"What have you eaten" Parallel Chat

[Annb]

Not entirely sure that I took the right amount of insulin this evening - the needle bent as I injected it (it's done that before in the same spot) and fell out immediately. By that time, I was feeling pretty low anyway and just had a packet of pork crackling (no carbs at all). They weren't as nice today as yesterday but that may be because I'm feeling off. So, in the end, it was OMAD with an extra snack. BG currently 13.8.

Had a relaxing hour, chatting to my brother. We seem to have come to the conclusion that we can't put the world to rights whatever we say, so we'll just be the kind of old people who moan about everything (government, youth culture, shop assistants, modern life etc)....(Yours faithfully, Col Blimp, Cheltenham).

 

[Annb]

OMAD today. I didn't mean it to be, but, in order to conserve the remaining insulin (which didn't arrive today after all) I'm still having the full English without the carbs for brunch and intending to have one other meal towards the end of the day. But, as yesterday, don't feel like bothering to prepare food and not feeling hungry enough to make me bother. Just having plenty of oolong tea.

Em came in after her first day back at school and made herself a fruit salad - started off when we discussed the difference between fruit and vegetables - "fruit has seeds on the inside, vegetables don't", declares Em. So, what about berries? The seeds can be on the outside. So we found some strawberries in the fridge, and an orange, and some bottled cherries (stones removed) and an apple. Em didn't want to bother with the one banana in the larder. I wasn't sure how well she would use a sharp knife, but once she accepted that the back of the blade isn't sharp enough, she handled it pretty well. Cutting them all up to see where the seeds were, she decided to make it into a fruit salad for herself. She realises that strawberries are different to some other fruits, but reckons they are still fruits. She didn't seem to be interested in knowing the quasi technical stuff about why, so I didn't push it. She was still eating it when her mum arrived to pick her up.

 

[Annb]

My insulin arrived at the pharmacy at 10 am today. So I dashed down the road to get it so that I could have some breakfast. While I was out I decided to pop along to the local shop to get a couple of bits and pieces and while there, I saw a plastic pack of "ranch steak". I've never seen that cut before so I bought it and decided to have one of the steaks with a fried egg for my breakfast. Nothing special in the way of steak, but maybe I cooked it wrongly. I see from the internet that it is part of the shoulder. I just seared it for about 5 minutes altogether and finished it off with butter. then I fried the egg in the remaining pan juices and butter. The egg was the best bit. But, at least, it filled a gap. Not sure if that will be enough for the day. If not, I still have the salmon waiting to be used.

I don't have any lettuce left - Em chomped her way through that after her fruit salad yesterday - one leaf at a time (it was only about 1/3 of a cos lettuce). Then she went home to have her favourite "Italian salad" - cucumber, olives, tomato, prosciutto and ordinary ham with an olive oil and lemon dressing. She's an unusual child and has very particular tastes which cover almost everything that comes her way, with a very few exceptions, about which she feels very strongly (they are "just wrong").

 

[Annb]

I forgot to mention that I had the end slice off of a loaf of GF bread to soak up gravy from the steak (bought that at the shop this morning as well). This is only the 2nd time I've had this loaf, and the 3rd GF loaf altogether (the other one really caused a reaction, and tasted like cardboard). It seems I am developing an intolerance to something in GF bread now - really ill from about 3 hours later - serious headache and vomiting. I've just got up after spending the afternoon in bed. Still have the headache but not too nauseous now. Trouble is - I don't know which ingredient caused it. I didn't eat anything else - just the steak and the egg and I've never had a problem with them.

Anyway - it looks like another involuntary OMAD day today.

 

[Annb]

Going to try for at least 2 meals today. Just had some ham and semi hard boiled egg on a couple of crispbreads ("Amisa veggie garden" - just vegetables with rice flour and potato flakes, plus some sea salt and only 6.6 g carb per biscuit, of which I had 2. Even calories are not bad - 2 biscuits = 66 calories).

For later, I have some salady things, but no lettuce, and the remaining steak to slice cold. If I get through today with no more issues with GF things, I'll be very happy. Trouble is, just before breakfast my BG had risen to 15.9! On just my Lantus dose (64) and then 2 cups of tea. Not happy with that. (FBG was 9.5.)

