive to disguise the fact that healthy food can also taste good. Isn't that part of the problem? We should be teaching kids (and ourselves) that healthy food can (and often does) taste GOOD.
C'mon, Chef Boyardee, you're such a doofus.
Honor I admire all those vegetables that you eat. Eggplant and stuff. I would rather drink vegetable juice. I've looked at mediterranean recipes, they do'nt eat a lot of meat. Do you do carb counting?
We use calorie points, Carol. That's what the dietitian , Susan, in Wichita uses. 75-100 calories is equal to 1 point. Susan gave us a book with a list of food and the number of points each food is worth. We choose what to eat from the list. I can have 31/2 points for breakfast. The meals in the spiral notebook fit with the diet plan Susan gave us.
Katie, I think you are right about promoting healthy eating. I think the schools are staring to do this. It is a hard concept to teach a nation that craves fat, sugar and salt. I feel good about the information we learned in class. I am glad you like Wichita, Katie. I hope your first day of teaching went well.
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