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Still confused...

Rosemaryx said:
I can't eat nuts as I have no teeth,getting my dentures in a few weeks.
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:) Rosemaryx, I think I can solve your nut eating problem for you, ( ditto with seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin ),...just grind them to a powder with the gadget mentioned below, and add them to soups, stews, porridge, smoothies, sandwiches,...whatever,...perhaps even to cereals.

You can store them for ages in a jam jar or container in the fridge.

You can even add a "little" olive oil and make your own peanut butter, ( no sugar or palm oil, which most shop bought peanut butter has...palm oil, not good, high in saturated fat ), you can even add just water and make a thick or thin paste which can be used in a salad dressing, ( in moderate amounts of course ).
http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fi...g-healthy-food-choices/fats-and-diabetes.html

( Sugar seems to get added to some of the unlikeliest foods. ! )

I must try that with almonds and cashews, of course one has to bear in mind that nuts are quite high in, ( good ), fats, and therefore in calories, but of course one usually tends to use them in fairly small amounts, and as with most diabetic friendly ingredients, it's as much about quantity and the food combinations and how quickly or slowly they are digested, as it is about nutritional content and values, speaking of which you might, if you haven't already done so, find it useful to check out some info about glycemic load, ( GL ), in conjunction with glycemic index ( GI ), because GL relates the amount of a food that you eat to it's effect on blood glucose levels.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/glycaemic-index-diet-and-diabetes.html

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/glycemic-load.html

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/glycemic-index-range.htm

http://www.nickfitness.com/glycemic_index

What you need to sort out your nut eating problem is a gadget which in the USA is usually called a "Magic Bullet" the equivalent of which in Britain is made by Hinari and is sold as "The Hinari Genie Multi Attachment Blender", it's cheap, versatile, small, compact, and works well, ( apart from the juicing attachment which is pretty useless ).

http://direct.asda.com/Hinari-MB280-Genie-Multi-Attachment-Blender/001567172,default,pd.html

It's sold in Asda, Tesco, Argos, and probably a whole bunch of other places.

I've got one, and it's very useful and quick to use, and easy to store.

It's actually a combination grinder and blender, the grinder attachment can grind nuts, spices, coffee beans, etcetera, and it does it well, you can also use it to make small green and or fruit smoothies, ( or a combo of both ), which are very nice, and low sugar/carbs, ( I like a dash of Worcestershire sauce in some of those, it gives an added tang and kick), they're really nice, and they might be a good option for you when you, (understandably ), get baffled and fearful about what to eat or not eat.

I'm sure that the people on here would tell you that not eating can be as bad as eating the wrong stuff, but I think that your emotions and experiences are probably common to most of us, but it's a learning curve, and I think that the fears and anxieties diminish as one becomes more informed about the condition and it's management options,...and I think that it's really important to us all to take on board the fact that it is manageable, and that we can do a lot to counteract it, and especially so with diet, and it's a big, ( but understandable ), mistake to think that diabetic friendly eating is all about denial and restriction, it isn't, it's more about finding alternatives, and enjoyable alternatives, and there are tons of those available.

Finding out that one has diabetes certainly can be, ( at least initially ), scary and a morale zapper, and I think that with diabetes, ( as with most illnesses ), one has to deal with it as much in the head, as in the body, and my policy on this is to try and find out enough to enable me to try and dictate to it, rather than have it dictate to me, it's a scare and a shock for sure, but isn't it preferable to be aware of it and be able to have it treated, rather than to be unaware and possibly suffer worse consequences in the future. ?

One bonus that doesn't seem to get much mention is that it does simplify grocery shopping,...all those supermarket aisles that can now be, ( and probably mostly have to be ), sailed on past. :)

This short vid shows the Hinari in action, ( and as a smoothie maker ), I wouldn't recommend this particular recipe for diabetics though, :) at least not the apple and orange juice for sure, nor the lovely banana, ( except possibly a small amount of banana ), you can actually make a smoothie with water, ( or unsweetened soy milk or similar ), tap water or mineral water, still or sparkling.


