What do you do with a bunch of asparagus?

I'm not a cook, I've said that many times before. So staring at a bunch of fresh asparagus I didn't feel like roasting - I was at a loss. Yay interwebs!! I searched, found a recipe and made a frittata. And surprise, surprise - it was good!

Veggies simply aren't my favorite, but in order to keep my diabetes under control and to lose weight, I need to find a way to get more vegetables and fiber into my diet. And what can go wrong with eggs and cheese? Actually, nothing did. Even though you start a frittata in a frying pan and transfer the pan to the broiler, and I didn't know if my pan was oven-safe, it was okay. And I didn't have the kind of cheese the recipe called for and no fresh cilantro. I wouldn't know what fresh cilantro looked like if it jumped up and called my name. Still - I was impressed with my effort. Looks yummy, doesn't it? It was!

On another note - I've reached a milestone with my weight that I haven't seen in 4 years. I still have a long way to go but cutting out sugar and adding lots of fiber, fruits and vegetables has slowly been taking weight off.

Last doctor's visit he said if my glucose averages keep up the way they have been and I keep losing weight - he'll be able to take me off the diabetes meds. Best news I've had in a long time!

So yeah, I'll find ways to cook a bunch of asparagus if it keeps me headed in the right direction and on the road I need to be on.

Asparagus & Jack Cheese Frittata

I'm all about the fiber

Ever since the big diabetes diagnosis I have been messing with my diet to try to achieve good numbers and better health. And so far it really does seem to be a huge balancing act. But one thing that helps a lot is fiber. Fiber in fresh fruit, fiber in vegetables, fiber in any way I can get it. Of course I do sleep alone, ahem. There ARE side effects.

I eat fiber bars and fiber toaster pastries, as well as yogurt with fiber. I eat a salad almost every day, and the bagels and bread I eat are whole wheat with extra sticks and stones. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware of the carbs and the sugars. But the fiber lessens the effect of those things because it helps glucose to be released into the blood more slowly avoiding the high numbers and spikes. If I eat a fiber bar a couple hours before bed - I usually have better numbers in the morning.

Now these fiber bars and toaster pastries are not nasty tasting with the texture of sawdust. They are chewy, but they also have chocolate or fruit. Being a HUGE lover of sugar, that's a big plus to me.

But really, while I miss candy and cake and sweets in general, I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. Because while I have it in smaller amounts - it's more satisfying because I know the day may come when I can't have it at. But if I continue to eat right and lose weight, as long as I balance what I eat throughout the day - I'm good!

Toward the end of November I bought a jar for sugar. I wanted a vintage glass jar, plain clear glass I could put 5 lbs of sugar in and keep on the kitchen counter. I filled it, jammed a small measuring cup into it and screwed the top on. Next to it is my sugar bowl. I refilled that bowl about every 2 weeks on the outside. Maybe sooner. Every morning when I was pouring water into my travel mugs for tea - there were also 2 teaspoons of sugar in each cup. 4 teaspoons didn't seem like much to me.

I was diagnosed at the beginning of December and I had yet to refill my sugar bowl or use any sugar from the jar. I just took this picture tonight. Same jar, same sugar, same sugar bowl. I haven't refilled the the sugar bowl once. Not one single time. 3 months later and the jar is still full. I guess I thought I was using that sugar for more than just my tea but apparently not. By now that jar should be half empty if I was using the sugar I used to. And it was only my morning cup and the cup I carried into work with me every day. Simply didn't feel like it was that much.

It wasn't that long ago that I was totally off the wagon. It was running over me and backing up and doing it again. I was eating every fast food in my vicinity and not monitoring portions or calories. Back on the wagon feels good. And the wagon does include Taco Bell. Not every day but I have it if I want it. Then I eat something I SHOULD eat to balance it out. I'm not beating myself up when I have something questionable, instead I'm trying to keep moving forward and fine tuning what works for me and what doesn't.

Easter and Halloween may be difficult but I'm optimistic. There are some wonderful sugar-free chocolates out there, and like the chocolate covered strawberries I had on Valentine's Day are just plain worth. Besides - Strawberries are very high in fiber!! :)

Hi, nice to see you!

It's March! I haven't been here, have I? Hmmm. I needed to stop freaking out about food and try to sort out what affected my glucose numbers and what didn't. I guess I've learned I can compromise some.

I had a cannoli tonight. Without guilt and not as an act of rebellion. If I'm eating enough veggies and fiber, I allow myself something special like a cannoli oh, and pizza. It's smaller changes that are helping.

Not putting sugar in my tea.

Drinking green tea.

Drinking no pop with sugar,

Having no candy bars or boxes of Good n' Plenty I love to get when I stop at Walgreen's.

When I DO eat pizza I get the thinnest crust I can.

When I eat bread I make sure it has extra sticks and stones in it.

Eating tuna salad or egg salad without the bread.

If I have sugar free cookies or chocolate I really eat small portions because there are carbs. But it gives me a sweet treat now and then.

There is a refrigerated pudding - not sure which one - but it is sugar free Dulce e de Leche pudding and it is awesome.

If I eat pasta, it's whole wheat. I eat fiber bars and pour fiber into my Crystal Light, which I LOVE.

I try to balance the carbs with the veggies and stuff.

Packing my lunch every day is good because it's strictly what I pack - no trips to the machines in the lunch room.

And with foods I might want to eat too much off - like pasta or pizza - I eat it on a small plate and then make myself wait about 10 minutes before I go back for another portion. It helps.

It's getting to be a way of life I guess. I don't feel entirely deprived, I still have a real piece of dark chocolate now and then, but only a nugget size, not a whole candy bar. And on my daughter's birthday I had pineapple upside down cake I had made and IT. WAS. AWESOME.

So I'm learning the hard way, the way I learn everything else.

7 pounds in 3 months? Wow, pretty slow. But - it's one foot in front of the other right?