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Lazy Man's Diabetic Cooking

Steve-M

Member For 1 Year
Hi folks,

I'm diabetic. I'm also relatively lazy when it comes to cooking. If it takes half an hour of prep before I can start cooking something, it isn't for me. Still, I can't exactly subsist on frozen meals and fast food and expect to be healthy in 20 to 30 years, so I've spent time devising various meal ideas which are tasty, but won't spike my blood sugar.

Breakfast Idea 1: Frittata Sandwich
Need: Jimmy Dean Delights Frittatas, Sausage Patties, Cheddar Cheese
To Do: Cook 2 frittatas per directions; cook sausage; melt cheese on sausage; split frittatas in half; make sandwich.
Under 10 grams of carbs for a delicious, hearty breakfast

Lunch Idea 1: Tortilla Pizza
Need: Low Carb Tortillas, Pizza Sauce, Shredded Cheese, whatever toppings you may desire.
To Do: Put Ingredients on tortilla, bake (oil bottom of tortilla for extra crisp)
Mission's Carb Balance tortillas run under 10 grams net carbs, and the sauce will have a few as well.

Dinner Idea 1: Chicken Alfredo w/ Mushrooms & Peas
Need: Tysons Grilled Nuggets, Mushrooms, Frozen Peas, Alfredo Sauce; Parmesan Cheese
To Do: Pan Fry nuggets, mushrooms, peas together; pour on a jar of alfredo sauce, and if you're like me, add some more parmesan for extra kick.
Carbs mostly depends on how much you load up on the peas. Other ingredients are generally pretty minimal.
 

AndriaD

Yes, I DO wear a mask! I'm vaccinated, too!
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I salute you for realizing that eating "fast" all the time isn't a very good idea, for anyone really, but especially for a diabetic. My mom died of diabetic complications in Oct '16, because she absolutely refused to face reality with her health and diet. Because of my heredity (many of her siblings perished in similar fashion, though *they* took more care than she did), I've been steadily, gradually decreasing my sugar intake for the last 30 yrs... but thx to my IBS-C, I've also had to learn to incorporate a large amount of fiber in my diet -- and apparently, fiber also is a huge help for diabetics, as it makes sugar->glucose metabolism take longer, rather than burning up like rocket fuel. But I don't really see much fiber in the selections above... If you included more fiber, I think you might also be able to be a bit more flexible in your carb intake.

Andria
 

Steve-M

Member For 1 Year
The breakfast idea doesn't have much fiber, but the lunch and dinner options aren't awful in that respect. Those carb balance tortilllas have something like 20 grams of carbs, but over half of it is fiber. Peas and mushrooms on the dinner plan also do a decent job in that respect.

As a snack, I've also been testing out Beanitos, i.e. tortilla chips made of beans which come in various flavors. They pack far more fiber and protein than a regular potato or corn chip, and are substantially more filling as a result.

Of course, I've found for me that fiber isn't a cure all. I love split pea soup, and depending on how one makes it, it can be packed with a huge amount of fiber. Still spiked me above the 200 mark w/o meds. Worst thing: McDonalds. Pushes me well over 200 with meds (glipizide) AND exercise shortly after the meal.
 

AndriaD

Yes, I DO wear a mask! I'm vaccinated, too!
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Member For 5 Years
McD's, just the THOUGHT of McD's, just grosses me out anymore. I worked at one back in the early 80s, and it really wasn't bad, aside from all the grease and low-quality meat... but nowadays? UGH. I briefly worked another stint at my local McD's in 2010, and now they just SUCK. Those fries they're so famous for? Did you know, when they start melting, they turn into yellow slime? Not kidding. And then I read something about how their McNuggets are made with that "pink slime" crap. Add to that, that the one I worked at in 2010 is a pretty old store, which means the place is just CRAWLING with bugs... :xD: You could not PAY ME to eat that shit anymore. :blech:

If you want something quick that isn't too unhealthy, your best bet is 1) Subway, and strangely enough, 2) Taco Bell -- if you get one of their items that has a lot of lettuce/tomato -- I can't recommend their sour creme, it made me horribly sick one time, but their items with lettuce/tomato aren't too bad, in themselves. Those wraps that Subway has, and definitely their salads, are probably a better choice than anything with bread, since you have to be careful of carbs.

The glucose level, as you certainly know very well, fluctuates a lot, depending on when and how you last ate... but the A1C is the critical number to watch carefully. Given my troubling diabetic heredity, i was thrilled to find back in Feb that my A1C was 5.1 -- and I hope to keep it low for the rest of my life, despite other bloodwork figures that indicate a definite tendency toward the "Metabolic Syndrome" which is usually a diabetic precursor.

Andria
 

Steve-M

Member For 1 Year
Taco Bell's tacos are definitely on my list, as they don't contain too many carbs. Grilled nuggets and a fruit cup at Chick-Fil-A works, and their salads are pretty good as well so long as you don't go for a sweet dressing (avocado ranch is my preference). I also will still frequent Wendys for either a salad or a burger (remove the bun) and a side of chili. If I'm feeling wealthy, I'll hit up Outback for a ribeye, caesar salad, and grilled asparagus.

For fasting glucose level and A1C, I ran in at a 128 and 6.1 respectively on my last check, which was an improvement over the prior time. I credit a lot of that to CBD, since I wasn't dieting or taking my pills as well as I should have been (still not even close to perfect...). I reckon if I get myself together on the diet count, and keep the glipizide around for those occasional cheating meals, I should do pretty well though.

Of course if you want to talk about heredity issues, you should see my triglyceride charts :D That happened years before I became diabetic, and when I was in pretty good shape to boot. Given that the levels I was running at were far above the point where they get concerned about pancreatitis, I wonder if that helped to cause to my diabetes.
 

AndriaD

Yes, I DO wear a mask! I'm vaccinated, too!
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ECF Refugee
Member For 5 Years
I guess it could be a factor. I look at my whole lipids panel, and see some scribbles on the wall about potential future Metabolic Syndrome. My LDL is low, but so is my HDL, since I have to completely leave out foods that contain a lot of cholesterol, thx to my damn gallstones -- baked goods I can still handle, but I try to go easy on them just because of sugar and fat and I really don't wanna weigh 300 lbs. :D My triglycerides were real high when I was younger and ate pretty much what I pleased, but they're not so bad now since I mostly eschew cholesterol entirely, and try to go fairly light on all fats, since gallbladder pain hurts like a bastard... and I'm not done paying off my 2014 appendectomy yet, I'd like to get done with that before I have another emergency surgery. :D

Back in Feb when I had the bloodwork done, I was *kinda* fasting... I had the flu and really didn't want to eat AT ALL, but I was drinking a ginger ale during the Dr visit, to try and keep my tummy quiet... my glucose was 97, and A1C 5.1. And it stunned my doc that they were both entirely normal, since he just about had a cow that I was drinking a "real sugar" soft drink -- but I will NEVER EVER use artificial sweetener, which has a much worse effect on the body even than sugar. I don't drink oceans of soda anyway, not like I did when I was a teenager; nowadays it's mostly very lightly sweetened decaf tea -- I call it "almost sweet", just enough to knock off the bitter edge.

Andria
 
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Steve-M

Member For 1 Year
Almost sweet tea is good stuff. I used to make batches of "concentrate" in mason jars on the weekend. Easy, cheap, and convenient!
 

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