McDonald's... In A Pinch

I try to avoid fast food. And I don't like eating in my car, but I have a bad habit of not eating while I'm out shopping and then I get too hungry. And getting too hungry leads to bad decisions.  So I often bring a Smartbun with me... just in case.

And today, I needed that "just in case" Smartbun.  I ran through McD's and ordered a triple cheeseburger with no bun and then just plopped it on my Smartbun.

I had a fast, $3 lunch (including my Diet Coke), with about 5 net carbs.

(Another option would be to buy 1/4 lb of lunch meat while you're shopping and grab a couple packets if mustard/mayo deli's usually put out and voila... instant Smartbun deli sandwich.)

Peanut Butter Drizzle Topping

After some trial and error, I've finally got down how to make peanut butter drizzle and its really easy.  The amounts listed make enough to drizzle about 8-10 cookies.  It's also really good on ice cream and other desserts.  I've been know to drizzle this in my glass for a PB & Chocolate martini too.

Put 2 Tbsp (32g) peanut butter in a small glass bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp refined coconut oil (refined has no coconut taste).  Heat in the microwave for 15 seconds on 50% power.  Stir really well.  If it's too thick to drizzle stir in another 1/4 tsp coconut oil.  You want it just drizzle-able.

After you drizzle, put in the fridge for a few minutes to set up if you want it to firm up a bit. This is an easy way to dress up simple cookies.

Roast Beef & Egg Cups. And Mary Poppins.

A few days ago I took the kids to see Mary Poppins Returns, so we decided to watch the original Mary Poppins tonight.  It's a long movie so we started it and paused half way through to make dinner.

While my husband checked Samuel's sugar and got his shot ready, I started pulling leftovers out of the fridge.  I decided to make lunchmeat egg cups so I got my toaster oven preheating. Just line a cupcake pan with lunchmeat to make a cup shape- I often use ham or turkey, but roast beef is what I had on hand tonight.  Crack in an egg, season with salt and pepper and bake at 375° for about 15 minutes or until the egg is as set as you want.  The edges of the lunchmeat will be nice and crispy.

Samuel's prebolus is about 20-25 minutes, so this was started and finished within that time.

Now, everyone back to the movie...  spit spot!  😉

Low carb... The Tables Are Turning

I usually cringe at most diabetes magazines.  They're loaded with typical "eat whatever you want - you'll be fine" mentality.  I was pleasantly surprised by this recent article in Diabetes Forecast stating a low carb, even ketogenic, diet for diabetes control may be a smart way to go.

A few years ago people thought following a low carb diet was going to cause the sky to fall and it was most definitely a fad - all the while often not realizing that low carb was THE way doctors treated Type 1 diabetes before insulin and even up until about 20 years ago. It's been around for well over a century and to my knowledge the sky hasn't fallen once! It's only been since the development of fast-acting insulin that the medical mindset changed [for the worse in my opinion].

We've been low carb for 6 of Samuel's 7 years as a Type 1 diabetic and would never, ever consider go back to high carb.  We've been down that road and it took us several years to undo the damage it did.

One note I want to make is that the article mentions high fat, moderate protein which a lot of keto folks do.  However, more science-based low carb/keto diets are moderate fat, higher protein, which is the model we follow and has given Samuel fantastic growth.

Link to the full article...

http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2019/01-jan-feb/what-you-need-to-know-about.html#.XCVpnQddw84.link

Sandwich Kick

We've been on a low carb sandwich kick lately - they're fast, easy, and delicious. 

My workload at work ebbs and flows - sometimes it's really light and other times, like now, I can work 60+ hours a week and still be behind.  Sometimes I need easy, consistent meals out of necessity and sandwiches fit the bill.  When I have more time, they'll get snazzier meals.

I've been making a new bread for the kids that is dairy-free for Samuel's Hashimoto's, so they eat their sandwiches in that.  Sides are usually easy things like raw veggies or sauteed "apples" or sweet & salty brussel sprouts that I make in big batches. (Note: Samuel can only do a small amount of peas at lunch; they don't work at dinner.)

The half sandwiches pictured are my meals on half a Smartbun - quite a bit smaller than the kids (because I'm less active and obviously not growing).

Hashimoto's Diagnosis

I've been a little quiet for the past week because our family has been absorbing a new diagnosis for Samuel.  Last week he was officially diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Disease (Hashi's for short).  It's another autoimmune disease, like Type 1 Diabetes, where your body attacks healthy cells, but in the thyroid instead of the pancreas.  It's fairly common for it to happen to T1 diabetics because their immune system's wires are already crossed, so to speak. Fortunately we caught this in it's early stages.

The good news is that there are some known foods and chemicals that can trigger the antibodies to form and attack, so we're adjusting our diet even more to help with his Hashi's. We already avoid most of the food triggers because they overlap/complement our low carb method of treating T1 diabetes, with the exception of dairy.  Dairy is the #2 biggest Hashi's food trigger, so this will be an adjustment for us.  At this point we're doing so cautiously as we learn because dairy, like for most people, is our main source for calcium.

We're in the beginning phases of research so I don't claim to be an expert by any means.  But we will take the same approach with Hashi's as we do with his T1 diabetes... and that is to provide the very best care based on science and common sense... not necessarily what mainstream medicine has taught for decades.  If we can avoid cell damage by avoiding certain foods/chemicals, we will.  If and when we have to switch to hormone medicines, we will.  Our goal will be to achieve thyroid levels within normal ranges, or preferably, optimal thyroid ranges.  We will adjust whatever necessary, as a family, to ensure he stays happy, healthy and thriving. 

Many future recipe posts will likely be dairy free (DF).  I've been in the process this past week of looking for new recipes (why reinvent the wheel!) as well as converting some of mine to DF.  As I learn more about this disease, along with how it affects our T1 diabetes care, I will be sure to post updates.

For those interesting in learning more about Hashimoto's here is a link to a doctor who came most recommended to me from trusted T1 diabetic / Hashimoto friends:

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/hashimotos-and-thyroid-antibodies/