The Answer to My Travel Breakfast Problem: Egg Muffins

Larysa at Self Magazine posted the basis for this recipe on Facebook for a lunch idea.


But I'm driving for three days, starting Sunday morning, taking my son to get him settled in college. Although I'm staying in hotels that provide a free breakfast, I won't be able to eat them on my diet. My son will, though! I was wondering how I was going to handle breakfasts on the road.







I'll make some of Larysa's Egg Muffins (with eggbeaters and a few of my own touches) and pack them in a cooler to take. Since I'm flying back, I'll take a collapsible cooler, and maybe just leave it with my son. He may be able to use it at school.


Pour one small carton of eggbeaters into a bowl and add

• 1/2 cup of asparagus or broccoli
• 1/2 cup low fat shredded cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• Crumbled turkey bacon if desired

Pour into 12 muffin tins (I'm not really sure how much this recipe will make) and bake at 350 for 20 mins.

Grilled Chicken Salad

I love this grilled Chicken Salad recipe from Diabetic Gourmet! I made a few comments . . .


Mayo-Free Chicken Salad

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound baked or grilled chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano (or fresh if you have it!)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon (I might use lime)
• 1 2.2-ounce can (1/2 cup) black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp. tiny capers, well-rinsed and drained (Yum, yum)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup thin green beans, cooked, drained, and cooled
• Romaine lettuce leaves, for serving bed (whole wheat pita bread for sandwiches optional) (Nope. Don't do bread)
• 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl and combine with oil, oregano and lemon juice. Let stand for about 1 hour.
2. Toss the chicken mix with olives, capers, tomatoes and green beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Arrange the salad on the romaine leaves. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. This recipe would also work on whole-wheat pita bread.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
240 calories
12 g total fat
2 g saturated fat
6 g carbohydrate
27 g protein
2 g dietary fiber
280 mg sodium

Healthy Snacks . . . and Tea . . .

Real Age reports this week that the best snacks for staying slim are nuts and low fat yogurt  (both on my diet).  And that WHAT you eat matters more than HOW MUCH you eat.  Good news.



A related article states that drinking green tea helps you lose weight. Well, we've all heard this before, and whenever I hear it, I want to ask, "What about black tea?"  I really like black tea better than green tea . . .  So, the article goes on to say that they think the active ingredients are Catechins.





Hummm. I looked them up, and found an article that states that good sources of Catechins are tea, chocolate, red wine, apples, and berries.  It also included this chart.   Yea. I'd rather drink two cups of black tea than one of green.  Yup. That should work!  (Note:  I do eat chocolate that I prepare myself--will soon be posting my recipe, but currently not beans, any fruits except cherries, or cider.  The rest work for me!)

http://flavo.vtt.fi/catechins.htm

Adobo Chicken with Bok Choy

You'll either love or hate this recipe. My hubby doesn't like it. My son loves it. I really like it too. It's the vinegar . . . good for you & a great dish if you're one of the ones who likes it . . . the vinegar tenderizes the chicken and is supposed to help your glocose levels. I'm testing it out . . .

• 4 cups water
• 4 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into large bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 cup garlic vinegar
• 2 Tb. paprika
• 3 Tb black peppercorns
• 1 Tb coarse ground black pepper
• 2 minced garlic
• sparce Tb pickling spices
• 4 bay leaves
• Baby Bok Choy

Comine all in heavy covered pan.  Liquid should cover other ingredients.  Cook on low for three-four hours.  Chicken should almost fall apart.

About fifteen minutes before the dish is taken off the stove, lay the Bok Choy on top of other ingedients.  Replace lid and finish cooking.

Cut up chicken

Cut up onions



Peppercorns





Paprika



]

Coarse Ground Pepper

Pickling Spice

Bay leaves

Minced Garlic

Vinegar to Lower Blood Sugar

I've just read an article on the Diabetes Self Management blog that recommends vinegar before each meal and at bedtime to improve blood glucose readings. I'm going to try it!  I remember my mother drinking vinegar and honey to try to lose weight. I won't be adding honey . . .  but some other suggestions are listed below.  


One other thing.  Balsamic vinegar contains a lot of sugar. Never suspected that.  No more balsamic vinegar in my pantry!  One reader commented that it also lowers blood sugar, which will be good for some people and a problem for others.  Also someone suggested drinking it with a straw to protect your tooth enamel.


Mix vinegar with a sweetener that works for you and serve it with cucumbers.


Filipijo Adobo meat (I'll only use this for chicken, since I don't eat beef or pork). The vinegar breaks down the toughest of meats Mix one part water with one part vinegar or two parts water to one part vinegar for a weaker taste.  Cover your meat.  Add whole peppercorns and a bay leaf into the pot and maybe pickling spice. Then, just boil your meat slowly. It will be very tender. 


Sekajuban (spelling varies). It’s a wonderful Islamic or Persian drink that is extremely tasty and refreshing, replaces electrolytes, and calms nausea. It's said to make you feel cooler and encourages you to drink more water.


Dissolve your chosen sweetener  (The recipe I've seen calls for 4 cups!) in 2 1/2 cups of water and boil. When boiling, add one cup of wine vinegar. Simmer for one half hour and add a handful of mint.  Remove from the fire and pour through cheesecloth to remove the mint. Let it cool and serve with ice.  You know, this isn't all that different than a ojito, except you're adding vinegar instead of lime and leaving out the rum . .. 

List of Veggies that Diabetics Can Eat in Unlimited Quantities

This list is posted on DiabeticConnect.


Amaranth or Chinese spinach
Artichoke
Artichoke hearts
Asparagus
Baby corn
Bamboo shoots
Beans (green, wax, Italian)
Bean sprouts
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage (green, bok choy, Chinese)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chayote
Coleslaw (packaged, no dressing)
Cucumber
Daikon
Eggplant
Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
Hearts of palm
Jicama
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Pea pods
Peppers
Radishes
Rutabaga
Salad greens (chicory, endive, escarole, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
Sprouts
Squash (cushaw, summer, crookneck, zucchini)
Sugar snap peas
Swiss chard
Tomato
Turnips
Water chestnuts
Yard-long beans

Coming Out of the Diabetic Closet

I'm changing the name of my blog and admitting to the world that I'm a diabetic.  I'm struggling with losing weight, finding out what I can eat to keep my blood sugar down, and still have a wonderful, exciting life. 


So far, the wonderful exciting life part is doing better than the keeping my blood sugar down part, but I have lost 20 lbs so far!


I think I'm going to buy a dehydrator and start making bread and cracker-like foods from veggies . . . as soon as I get my son off to college and get back from vacation.  I'm going to be very busy for a few weeks, so you might not see a lot of action out here at first, but I'll be bbbbbbbbaaaaaaaccccccckkkkk!

Coming out of the Diabetic Closet

Disclosure:  My husband says if I tell people I have Diabetes, they'll picture an overweight woman who eats candy all day. That's because he knows women at work who fit that description.  So . . .  although I think many of us DO NOT fit that description, and since I'm looking for a job, I am not posting my name at this time.  I don't want the fact that I am a diabetic popping up on Google, so, I guess I kind of still am in the closet. What do you think about that? How have you handled your identity as a Diabetic?