Tuesday, December 28, 2010

'date' squares

Did you know that dates have a glycemic index higher than sugar? Yup, they clock in at 103. Which means that they can be used to fix a low really fast.  That being said, I am named for dates, (Tamara is the palm tree of dates: it's biblical) and I do love them, I used to particularly love date squares, the 'carré aux dattes' however, dates are about 16g carb each so the carbs add up fast.  I have found a good substitue for my version of date squares, I either use a blend of dried fruit which I soak in boiling water and purée, or, I use baby food: the fastest solution and tatiest option yet!

 

'Date' Squares
Base and topping
- 1/2 cup Robin Hood Nutriflour  44g carbs
 - 1/2cup soy flour 23g carbs
- 1 cup rolled oats 56g carb
- 2/3 cup splenda or stevia  (16g carbs for splenda -0g for stevia)
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/3 cup canola oil(that's 5 Tbsp so 5 portions of fat, I count as 48g Fat)
-1 Tbsp honey 16g carb

Filling
2 and 1/2 small jars of prune baby food (I like the president's choice organic prune and pear) 60g carb

1. pre-heat oven to 350F
2. spray a 9''x9'' baking pan
3. combine all the dry ingredients until crumbly
4. press half of this into the pan
5. spread the filling
6. sprinkle the other half of the mix on top (squeezing to form clumps)

bake for 25min until golden
Total carb count: 215g carb and 48g fat


I cut into about 25squares (that's 9g carb per quare; I eat 2 as a portion)  Serve cool.
I love this recipe, so delicious!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

french toast!

So, now that I have that delicious FREEEEEEEEE maple-ish syrup, from walden farms, I decided to go for french toast.  Surprisingly awesome!  I even went decadent and tried it stuffed!

I'm posting both recipes below

Low Carb French Toast
2 slices st method no sugar /no fat added multigrain bread 24g carb
1/3 cup egg whites (or 1 egg) protein
1/2 cup almond milk 1g carb and 1g fat
 2 TBSP Splenda 3g carb
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
dash salt

In a shallow bowl, use a fork to beat together all the ingredients except the bread
Spray a large nonstick pan with PAM
Heat on med-hi until hot (and water sprinkled sizzles)
Thoroughly dip/soak the bread in the egg mixture then place in frying pan
Flip once side is brown (about 4 minutes)

Serve with walden farm maple syrup or low carb jam
Total carb: 30g for 2 slices

OR, be decadent and first, make a sandwich by smearing the bread with 1 Tbsp fat free cream cheese 1g carb followed by 1 generous tsp of jam in the middle of the 'sandwich' that's o carb for Walden farms apple butter jam or 5g carb for any regular sugfar free jam
Soak both sides of the sandshich in the french toast egg batter then fry up and flip as above

This becomes creamy melty deliciousness and the entire sandwich is 36 g of carbs
IT'S LIKE HAVING CAKE FOR BREAKFAST!

Enjoy!!!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

pancakes for breakfast, yay!!!!

As any carb watcher, dieter, or diabetic knows, pancakes are a minefield of forbidden delights.  But not for me!!!!  I focus on the protein without sacrificing the deliciousness.  My baby likes these too, though his are doused with real maple syrup and mine are with carb free maple "flavored" syrup, but it's all good!

Ricotta is smooth cottage cheese.  I've already taken the hand held blender to regular low fat cottage cheese in order to 'ricotta-size' it.  My favorite Ricotta is the light Saputo.  It's 5% MF, 2g carb per 4 tbsp and very creamy.  Also like the President Choice Light offering available at Loblaws and Provigo, because of creaminess.  Same carb count.  For this recipe you can use low fat ricotta for the entire 1 cup or you can go 3/4cup ricotta +1/4 cup sour cream (which I think gives the tastiest results) 


Ricotta Pancakes
1 cup low fat ricotta 8g carb and the rest counts as protein
(or 3/4cup ricotta + 1/4 cup sour cream)
1/2 cup rolled oats 27g carbs
2 eggs or 4 egg whites protein
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

whip the whole thing in a blender until smooth

Then, spray a non-stick frying pan with PAM and heat on med-high until sprinkled water sizzles.
  Drop pancakes into the hot pan by the tablespoon: 2 tbsp per pancake.  Flip them when edges are golden

So good!