 

[maglil55]

@Annb - I thought your BGs had been starting to behave but they seem to be just as contrary as ever. Grandson did manage a good bit of each morning at school this week and he was in class which is progress. We still haven't managed to get him to lunchtime yet. However, as I said on the other thread, the school isn't worried as I have him well ahead of the class. He is bringing some work home with him when I collect him now. His maths he brought he took one look and declared, we did that weeks ago. Give him his due, he still completed it and rattled through it very quickly. Literacy was interesting as it was something I'd only taken him through last week. He's feeling happy that he's ahead. Not so good with brother though. It is such an effort for him to focus and incredibly frustrating for him. I'm so pleased MacMillan and my niece battled to get carers in. They are very dedicated people but so short handed. I'm glad to say he's still pain free and eating but there is a definite deterioration. We did have a laugh though at brother's. I was talking about my other brother and sister (who passed away in 2018) and how that brother got his bathroom remodel so wrong (which was normal for him). My sister and her Italian husband were staying the night and her husband was convinced the house was haunted by my dead father (it's a long story). However, my brother had talking scales in his bathroom. He got to close to them which set off the sensor and the scales said "Hello". He got too close and off they went again. Well, he got in a right state as he had no idea where it was coming from while my brother and my sister in their rooms were trying to smother their laughter. It just left him more convinced the house was haunted! Well my brother laughed and said he remembered that. It seems his memory works better with things further back.
I'm going to have an early night as my cold has returned. Just when I thought I was over it.

 

[Antje77]

@maglil55 , not laughing at the difficult stuff life throws at you but posessed bathroom scales
You've convinced me I never ever want to have talking household items, it would scare me sleepless even if I knew what those voices are!

 

[Annb]

@Annb - I thought your BGs had been starting to behave but they seem to be just as contrary as ever. Grandson did manage a good bit of each morning at school this week and he was in class which is progress. We still haven't managed to get him to lunchtime yet. However, as I said on the other thread, the school isn't worried as I have him well ahead of the class. He is bringing some work home with him when I collect him now. His maths he brought he took one look and declared, we did that weeks ago. Give him his due, he still completed it and rattled through it very quickly. Literacy was interesting as it was something I'd only taken him through last week. He's feeling happy that he's ahead. Not so good with brother though. It is such an effort for him to focus and incredibly frustrating for him. I'm so pleased MacMillan and my niece battled to get carers in. They are very dedicated people but so short handed. I'm glad to say he's still pain free and eating but there is a definite deterioration. We did have a laugh though at brother's. I was talking about my other brother and sister (who passed away in 2018) and how that brother got his bathroom remodel so wrong (which was normal for him). My sister and her Italian husband were staying the night and her husband was convinced the house was haunted by my dead father (it's a long story). However, my brother had talking scales in his bathroom. He got to close to them which set off the sensor and the scales said "Hello". He got too close and off they went again. Well, he got in a right state as he had no idea where it was coming from while my brother and my sister in their rooms were trying to smother their laughter. It just left him more convinced the house was haunted! Well my brother laughed and said he remembered that. It seems his memory works better with things further back.
I'm going to have an early night as my cold has returned. Just when I thought I was over it.

Yes, me too. I thought we were really onto something last week, but today my BG has been hovering around 16-17. I've decided to put the Lantus up a bit and the Humalog up by quite a lot. We'll see how that works. My promised appointment at the diabetes clinic isn't until the end of April, and I don't seem to get very far with telephone appointments. My legs are getting worse too but I keep thinking, "well if I just do this, it might help", so I don't try to get an appointment with the GP. But I must.

Glad to hear your brother still has his sense of humour and his memory of better times to help him. I've never come across talking scales - much rather keep my weight to myself!

I keep hearing strange noises in this house, but then I realise it's Neil playing one of his keyboards or making odd sounds on a synthesiser. It's a bit disconcerting hearing low, weird noises coming along the corridor or the strains of a Bach fugue sounding too complicated for words (Neil likes playing fugues on his keyboard, probably because they are complicated and he CAN do it).

 

[Annb]

Just vegetable broth today, and rather a lot of it. I made it around 2 pm (by which time my BG was 16.9 after FBG of 16.5) and intended to have one bowl of it, but I had another, and then another. No more since about 4 pm and my stomach has really been feeling it. Silly me. I had a couple of GF cheesey oat biscuits of Nairn's yesterday and that brought the bloating and discomfort on, just like the effect of wheat, but not so painful. Probably need to avoid them though. Also had a couple of the vegetable crispbread biscuits that Neil found for me - that was later in the evening and they didn't seem to do too much harm, apart from BG rising.

