Kathleen
Read the latest report by David Mendosa on the research done in Prague, which shows that 2 meals a day are often better than the much vaunted 5 or 6 snacks.
A lunch suggestion that I make is: make a home-made burger from GOOD ground meat. Add all the trimmings, pickle, tomato and sauce and wrap in a lettuce leaf rather than a bun. delicious!
I personally have my [modest sized] main meal mid day if I can. [I'm retired so not bound by work schedules}
I find I have more control over my BG and weight than when eating a main meal in the evening.
I also use WHOLE milk, REAL cheese and butter. These are natural foods we've lived with for many generations. Unlike "Spread". I was a student when "Outline" was being developed as a low fat alternative to butter. One of my flatmates worked for the division of the multinational chemical company making it. [ I think it was Unilever!]
Those first samples were tested by us and tasted distinctly of SOAP. That I assume was the emulsifiers.
Nature does it so much better.
Hana
Kathleen,
I use Almond Breeze, UNSWEETEND Almond Milk Coconut Milk Blend. Its sold in the milk section in regular half gallon cartons. They have a few varieties, I think one is vanilla flavored... The unsweetened has 1 carb per cup so you can pretty much make your coffee as light as you want. Its lactose and soy free. To sweeten I use Stevia. I know people have different opinions on artificial sweeteners; I'm not saying its good or bad, just letting you know how I've gone about adjusting my morning coffee routine to accommodate my BS. Lastly I drink decaf, regular coffee spikes me, this doesn't happen to everyone but something to keep an eye out for.
Kathleen
I also use almond milk - there are several brands - personally I use Silk True Almond unsweetened vanilla as has net 0 carbs. Can take some getting used to & has a slightly nutty flavour but I like to make chai lattes with it & Stevia (I prefer natural products to artificial where I can). Also keep in mind that 1 cup of 35% cream has 8 g of carbs vs 1 cup of milk has 12 g - so in small amounts the difference is not that large...could also try lower % creams which would put carbs somewhere between milk & 35% cream
It appears a number of people have beat me to it. ALMOND MILK Kathleen, is the answer to the milk to the milk problem. Interestingly enough almond puts cow milk in the dirt when it comes to calcium. Also if you miss yogurt I have found a lo-carb alternative available at Fry's in Phoenix which is owned by Kroger a large nationwide grocery. The yogurt is called carbmaster. While its 4 grams of carb per serving is pure sugar (lactose), I can still work into any of my meals including breakfast.
Interesting discussion. There are a lot of nut milks out there, but I haven't had the courage to try them. I did try almond milk, but really didn't like it. And since I'm not lactose intolerant, there is really no reason for me to give up the milk I enjoy in my tea. I discovered I can't go true Bernstein, but on the other hand, I don't think he's wrong. So I try to do as best as I can, but when I fall off the wagon, I don't beat myself up about it.
Natalie - I think Bernstein is the 'ideal' and his book thus a good way to learn some basic principles, from which you can then figure out what works for you. And if you read his book he gives several egs of patients doing things that are not EXACTLY according to his ideals - but as he says it works for them and that is what is most important - ie to work with the patient. So much as some people may disagree I think he would be happy with your efforts! We're all human after all :)
Almond milk has more calcium than cow's milk because it's fortified with calcium. The type used is usually di or tricalcium phosphate which is the cheapest form & not utilized by our bodies, so don't look to almond milk for calcium. Greek yogurt has less carbs because it has a higher percentage of fat. I love it.
I LOVE Greek yogurt. And regular milk, too. And real butter on the whole wheat bread that I'm finding I need to eat a bit of to keep the bowels moving. I like butter on vegetables too, but I find it hard to eat vegetables. That's my biggest dietary problem, if I'm to be honest. I sort of envy people who love vegetables, because I've never liked them. I'm sure lousy cooking was what started the dislike, but I haven't been able to induce myself to eat much of them, even when I know they can be cooked to be tasty. I'll buy vegetables, intending to eat them, but somehow they just rot in the fridge, and I end up throwing them away. And canned veggies are not really very good, either. Gerri, can you wave a magic wand over me and cure me? LOL!!