You should get about 8 pancakes.  and it's 4 pancakes per serving.  I like to drizzle mine with Walden Farms pancake syrup which is carb FREE!!!!!

So, half this recipe plus syrup has a grand total of 18g carb, count it as 24g if you drench them

How's that for low carb yumminess

Enjoy!!!!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

thanksgiving themed baking -Diabetic friendly pumpkin pie!

So it was holiday monday, and I decided to bake a pumpkin pie!
Sugar pumpkins have started to be sold everywhere: these are the small very round pumpkins.

Pumpkin is quite easy to prepare and so tasty!
SO,
preparing the pumpkin:
Cut in half
place cut side down onto a sprayed baking pan
bake for about 40 minutes in oven at 350F until soft to the touch
then scoop out the strings and seeds
Then scoop out the pumpkin flesh.  Puree and serve as a side dish, OR bake a pie!!!!!

Or you can be lazy and pierce it and microwave it until soft (about 7-8minutes) or buy pure pumpkin puree (unsweetened)

Ginger crust
1/2cup Robin Hood Nutri flour 44g Carb
1/2 cup rolled oats 27g Carb
1tsp ground ginger (or 1tbsp fresh)
3 Tbsp light butter - cold and cut into cube/chunks 27gFat
1tbsp Splenda brown sugar 12gCarb

1beaten egg (you will use less than half of this to brush the pie crust before baking, the rest will go into the pumpkin filling)

Combine all the ingredients except egg, and rub with fingers until meally.  Form into a ball (you may need to drizzle with 1-2 tbsp of ice cold water)
Press into a sprayed 9'' pie pan
 brush with beaten egg
Bake at 350F for 10 min until golden

Pumpkin Filling
2 cups pureed pumpkin 25gcarb
3/4cup skim milk 9gcarb
1Tbsp skim milk powder 4gCarb
3/4cup splenda 18gcarb
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
1/4tsp nutmeg
2 eggs beaten (one of which is leftover from crust)

Beat pumpkin puree with milk and milk powder.  Add eggs and spices and beat until  smooth.  Pour into pie crust.  Bake at 350F for 45min until firm.  Allow to cool then refridgerate

Serve with dollop (about 1 tbsp Cool Whip)
So good!!!!
The whole pie clocks in at 139g carb and 27g fat.  You can be a little bit of a piggy and cut into 6 very generous slices of 23g carb each and about5g Fat.  The tbsp of cool whip adds about 1g carb

Delicious!!!


Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Carrots and baking for 2 types of eaters!!!

Last week we went grocery shopping and they had these massive bags of carrots, onions, and beets.  All looked so good we bought one of each.

I was inspired to bake carrot muffins.  It occurs to me that in the future will need to bake with sugar so the baby can eat it too.  I have a plan though! I will buy 2 brand new identical bowls.  I will mix the recipe without any sweetener of any kind.  Then I will weigh the empty bowl and hit zero on my scale, then I will put the bowl filled with batter on the scale (because of the bowl switcheroo, now my scale will show only the weight of the batter).  I will then remove a third of the batter.  THEN, I will sweeten the larger portion with raw sugar (for my husband and baby) and I will sweeten my portion with splenda.  SO, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar (which is 16 TBSP), my portion will be 5Tbsp + 1tsp of Splenda, and their portion will be 10Tbsp + 2tsp of sugar.
Sounds good in theory, but we'll see...

OK, so I baked Carrot muffins!  Normally I use pineapple chunks, but didn't have any so added a grated apple instead (the bruised apple in my fridge got a chance to shine!).

Carrot Muffins
The wet ingredients:
2 eggs  protein
1/2 cup canola oil  8 portions of fat
1/2cup unsweet vanilla almond milk  1g carb
1tsp vanilla

The fruits & veggies:
1 small apple peeled and grated 15g carb
1 cup grated carrots (basically 1 big fat carrot) 15g carb

The dry ingredients (sift these together):
1 cup Robin Hood nutri flour 88g carbs
1/4 cup soy flour 11g carb
1/4 cup rolled oats 13g carb
1 cup Splenda 24g carb
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with Pam and set aside.  In a large bowl, beat eggs with oil.  Add soy milk, vanilla and beat well.  Add in the fruits & veggies and mix well.  Then add in all the dry ingredients at once and just mix to combine.  Spoon into a the muffin pan (I actually got 11 muffins)

Bake at 350F for 30 min.
Carb count is 15g per muffin

I've been eating 2 for breakfast.  So nice not to have to think about what to eat!

