OH I made this and it's so good words can't even do it justice!! You gotta make it. I did not make the full recipe; just made one box of spinach and added what I thought to be enough of all the rest of the ingredients; here's the recipe: SPINACH GRATIN 50 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, thawed 4 tablespoons butter 2 small onions, chopped, 5 ounces 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup heavy cream 2 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Pinch nutmeg 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Spicy Seasoning Salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded, 1/2 cup 2 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup In a medium skillet, sauté the onion in the butter 15 minutes. Blend in the cream cheese on medium-low heat. Gradually blend in the cream until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the garlic powder and nutmeg. Squeeze all of the liquid from the spinach and place in a greased 11x7" baking pan. Pour in the sauce mixture and mix well (I found that using 2 forks to do the mixing worked well). Mix in the salt, seasoning salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread evenly in the pan, then top with the Swiss cheese and remaining 1/2 cup parmesan. Bake at 425º 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Makes 10-12 servings Can be frozen Per 1/10 recipe: 295 Calories; 25g Fat; 13g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs Per 1/12 recipe: 246 Calories; 20g Fat; 11g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

I'll tell you what, I definately have a wheat and cheese monkey on MY back, lol! They both have opiate like substances in them apparently, but I'll bet peaches do too! ;) I was reading long ago about the possibly inflammatory properties of wheat gluten, and I went on a wheat free diet for months and months, (along with many other strategies) trying to lessen my severe menstrual cramps and migranes. Did not do a thing! I do have my problem foods, but thankfully it is not gluten. Salt, red meat, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and tea and refined flour and sugar are the things that bother my system. Like I said, I balance carbs with protein and fats to avoid the blood sugar spikes that go along with eating "unopposed" carbs. A sugar binge can trigger a migrane for me. But a sugar binge also piles on the pounds so I try not to do it for so many reasons. But along the way I picked up the idea of eating a balance of whole grains and not overdoing the carbs. Luckily I actually do not like refined white flour or heavily spiced and salted products and really sugary stuff, so I have no trouble staying away from it. Really good bread and cheese is harder for me to moderate myself on. One thing that is troubling to me is the COST of some of these wheat alternatives. I wanted to get some brown rice spinach linguine at the health food store, but it was $3.50 for 12 ounces and the whole wheat Barilla was $1.30 for the same amount. I'm unemployed right now and can no longer afford these types of products. I stick to oatmeal, cornmeal and brown rice for my carb alternatives. Occasionally some quinoa or barley. Pasture raised chicken by me is $3.50 per lb. and the regular old store bought stuff ins $2.00 and below. Needless to say we can't afford that either! And fish is a rare luxury.

