ADA's Healthy Diet

13 years ago

I'm just a little overweight. So close to the borderline that being overweight or not depends on whether I step on the scales at night or in the morning.

I don't have a problem with high blood sugar/insulin. Both my son and I had recent blood tests - on opposite sides of the continent. Just kind of regular sorts of things but both of us came out on the healthy end of the spectrum. DS had some questions for his doctor. One of his grandfathers died from complications brought on by diabetes and my mother had diabetes in her old age.

DS's doctor said, "A healthy diet is a healthy diet." Or, words to that effect. The kid (middle aged, by any definition) immediately got some books recommended by the American Diabetes Association to get some understanding of what those health professionals think of as a "healthy diet."

Hey, there are worse things he could do in a mid-life crisis! I tagged along on this to lend him some support and because . . . I'm interested in food!

The 1st thing I learned about the ADA's ideas on a healthy diet (Food & Fitness. Click on "Create Your Plate."): Portions are an easy way to have a healthy diet!

The 2nd thing I learned was that I really do need to think of winter squash as a "starch." But, that wasn't startling.

The 3rd thing I learned was that carrots count as a non-starchy vegetable along with spinach, lettuce, bok choy, peppers, etc.!

ADA's FoodAdvisor was able to show me that the apple pie that I had for breakfast had more calories than carrot buttermilk muffins! They even have a recipe for baking them so, I'd better get started!

Steve

Comments (11)

digit
Original Author
13 years ago
(actually, there are still plenty in the produce drawer . . .)

Carrots into Storage

S'
highalttransplant
13 years ago
I had gestational diabetes with 2 pregnancies, and was borderline with another. There is also type 2 diabetes on both sides of my family, so I should adopt the ADA diet as a way of life, but would have a real hard time giving up sweets. Doing it for 9 months is one thing, eating that way for the rest of my life is another.

Any chance you would share that recipe? I love muffins of all kinds. They provide a vehicle for my Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly : )

Bonnie
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If you can see a dietician, that would be a good start. Although they are not all created equal so it doesn't hurt to do a little research on your own. Monica gave good guidelines. I'm a 'diet' for gestational diabetes but it's really just the way one should eat. I get so many proteins, carbs and fats to eat but primarily I watch the carbs. You want to eat good carbs - whole grains, high fiber, low-starch vegetables and whole fruits in moderation. Eat lean meats and fish for protein. Eat good fats - olive oil, canola, etc. Use low-fat dairy products in moderation. You can eat well once you figure out what you can eat. I've been dropping back to simple meats and sides which makes it much easier. If blood sugar is a problem, you need to eat regularly with small snacks between meals and maybe even before bed. You want to avoid highs and lows. Without monitoring your blood glucose, it's hard to tell what's working or not in that respect. Everything else should fall into place. My BP was lower after not even a week. I'm eating less sodium just due to eating less junk.
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Wish my husband would take this healthy-eating, need to exercise attitude more seriously. Good for your DH to actually do something about his health - he will thank himself when he's in his 60's! Our big sabotage to healthy eating is all these car club gettogethers, with the potluck (one club REALLY know how to put out the good food!) so summer is actually full of more temptations for us - plus the cruise nights at - where else - a fast-food drivein. I've gotten really good at finding the low-cal, less dangerous items on the menu, but it's hard! I like alot of the stuff that's good for me, but DH goes for the double cheese-greasy, and of course, it comes with fries! We're starting to eat before we go to the drive-ins, and when I fix a meal, I stress to him - "now, the green beans are part of the meal" - or "there's your dish of peaches" etc. - and he's starting to eat them - used to just say "I don't want any right now" and I'd let it go - but I want him around a few more years, so I keep encouraging him. Eating right is a lifelong habit.
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digit
Original Author
13 years ago
Busted!

Bonnie, I was hoping/afraid you would see this . . . You are so knowledgeable about baking, and such. But, if you asked me about the recipe . . .

Here is the ADA carrot muffin recipe.