Enjoy!

Monday, August 30, 2010

baking with my overripe peaches

Yesterday evening I noticed that my peaches were almost beyond saving.
So I peeled them, and mashed them and baked a Ginger Peach loaf cake for breakfast

Ginger Peach Breakfast Cake
the dry ingredients, Sift all of these together:
1/2cup Robin Hood Nutriflour :44g carb
1/2cup soy flour: 22g carb
1/2cup large flake rolled oats: 27g carb
1 cup Splenda: 24g carb
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger

The wet ingredients, beat them all together with a fork
2 peeled peaches mashed 25g carbs (according to me salter scale)
1 large egg: protein
1/2cup canola oil: 8servings of fat
1 cup unsweetened almond milk: 2g carb

combine the wet with the dry and pour into a sprayed loaf pan
Baked at 325F for 40min and then close heat and leave in the oven (this helps it NOT to fall!)
The total count: 144g carb and 8 servings fat so for 8 slices 17g carb and 1 portion fat each


It was delicious this morning!

sneaky carbs and fat

Last night was one of my favorite dinners:
Grilled veggies: yellow zucchini, fennel, and pepper in red and yellow (all were marinated with balsamic vinegar, a few tbsp of olive oil, and herbes de provence)
fish on the side: another variety of trout
We went to this middle eastern grocery store and bought a square type thin pita bread 20g for 1 bread and a container of labneh (soft, unrippened, spreadable cheese)
The labneh fat count is 12%MF, so on the high side, but still falls below the 20%MF limit

So, the way I love to eat this meal is to tear off pieces of the bread and put a little bit of all the food on it, a dollop of labneh, and roll it up!

I counted 20g for the bread, 10g for the veggies, and 10g for the labneh
I bolused dual wave which means I split the dose of insulin.  I chose 70% right away, and 30% spread out over an hour.  a few hours later, my blood sugar was about 9.2 and I had enough active insulin coursing through me to cover it.  But at 2AM I hit 16.4 and needed 3.0 units to cover it.  And at 6AM, I was still out of range at 11.8mmol/L needing 1.5 units to cover.  2 hours later I was at 7.4mmol/L, and decided I could eat breakfast then. 
Normally I trend towards lows as of 8AM because my dose is so high to counted dawn phenomenon.  

Last time, I had a similar effect, hence the dual wave bolus decision.
So I have decided the following:
I probably ate more labneh than I thought.  Next time I will set out my portion for the evening
Next time, perhaps I should increase temporary basal for 2 hours at bedtime????

oh well, good thing I test and fix often.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

I fought the carbs and the carbs won

I love ice cream.  Normally I am quite good at finding a good carb choice (relatively low fat) and also adhering to the recommended portion.  Chapman Frozen yogurt comes to mind, always a decent choice.
Most ice cream portions are 1/2cup.  I actually eat my portion directly out of a measuring cup (where I flatten the serving to get the most out of that 1/2cup!!!)  Or even drizzled with Walden Farms chocolate syrup which is FREE FREE FREEEE!!!!!!
In the United States, I was overwhelmed bny the assortment at the Publix grocery store.  I still dream about the Publix Brand Key Lime frozen yogurt....

Yesterday I bought the Nestle Parlour Heavenly Hash.  1/2cup is 21g carbs and 4.5g fat.  Quite decent.

except that I kept bolusing for a little more, and a little more...
I prayed I would go low and fix with this ice cream! (even though that's a terrible idea because the  fat content would fix too slowly)
In any event, my generosity caught up with me. At 1AM my blood sugar was 9.9, so I gave the suggested 0.7units to correct.  Not a terrible number, but not in range either.
I am seriously considering eating celery the rest of the day and just eating ice cream!
Don't think it's safe to bring this flavor into the house again!

Friday, August 27, 2010

PRAISE for soup and salad!!!

Boy 15g of carbs for lunch sure goes a long way when you go soup and salad!

