On October 8, 2009, I was at work in my role of principal of an elementary school. Around 11:00 a.m., I felt a pain in my chest and was afraid I was having a heart attack. The school nurse rushed into my office, where I was lying on the floor. After checking me out, she called an ambulance, which took me to the nearest hospital. After twenty-four hours of all kinds of tests, the doctor told me my heart was in great shape, but that my blood sugar levels were high and that I should check in with my regular doctor. I did that and found out that I was a type-2 diabetic. The news was shocking because diabetes does not run in my family, but more importantly, the news was a wake up call for me. At 57 years old, I weighed 212 pounds. Although I love to cook and eat healthy foods, as well as swim laps four times a week, I was overweight and needed to do something about it. My doctor recommended losing 20 pounds and sent me to a dietician to talk about how to change my diet. She was very helpful in showing me the old pie chart that recommends a quarter of a pie of protein, a quarter of carbs, and a half pie of vegetables. She also suggested that I eat six small meals a day, keeping an eye on the calories, as well as the balance of foods I was eating.
On Christmas day, I was 35 pounds lighter than I was on October 8. I'm back to the weight I was at for most of my young adult life. I feel great, look great, but am constantly looking for sales at clothing stores to keep my body in pants that fit! The weight loss came from eating foods with absolutely no sugar and few carbs. For breakfast, I choke down egg beaters laced with chunks of chicken accompanied by a slice of wheat toast. When I'm too busy to cook breakfast, I eat Carbmaster yogurt with roasted almonds and a Think Thin Creamy Peanut bar. Lunch usually means a turkey wrap on wheat. For dinner, I'm gotten creative with chicken, although I've added pork and turkey medalions to my menu, as well. All of these meats are prepared with loads of green vegetables or squash. Snacks generally include more yogurt, almonds, and Think Thin bars. I've made sure to exercise every day, as well. If I can't swim, I go for long walks with my dog. People at school have been amazed at my weight reduction and their words keep me going when I feel like all I want to do is dive into a New York cheesecake.
A couple of things happened in the last couple of weeks that inspired me to start this blog. The first was viewing Julia and Julie, the movie about a woman who cooks and bakes her way through Julia Child's cookbook. The second was receiving The Better Homes and Gardens Diabetic Cookbook. My dream was to open a restaurant some day, but I thought the diabetes would prevent me from doing that. Receiving the cookbook has given me hope that if I learn how to cook differently, I might open a restaurant for diabetics. So..long story short, just as the character in Julia and Julie cooked her way through a cookbook, I'm going to cook my way through my new cookbook and report the experience on this blog. There are five hundred recipes to make, and I'm not going to promise to make them all, but I will try the ones that look great.
Today, December 27, I made my first recipe, Spinach Panini, and it was wonderful. Fortunately, I have enough ingredients left over to make it again tomorrow. The recipe is simple: After you've sprayed you panini pan with Pam and are waiting for it to heat up, place a layer of baby spinach on a slice of whole wheat bread. On top of that, layer thin tomato slices, thin red onion slices, fresh basil, feta cheese, and top all of those ingredients with another layer of spinach. Place the other slice of bread on top and push it down to keep in all of the ingredients. When the panini press is ready, put the sandwich in for two minutes. Voila, you have a tasty and healthy meal. I ate mine with Kalamati olives (delicious flavor) and sliced kosher pickle spears.
I want to thank Terri Owens for the cookbook, which provided me with the inspiration to write this.