Going through the Humalog at a rate of knots just now, and will be using it even more quickly if I do put it up by much from tomorrow. But to be honest, I don't feel much like cooking just now and I wish I could just ask Neil to get me some ready meals, but he wouldn't know what to get, and nor would I. I will have to have liver and onions tomorrow - I got Neil to get me some on the last shopping day, so I'll have to use it. Can't think, now, why I thought it would be a good idea.

 

[Annb]

FBG 9.5 - that's a bit better.

Smashed avocado on veggie crispbread for breakfast.

When I opened the pack of lamb's liver, I realised that I had about 3 times as much as I had anticipated. So, I've made a fricasee of liver, bacon, onion and cranberries and hope it will freeze and I will be having fried liver, bacon and onion later today with (maybe) peas or broccoli - both currently in the freezer. Could go more exotic on the veg - there are plenty of different ones in the fridge, but I'm not sure they would go with such a down-to-earth offaly dish.

Today's cooking has tired me out a bit so I shan't be making any "use-it-up" veggie things today. Should still be OK by tomorrow. I did make some apple sauce with some apples that had been in the fridge for a long time and put it in a jar in the fridge. I was going to use it to make something with cream, but I can't get the jar open - the seal is too tight and my hands pretty useless for the job. With such a tight seal, it should be allright for a while longer, as should the berries that I put in a jar with apple juice for Em - but she was more interested in making her fruit salad the last time she was here. Maybe I'll make a mixed fruit kind of Eton mess instead. Need to get more cream - I used the remainder of the carton in the fricasee.

Just received some lupin flour in the post. It looks fine, but I've never used it, so will have to give that some thought. Neil's never had it either and is keen to try it, so I'll probably make some flat bread tomorrow and see how that works - have to keep ingredients to a minimum to be a reasonable test of how Neil does with it.

Edit 7.25 pm: I made some flat bread to try. We both had some - Neil is very unsure about the effect it had on him, I have developed a fairly bad headache. Not definitive but will bear further investigation.

 

[Annb]

Don't think I want to investigate further. Stomach very sore and the headache increasing after trying the lupin flour, so I think it is a no-no. It seems that, whichever way I turn, I can't do the right thing either for my diabetes or my stomach. If I do have an issue with lupin flour, it is an intolerance rather than an allergy - I've always just made myself miserable with food, but never had a severe reaction, as in anaphylaxis, unlike DIL who has to have an Epipen near at all times, just in case.

Bin the flatbreads but might hang on to the flour for a further test after a couple or 3 weeks. I'll wait a few days and then check myself with RyVita to see if the other problem is gluten or just wheat. If the test indicates that the issue is gluten, I shan't bother with barley - don't like it anyway, but if it seems OK, I might just keep going with the rye. Although, I do remember, some years ago, a doctor laughing at me when I complained of terrible colic pains because, as she said "of course you are - you are eating a lot of rye." I didn't know about gluten intolerance then, so didn't understand the connection. We shall see, no doubt, in a few days.

 

[Annb]

FBG 12.9

Breakfast: higher than usual dose of Humalog followed by bubble and squeak, made with leftovers from last night and fried egg. Recovered from the lupin experiment, but very, very tired today, despite an early night and sleeping longer than usual.

Later I'll have some of the ragout (a la Tom Kerridge) later with some frozen mash. I shan't make it that way again - it looked good and was worth trying, but it is a faff and not worth the effort because it doesn't taste as good as my usual recipe.

It will be a 2MAD day today.

 

[maglil55]

@maglil55 , not laughing at the difficult stuff life throws at you but posessed bathroom scales
You've convinced me I never ever want to have talking household items, it would scare me sleepless even if I knew what those voices are!

You've got to laugh otherwise you'd just cry. I was glad to see everyone laughing at that memory! Even more so as nothing would convince him that my Dad wasn't haunting the place. Worse, brother has a talking bin as well!

 

[Annb]

Oh no! A talking bin. What does it say? "Thank you for using me?"