If I could, I would:) I loved vegetables since I was a kid. Veggies were the first thing I ate on the plate. My mother cooked them perfectly, which helped. No mushy vegetables & we also ate lots of salads. Canned veggies--bleech! Do you like avocados? They have more fiber than whole wheat bread & a lot less carbs.
I happen to like almond milk. Have been thinking about trying coconut milk as a variation, but don't know a lot about it yet. I've used creamed coconut in baking a few times and it is seriously yummy.
Like you, Natalie, with a few exceptions, like tomatoes and fresh corn (which are too hi-carb for me now) and peas, I didn't grow up liking veggies much. Things like brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach were boiled until soggy. Found out I loved them when I moved to the West Coast in "76"!
Gerri, how lovely to see you here. I've missed you oodles. I adore avocados and am delighted that guacamole season is upon us!.....Be well all.....Judith
Judith,
I adore avocados, too! I don't like coconut milk, the kind that's a milk substitute. Really disappointing. It's thin & tasteless, nothing like canned coconut milk.
I'm a believer in NATURAL foods. I use Whole cows milk, but not huge quantities, becase it suits me and is also the best for my granchildren, who are often here. I avoid anything highly proessed. I buy fresh produce and cook.
I do love avocados. I serve with home made salad dressing. We eat several avodcados per week.Half each at a time.
Because T1 husband has multiple complications, We base our menus on veggies. A plateful of green beans and tomatoes with a small piece of grilled steak followed by a few strawberries with natural thick cream is a delicious luxury meal.
We have very little land, but I can grow a few lettuce, many Zucchini , in pots, and lots of runner beans. I also try to grow rarer veggies like Kohl Rabi, which is delicious and doesn't take much space. My hedges are intruder proof and yield blackberries. We don't eat a lot of fruit, but we can handle berries pretty well. Currently I'm pretty healthy and T1 has been told he no longer needs to consider dialysis as an immediate prospect. I'm hoping to stave it off by diet.
My wonderfood is Mushrooms. I use them in many recipes instead of meat and we love them too.
A lot of the time portion size is the real key. diabetics can eat ANYTHING if there's not too much of it. The safe portions may be tiny.
I have a single square of dark chocolate most evenings.
Hana
Hana
I use regular unsweetened almond milk for cooking and baking. I don't much care for it straight but it makes good tasting chocolate milk using cocoa powder and truvia.
I'm lucky I like veggies and salads, it would be hard for me to stick with the Dr. B program if I didn't. How they're cooked does make a huge difference. Brocolli cooked to mush isn't quite as appealing as broccoli in a stir fry or raw in a salad.
Wish I could wave a magic wand and make you like veggies Natalie!
True we can eat anything Hana, it's just that sometimes the quantities are vanishingly small:(
No, unlike most of the world, I don't like avocados. They taste slimy and mushy without much flavor to me, although I'm positive other people are getting something that they find delightful! I CAN eat beans, although even beans seem to have a high carb load for me, don't know why. I can do raw tomatoes, carrots, celery, and romaine or other kinds of lettuce; just don't usually want them. When I eat that stuff I feel like I'm having to force myself to eat, and it's not a pleasant feeling. I need to find a way to where it doesn't seem like such a burden. And I'm sorry to unload on you folks, but I'm in a place where diabetes sucks.
No surprise since beans are high carb. Need recipes for you that disguise veggies. Here's one:
Avocado Hummus 1/4 cup 2.4 carbs
1 large zucchini, peeled & cubed
1 avocado, cubed
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup toasted tahini
3 large garlic, minced
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp. cumin (I use more)
1 tsp. salt
In a food processor, combine zucchini, avocado, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, olive oil, cumin & salt. Refrigerate at least one hour prior to serving.
Put avocado in a smoothie, it makes it rich and creamy!
Gerri---the hummus sounds great. I had to look up Tahini, but I love foods from that part of the world, including "non-avocado hummus." I'm always happy to find new things to do with avocados...
Natalie--it's okay to unload. My D sucks at the moment, too--do everything right and still land the diabetes trifecta of crap is where I am at....Have you tried those little Belgian carrots---lightly steamed. They are slightly sweet and may help overcome your distaste. Or My hubby makes a really rich pea soup (with crème fraiche!) that is great hot or cold and with the natural sweetness that peas have....
Hope you like it. Tahini is delicious. I love sesame seeds.