15g carb lunch
1 Knorr instant cup a soup spring vegetable
1 big leafy green salad (romaine lettuce, spinach, dill)
2-3tablepoons Kraft fat free zesty Italien dressing
1 tin NO Name brand spicy thai tuna

was so pleased with this power lunch, followed up with a cup of strong black coffee and 2 low fat graham crackers 10g of carbs

yay me!

love it when that happens!

Last night I woke up at 1:30AM.  Checked my blood sugar 5.3mmol/L
This morning at 7:00AM, still 5.3mmol/L

Wish I knew what I did right!!!!

pre-dinner: 1 glass of red wine with 7 walnuts (I behaved and ate only the 7 walnuts)
Last night's dinner was: 50g of carbs
2 med ear of corn with lemon black pepper sprinkled over them
a fillet of steelhead trout (still loving it!)
and a salad of fresh veggies from my in-laws garden: tomato, cucumber, and basil

for dessert: 15g of carbs
1/2 a package of fat free-sugar free vanilla jello pudding with a dollop of cool whip
the package is supposed to be for 4 servings of 1/2cup each, but that's such a stingy little portion

and of course 2 squares of Lindt Equador 75%cocoa chcocolate: 6g of carbs

finished the day having eaten 120g of my allocated 150g but also ate a 22g Zone protein bar in the afternoon FREE! (walked for 3 hours)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

55g of carbs well spent! wednesday's dinner

Dinner last night was a fabulous 55g of carbs.  We marinated a ton of veggies and grilled them, along with steelhead trout and I made couscous
The veggies were: portobello mushroom, red pepper, zucchini, and eggplant
I had a very generous portion for which I counted 20g of carbs
Couscous is the best side dish ever!  Fast and delicious, perfect with everything.

Easy couscous for 2-3 people
in a big tupper ware, put 1 generous teaspoon of instant soupmix (I like the fake chicken)
mix well with 1 1/2cup of boiling water
add 3/4cup med couscous
cover well and let stand for 5 min
then fluff with fork

Once done, I like to add 1 tsp of lite butter crumbled around

3/4cup of cooked couscous is 35g of carb, and it's a very decent portion
My husband eats about a cup
and there is always a small leftover portion (for the baby)

My blood sugar was high during the night 13.4 at 2:00AM, could have been my back which is hurting (pulled something cleaning up after burst pipe?  or perhaps dancing in high heels at wedding last weekend -how old am I?) or could have been due to fistful of walnuts I ate pre-dinner
good fat those 7 walnuts.  A portion of 7 a day are free, because so good for heart.  But 7 walnuts were so tasty they tasted like more!!!!!!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

behaving this wed..so far

Woke up with bl sugar at 4.7mmol/L at 6:00AM
didn't eat anything
went back to bed when baby went to nap at 8:00AM (must take advantage of mat leave which ends next week)

At 9:30AM, woke up at low at 3.1mmol/L ate an astro cherry yogurt to fix (6g of carbs) then ate 2 slices of buttered toast for breakfast
Bread 27g carb
2 tsp Light butter 6g of fat
Forgot protein!  Meant to eat a light baby bell but got distracted

then played with baby and went for a walk
could have snacked but didn't...should have.  Went low again upon return
Hard to set pump these days with such an unpredictable schedule

Nighttime lows: always Dex4 glucose tablets to fix
Daytime lows tend to be at about meal times, so like to add a portion of milk or fruit

Lunch
salad 10g carb
with 1/2cup cottage cheese 8g carb
and lemon black pepper FREE

Also, just put a cake in the oven (for breakfast)  My pears were overripe, so it was time for them to be reincarnated.  Love making up new recipes to use up fruit.  Hope this one doesn't fall!  Always a risk with low carb baking, though truthfully, I eat them no matter what! 
Vanilla Pear Loaf cake
1/2cup Robin Hood NutriFlour 44g carbs
1/2cup soy flour 22g carbs
1/2cup old fashion rolled oats 27g carb
1 cup Splenda 24g carb
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
All sifted together

Peeled and mashed my 2 overripe pears 31g carb  (weighed them on my salter scale to be sure)
and added to them
1 cup Almond Milk 2g carb
1/2cup canola oil (8 portions of fat)
1 egg
2tsp vanilla
beat all this with a fork

Poured the wet stuff into dry stuff and stirred to combine
poured it all into a sprayed loaf pan and put to bake at 325F for 40min
Total carb add up is 150g carbs for the entire cake
I will cut it into 8 slices.  Each slice will be worth 18g carb and 1 portion of fat


I licked the bowl and wooden spoon but that's free, right?

tuesday's dinner

My big lunch came back to haunt me.  After walking for nearly 2 hours, my bl sugar was 9.7!!!!
Wanted my snack (frozen yogurt), so ate it, partially bolused for it 10g instead of 20g, and walked another 30min
Was low by dinner, but that's because of an emergency cleaning after pipe burst in bathroom....

