Is He Cured?

I live in the Midwest.  I have noticed over the years that while we are very friendly, we seem to suffer from "chicken little syndrome".  IF the weather is nice, you will find most people you talk to will say "Oh but what will winter be like?'   We have had a long warm summer.  It has been so nice for so long that we are all confused. It has been very dry.  For once, we appreciate the rain when it comes.  But we all seem to feel that there will be a payback for our nice weather.

We had GREAT news over the weekend.  Silent Sam is now off all his diabetes medications.  He has worked so hard and has succeeded with the goal he set at the very beginning.  I am so proud of all he has accomplished.

Is he cured? No. He is not.  He cannot be cured of diabetes.  It is a life long disease.

We actually wonder if the hardest part is about to happen.  Now he really has to depend on his food intake and exercise to keep his numbers where they should be.  Like good Midwesterners, we are waiting for the other shoe to fall.  Can he keep it in check now that he doesn't have any help?

The good news is that the week before we had reaffirmed that we needed to be more vigilant.  We needed to eat more carrots and less sweet potato chips.  More veggies less protein.  You get the drift.  So at least the mindset is in place.

Diabetes is a funny thing.  You cannot predict how your body will react all the time.  It is not consistent.  What works today and has worked for months may not work tomorrow.  Silent Sam, like many other diabetics that I read about, can't predict what will affect his blood sugar.  This makes it even harder than just behaving ourselves.  All we can do is keep on keeping on.

So give a silent cheer to SS.  He deserves it.  Then give him a hearty "Good Luck" because he is going to need it.  We have gotten to the top of this hill but there is still a long way to go.

Thanks for reading!

A Color for the 9 Inch Plate

I read a tidbit today in a magazine that said that not only should you use smaller plates when you eat (9 inch anyone?)  but that the plate should be red.  RED?!  According to the tidbit, research was done and found the you will eat less when using a red plate than you would when using a blue or white plate.

Not only that, but supposedly studies show that if your tablecloth matches your plate you will want to eat less.

So that means that we will eat less eating off a red 9 inch plate on a red tablecloth or place mat.

Isn't that amazing?  Don't you wonder why anyone thought to study this?  

Also, forget those romantic candle lit dinners if you are trying to lose weight.  It seems that studies show that you will eat more by candle light than you will by having the lights on.  (Maybe people just could not tell what they were eating....)

Despite my love of buying things,  I don't think I am ready to test the red plate theory.  I was the doubting Thomas with the 9 inch plate theory and I had to give in and agree with it.

Do you think my orange plates are close enough?  Obviously I will have to give the blue ones to guests and keep them away from Silent Sam and myself.

Beyond thinking of these studies, someone actually pays to have them researched.  Maybe that person will buy me some red plates.... (They would probably like to sell me some red plates.)

Have a great week!

Thanks for reading!

Pizza Pasta

In our unending quest to find and eat healthy pizza (really, we just want to eat regular unhealthy pizza) I tried a new recipe called Pizza Pasta.  The original recipe was in the August/September issue of Healthy Cooking Magazine.  I made it the magazine way first and then made adjustments.

I think that this is one of those recipes that you just adjust each time according to what you have available or what you want at the time.  The prep time for this recipe is really pretty fast but it takes a long time to bake.  (Please really note that - it is a 65 minute baking time) By adding other ingredients, you may expand the prep time.  For example, I made the recipe the second time with turkey Italian sausage.  I decided that the sausage should be cooked at least part way before putting it in the oven.  Between the grease that would come off during cooking and the fear that it would not cook all the way, I cut it up and heated it in a frying pan for 5 or 10 minutes.  Just until it was browned.

I know that it is best when I can give you the nutritional information also but since I have altered the recipe, I am not sure about it.  I have put the nutritional information for the original recipe.

Enough talking - here is the recipe

Pizza Pasta

4 cups uncooked multi grain bow tie pasta
2 cans (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes undrained
3/4 cup water
12 slices turkey pepperoni, quartered
1 tbsp. prepared pesto
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup shredded italian cheese blend cheese

Changes I have made so far -
dropped the turkey pepperoni - couldn't really taste it
added 2 turkey Italian sausages - I think the next time I will add three
added mushrooms - 1/2 package
added spinach - I did not add enough - it cooks down I would say you could add a whole package of fresh
added olives - black sliced - one small can.  We talked about adding green next time for more taste

Prep -
Place all ingredients EXCEPT THE CHEESE in a big bowl and mix them together.

Use a cooking spay to coat the inside of  a 11 X 7 X 2 inch baking pan.  Put all the mixed ingredients from the bowl into the baking pan and cover.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Take off the cover, stir the ingredients, put the cover back on and put back in the oven for 15 minutes longer.  Then take the cover off, sprinkler the cheese on and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Serves 6

Nutrition facts for original recipe - 1 1/4 cup serving equals 318 calories.  7 g fat (2 g saturated fat) 15 mg cholesterol  584 mg sodium, 47 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 16 g protein.

Dietary Exchanges- 2 1/2 starch, 1 medium-fat meat, 1 vegetable 

A Diet Tip?

So I have been a bit off with my posts lately.  I have been busy but beyond that I have been bogged down trying to think of something really great to write.  I have to remember a few things.  First of all that this does not have to be the world's longest post.  The second is that any tidbit I pass on might be of interest.

I read an article the other day about having dessert with breakfast as a diet tip.  Okay, this is right up my alley.  The article talked about a study done in Israel with a very small sample size of people.  The study broke the sample into two groups.  Both groups were allowed the same number of calories a day but the one group was given dessert with breakfast.  During the first period of time (a month or so) both groups lost the same amount of weight.  During the second month, the dessert group lost 75 percent more weight.  It was speculated that this was because the dessert group did not feel as deprived and therefore did not start cheating on the diet.

I am ready for this!  I like dessert.  I can eat it for breakfast.  After all, if I could start my day with a Coke, I can start with dessert.  (By the way, we are at 8 weeks without a Coke or any soft drink.  I  appreciate your applause.)

So what do you think about having dessert for breakfast as a weight loss tip?  Do you think there is any merit in this concept?  Let me know your thoughts.