Em came in on her way home from school - her mum had to go to deliver some laundry and pick up her grandchildren on the way home, so no space in the car for Em. I was resting on my bed when she came but did manage to brighten up a bit when she arrived. Her eye was caught by my one remaining avocado when she came in so she wanted to make guacamole, a new method to me - cut the avo and tomato into slices/small cubes. put into a plastic bag with some salt and lime juice and then just smash it together in the bag. Bit of a waste of a poly bag to be honest. Then it was tipped into a bowl and she ate it with sticks of celery. She's always looking for food when she comes in from school.

Didn't bother with the ragout. Just had the guacamole that she'd left with some of the veggie crispbreads. Too late for me to bother with even heating up food.

 

[Antje77]

brother has a talking bin as well!

Why would you want your bin to talk? And what does it say?

 

[Annb]

Why would you want your bin to talk? And what does it say?

I gather that, if you have an Alexa, it may very well talk without being asked. Sometimes in the middle of the night. My brother's one did that quite often. I did have Alexa on my recently purchased Fire Tablet(a friend set it up for me) but, when Em managed to purchase a game unintentionally, Neil dumped the app for me. Technology is too clever for me these days.

FBG 6.5! Good start to the day.
Breakfast was smoked mackerel on veggie crispbreads.

I suppose I shall have to use some of the ragout today for my second meal. Don't really fancy it - as I said, it isn't as good as my usual recipe, but It isn't bad enough to just dump it. Didn't have a second meal yesterday after all, so it was OMAD but just the crispbread and mackerel isn't going to be enough today.

 

[maglil55]

@Chook had trouble with Alexa talking away at all hours I'm sure. The bin was another "Hello" but if you forgot to close the lid it would ask you to close it. Goodness knows where he got it. Fanning the flames of the haunted house. I see you're back to level 3 @Annb. Call me a cynic but it wouldn't have anything to do with an upcoming election? That's a decent start on your BGs today too. How's you cat doing @Antje77?

 

[Antje77]

The bin was another "Hello" but if you forgot to close the lid it would ask you to close it.

No way I would allow a household item having an opinion on how I treat it, and if I leave its lid open or not!
My car navigation is set to a language I do not understand (Georgian at the moment, I change languages every once in a while) because otherwise something telling me what to do (go left, go right, turn around) annoys me to no end.

How's you cat doing @Antje77?

Slowly settling and getting better every day, but not feeling at home yet.

 

[Annb]

@Chook had trouble with Alexa talking away at all hours I'm sure. The bin was another "Hello" but if you forgot to close the lid it would ask you to close it. Goodness knows where he got it. Fanning the flames of the haunted house. I see you're back to level 3 @Annb. Call me a cynic but it wouldn't have anything to do with an upcoming election? That's a decent start on your BGs today too. How's you cat doing @Antje77?

Yes - we are on level 3 again. I don't think we've had any new cases recently but is the decision cynical/political, who knows? Can't say that my mind is Machiavellian enough to be able to keep up with the twists and turns of politics.

BG went haywire again during the day yesterday (topped out at 16.9) and ended up at 12.3 by bedtime. Back to 7.5 again this morning having increased the basal dose a couple of days ago. Upped the Humalog dose yesterday and will up it again today to try to keep BG down. It's beginning to look as though any level of any carbohydrate causes too much of a spike as well as causing signs of intolerance. Still experimenting though.

 

[maglil55]

I wish someone could solve the mystery of your BGs @Annb. It is rare that I cannot fathom what it going on with mine. I'd say the decision is both cynical and political. We have been alternating between 6 and 7 new infections per day (and very few deaths) but we're still in full lockdown. I do follow the twists and turns (probably a throwback to my job when I had to be fully aware of what was going on in government). There were a few cynical moves yesterday.
Pleased to say I think I seem to have solved the issue of increasing grandson's in school time. I had to wait for him to emerge today! The answer was a very gradual increase in time. Importantly, it has got him past the mental block he seemed to have about break time. Next big hurdle will be lunch time. He's agreeing though to the gradual daily increase. I just pray the Easter holidays don't set him back. When he does get back full time though, my concern will be over whether his learning continues to advance. He has suggested though that I continue to teach him a little each day. Meantime I'm looking forward to the Easter Break and a chance to catch up on mundane household things.