We always eat protein and starch and veggie for dinner. Last night I found a good deal on okra.  Never had it before.  My husband brushed them lightly with oil and grilled them on bamboo skewers.  They were quite tasty.  6g of carb per pod!  that can't be right.  I counted 20g for a modest serving. So dinner was:
Grilled red snapper: protein
3/4 quinoa: starch 35g carb
about 1/2cup okra: veggie 20g carb
Total meal 55g carb

dessert!!!!
2 squares of :Lindt Equador 75% cocoa chocolate: heavenly 6g of carbs
red Roiibos tea (w 2tsp Splenda)
1 packet of thin addictives cookies: starch 15g carb

Including my 3pm snack for which I counted 10g out of the total 20g (because was walking) stayed within total food carb range of 150g carb target


before bed my bl sugar was 5.3 mmol/L
at 3AM it was 7.0mmol/L
So overall not bad

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

the peanut butter effect -Tuesday brkfast and lunch

This morning at 4:00 AM, i was thirsty and had to pee.  Clear sign I was not in range.  My blood sugar was at 12.7mmol/L (I knew the risks when I helped myself to those tablespoons of peanut butter at 2pm the day before, but hey, PMS is a bitch.  I was willing to pay the piper later, the excess fat always comes back to haunt me).  I took the 1.8 units of NovoRapid as suggested by the Bolus Wizard on my pump (Medtronic Minimed Paradigm 522).  At 5:30AM, my blood sugar was 10.0, my pump suggested 0.2 units.  I then took care of the baby (why else would I be up at 5:30AM!)
I put him down to nap at 7:15AM and checked my bl sugar before breakfast (I already knew I was low).  My bl sugar was 2.7mmol/L.  I know I need to verify and reprogram my basal profile, but for now...Free peach to fix it!  I then made Oat Bran for breakfast and tried it chocolate flavored.  Delicious and only 20g of carbs!
Chocolate Oat bran cereal
1/3 cup Quaker Oat Bran
mixed with
3/4cup Blue Diamond sugar free vanilla almond milk
Microwave 2min
mix well
add 1Tbsp cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp splenda
Delicious!  So good burnt my tongue eating too fast
Drank 2 cups of strong black coffee

2 hours later, my blood sugar was 6.1mmol/L, so that was good


Then went grocery shopping, so nice to be on maternity leave and be able to shop during the day.
Bought a ton of fish at great price!  (Steelhead trout $5.99/lb!)
The baby loved the shopping trip! So many boxes to touch and bite
Plus posters hanging from the ceiling
It was still early (about 9AM)so wasn't able to get the bread I really wanted, St Methode no sugar no fat whole grain at 24g of carbs for 2 glorious slices.   So picked up Bon Matin 6 grain bread 27g of carbs for 2 slices, quite tasty

at 12:30pm was starving and my blood sugar was now 4.4mmol/L.  So, it seemed I had successfully put the peanut butter incident behind me.  So for lunch, I decided to have.... what else!!!! Toast with Peanut butter and jam, for 35g of carbs
Toast with Peanut butter and jam
2 slices of Bon Matin 6 grain bread lightly toasted
2 generous tablespoons of peanut butter (an official portion of protein and 2 portions of fat)
2 tsp Double Fruit light jam -Garden fruit flavor

I refuse to count the extra knife-ful of peanut butter I licked, I'll deal with it later...

then was still snackish so injected for another 5g of carbs and had 1/2cup 1%fat cottage cheese with 1 tsp of the same jam

Today's exercise:  am planning to take an hour long walk this afternoon. It's 25Celsius out there!
Considering walking to TCBY, a fair distance which would then allow for an afternoon snack (small sugar free fat free frozen yogurt with sugar free chocolate syrup..) for which I need only partially count....