I am not diabetic but I do have insulin resistance as part of another medical (gynocological) condition called PCOS. I have been on Metformin (usually prescribed to diabetics) for a few years now. My dad is diabetic and I am at some risk of developing diabetes, too. I used to be thin-normal weight but began gaining weight when I developed PCOS and insulin resistance. The Metformin has helped control my weight a bit, but I am still overweight because I have relied too much on this drug and continued eating whatever I want. I don't smoke or drink or do drugs, so food has always been my vice. Especially when I am stressed or down, I go to "comfort foods" which are high in carbs. (High-carb foods such as white potatoes are comforting because they actually help increase the level of serotinin in your brain, which is how antidepressants such as Prozac work.) Anyways, a year ago I decided to stop eating meat as part of a health kick to eat lighter, healthier and lose weight. I had been stuffing myself daily and eating lots of chicken. At first I was always hungry, because I was used to eating a lot and the truth is, nothing is quite as filling as meat. I ate all the whole grain bread and veggies and fruit I wanted, but I was always hungry again soon. Then my body adjusted and it became much easier. If you eat whole grain bread, pasta, rice, et cetera, you should feel fuller than if you eat refined carbs. The fibre content in whole grains slows down the rate at which your body converts the carbs into blood sugar, which prevents your blood sugar and insulin levels from spiking up and crashing. When choosing carbs, think of eating high fibre. High fibre is the key to helping to control insulin levels. Refined carbs have little to no fibre left in them. Anyways, I lost weight and then fell off the wagon when Christmas rolled around, as there were delicious cookies and candies and chocolates everywhere! Also, it was hard to eat whole grain carbs all the time, because most restaurants and cafeterias use refined, white flour bread, pasta and rice; they also usually serve white potatoes, not sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes are much better for you). I only managed to lose weight at first as a vegetarian because I packed homemade snacks and meals with whole grain bread from the grocery store, and carried my food around with me all day while I was out and about. Normally I am not so good; normally I buy lunch everyday at work. It's not that hard anymore to eat out and eat vegetarian, but it IS still hard to eat out and eat whole grain carbs instead of refined, white flour carbs. You may see my problem here: I like to eat out a lot but I don't like eating meat or eating refined, white-flour carbs. That REALLY limits my choices when I go out. If I want to eat the way I know I should, I basically can't eat out. Also, there is a misconception that the biggest enemy of insulin resistance/diabetes is sugar and carbs, but the real enemy is saturated fat. It's just that most fattening foods are also loaded with sugar. You need the sugar to make the lard palapable. About 30% of the weight of chocolate, for example, is due soley to its lard content. Saturated fat is the real enemy, but when you eat out at a cafeteria or restaurant, you don't know what kind or how much cooking oil they use. You don't really know the ingredients. This also makes eating out hard if you are concerned with diabetes/insulin resistance, or just weight control in general. I heard that the Canadia Liberal government is planning to get rid of trans fat from school cafeterias, and there is some organization trying to get rid of trans fat cooking oils from all restaurants altogether. I think the next step may be to demand better quality carbs. Diabetes is an epidemic now, afterall! Anyways, I have decided to ween myself off the Metformin because of its side effects. This will mean that in order to avoid becoming obese, I will have to get strict again about what I eat, prepare homemade snacks and meals to take out, and exercise more (strenuous exercise increases insulin sensitivity). When I first told my family doctor I had gone vegetarian, she wasn't very happy. My blood tests had shown that I had very low vitamin B12. Because vitamin B12 is derived primarily from animal meat (it is absent from plant food), my doctor assumed my low B12 levels was due to my dietary changes. I started taking vitamins from the drug store. I'm not sure, but I think that helped a bit. Vitamin B12, like iron, is essential for a lot of things, including hair health. For a couple years now I have been concerned that my hair falls out too much. Well, I recently read that 10-30% of patients on Metformin long-term experience vitamin B12 deficiency (and can subsequently lose hair) because Metformin can actually interfere with the body's ability to absorb vitamin B12! It's all becoming so complicated. For a while I considered just going back to eating meat so that I could stop filling up on refined carbs everyday and then relying on Metformin to help with the resulting insulin spikes, but I have decided no, meat is gross, so I am instead going to just carry around homemade whole grain food with me all day as I go about my business, eat out less, exercise more and get off the Metformin. I know I can lose weight without meat because I did it once before, a year ago. It just takes discipline. Hopefully, my hair will also thicken up again after being off the Metformin for a while. One more thing: a good alternative to rice is quinoa. It is a good grain with lower carb content. It also cooks much faster than rice. It tastes lovely and fluffy. It works well as a side dish in place of rice.

I am making the Crack slaw tonight. I know the conversation has passed avocados, but for anyone who doesn't like them...and may not be able to understand why anyone does....let me say, there are good avocados and bad. There is nothing in between. when selecting an avocado, get the brightest green one you can find. That means it isn't ripe and no one has squeezed it yet. Don't squeeze it....ever. Every time you squeeze an avocado, you bruise it. A little bruise will change the taste of the entire avocado. Bring it home and set it on the counter. After one or two days, it will change color. when it is dark green, it is ready for slicing. The next day...guacamole. I eat avocados almost every day and I see people picking them up and squeezing them, and I cringe.