Here is the recipe I followed: the MotherEarthNews carrot muffin.

s'
highalttransplant
13 years ago
Hmmmm ... I like the idea of buttermilk, and the addition of the oatmeal, but 1/2 cup of grated carrot doesn't sound like near enough. Maybe I'll have to merge the two recipes. I see a little experimentation in my future ...
digit
Original Author
13 years ago
For lunch, I had 2 muffins after the broccoli, baked buttercup and 1/2 a t-bone shared with DW.
{{gwi:1230849}}From digitS'
highalttransplant
13 years ago
Cute container! Where was that picture taken?

Okay, I didn't use either recipe ... yet. I didn't have any buttermilk on hand, and I have tons of shredded zucchini in the freezer, so I used the recipe linked below (I've forgotten how to do links within the body of the text).

I added ~ 1/2 cup of finely grated carrot, and ~ 3/4 of chopped walnuts.

I used the mini-bread pans, since these were going in gift bags with some of my homemade jelly. Then I had to make a second batch for us ... just so I can be sure that the recipe is worthy of gifting : )

Here is a link that might be useful: Zucchini Pineapple Bread
digit
Original Author
13 years ago
That cookie jar was in a snow bank in the backyard, Bonnie. (I wonder what the neighbor thought I was up to out there. :o)

So, what kind of jelly goes well with Zucchini Pineapple Bread?

When there was an apricot tree in the vacant lot in my old neighborhood, I used to make a nice pineapple apricot jam. I used that jam to "pay" for the use of the lot as my garden. Other than helping Mom, way back when, I can't remember ever doing any other canning. Should have been inspired to continue with the effort.

Steve

To post an in text link use: (a href="url")text(/a) and replace the "()" with ""

Here is a link that might be useful: HTML Links
highalttransplant
13 years ago
Yum ... I'd bet that pineapple apricot jam would be great with the zucchini bread! I actually made some the past two year's, but was disappointed in this years batch. Last year, a neighbor offered them free for the pickin', but this year I had to use grocery store apricots, which were not as good. Plus, I tried to cut back on the sugar a bit, which I've decided was a bad idea.

Anyway, we ate some with Lemon Basil Jelly, which was fine, but the delicate flavor of that jelly is lost on such a flavorful bread. I think that jelly needs a simpler bread, such as an English muffin. I'm thinking the Cranberry Jalapeno Jelly would go well with it, or maybe even my Candy Apple Jelly, which has a cinnamon flavor to it. Oh, I almost forgot. There's one that I've made in the past that I didn't make this year, called Carrot Cake Jam. It would be perfect for that bread! It is made from grated carrot, chopped pears, and crushed pineapple.

Thanks for that reminder on the links. I thought I had saved that info somewhere on my computer, but I can't seem to locate it.

So do you guys already have snow cover? We've had several small snows, and the mountains around us are covered, but nothing hanging around yet. Typically, we have snow cover by the time the kids are out for the holidays, so it shouldn't be long now.
digit
Original Author
13 years ago
Oh Bonnie, we were buried in a record snow fall by the end of November! Okay, it wasn't so very much . . . for winter! But, this was November! Most ever . . .

The snow melted a little and the snow plows moved it off the roadways. Everywhere, there are 3 to 4 foot berms along the streets.

There has been melting and rain the last few days but it would take a week of the snow to completely melt. The roofs are almost bare, tho'!

More snow in the forecast over the weekend and then, I guess we will see. It would be terribly ironic if we had a "brown Christmas" after a very, very white Thanksgiving.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Already, La NiÃ±a lives up to its reputation
david52 Zone 6
13 years ago
I'd sure hate to be the CEO of the architect/engineering firm that did the plans for that domed stadium in Minnesota.
billie_ladybug
13 years ago
David - Not sure but I think someone miscalculated the load on that one. Wonder if that was one of those jobs that went to the lowest bidder?

Jelly - the only one I ever have made, yet, is prickly pear jelly. It's great on everything, if you have a bit of a sweet tooth, and if you don't add enough pectin, makes a really good and fruity pancake syrup.

Lacking buttermilk tip - add a few drops of vinegar to 2% or whole milk for recipes, works great. I use it in a pinch to make buttermilk waffles and buttermilk ranch.

Billie

ADA's Healthy Diet

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ADA's Healthy Diet

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