Some apple or pear works well, and is O.K. for diabetics, and the soluble fiber in those helps to emulsify the smoothie, and the spinach is good, and btw, re kale, mega good for the liver, and diabetes is a lot to do with the liver and pancreas, and if liver function improves that is also helpful to the pancreas, kale is high in calcium and vitamin C, and mega high in vitamin A which is particularly good for the eyes, ( and therefore extra important to diabetics of course ), but kale is also high in vitamin K so it's not good for anyone on warfarin, some mint would be great as well.

The Hinari is also good for making dips and salad dressings and such.
 
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Artificial sweeteners ?, maybe not so good...
http://www.sharecare.com/health/typ...r-with-diabetes/10-worst-foods-for-diabetes-7

You might want to consider this natural alternative which is sold in supermarkets and is available in powder or tablet form...
http://truvia.co.uk/hcp/nutrition_science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

You're probably as baffled as many of us are about the nutritional values of various foods, these sites might help you to get an easier to grasp handle on that topic... http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3138/2
http://www.glycemicindex.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_load

As far as understanding the causes and symptoms of the illness and the roles that insulin and the liver and pancreas play, the most comprehensive and easiest to grasp source that I have seen so far is this little animated video, and it's from this site...


You mentioned flax seed, flax is very good, the highest source of omega 3, higher than oily fish, and I find that it's a natural thickening agent in soups and stews, ( veggie stews are very nice btw ), one can do a lot with some herbs or curry powder or curry spices, flax seed is unaffected by heat, but flax oil's beneficial properties are immediately destroyed by heat, you can get flax seed in any health food shop and it's pretty cheap.

It is initially difficult to change ones mindset from eating 3 meals at set times to eating 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day, and or a combination of healthy snacks, and I think that one of the most difficult aspects of that is feeling hungry but not having anything diabetically suitable immediately available, the temptation then is to grab a quick pie or a ready meal or whatever.

I think that two of the best solutions to that is to make ones own soups in a batch, and then freeze or refrigerate them, very easy to make, using almost any veg, and quick to reheat, and way cheaper and tastier than the rubbish in cans for sure.

The other great option is...home made veggie burgers...far tastier than many people might suspect, and can be eaten on their own, or as an accompaniment to almost anything, very easy to make, ( with just about any veg, and you can add stuff such as flax seeds as well ), and they can be made in a batch, frozen, and thawed as they cook, about 15 minutes in a pan, or perhaps a bit longer in the oven, I just freeze them in cling film, rub them with a little bit of olive oil, and then give them about 8 minutes per side in a non stick pan, when they're golden brown they're done, I particularly like them made with dried herbs or some curry powder,...I do usually remove the cling film first though. :)

As with diabetic information, there are tons of veggie burger and other cooking and dietary vids on youtube, and btw, if you want to download and save any youtube vids, ( which doesn't save the daft youtube adverts as well, hurray ! ), you can do that quickly and easily online on this site... http://en.savefrom.net/1-how-to-download-youtube-video/ just copy and paste the youtube vid URL, then click download, then click the format that you want to save the vid in.

There are loads of veggie burger vids, I particularly like this youtube poster's vids, she's actually a vegan and a nutritionist, and she also has a very good, and free, website, and many of her vids and recipes are diabetic friendly, ( and tasty ).



You might also want to check out buckwheat, which although it contains carbohydrate, ( and as per usual with diabetic nutrition values ), one source says that it's low GI and another says the opposite, in appropriate amounts it is supposedly beneficial in managing blood glucose and cholesterol levels, so judge for yourself. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=11

http://www.ion.ac.uk/information/onarchives/controldiabetes

Anyway, I'll shut up now, I hope that you may have found a tiny bit of that helpful, but do your own research, get informed, read widely, assess any information and form your own opinion about what is valid and reliable and what isn't, it is very confusing, but after enough time and effort it does gradually start to become clearer and a bit easier to grasp.

Stay positive and good luck with your efforts,...time for an apple, celery and berry fruit smoothie now, :), I think I'll be brave and include a slice of melon. :)
 
Oh my Steve,if I could send you a bunch of virtual flowers I would...Thank you so much for taking your time to write this all out for me,it will certainly give me plenty to read,and the videos to watch...I shall prepare a nice lunch tomorrow and sit and go through it bit by bit...I love the sound of the bullet,and I shall check my local Tesco out for it,I love the sound of the soups,I do get stuck on what to eat in the day,so these soups and smoothies will be ideal...Over the moon with it all Steve ,yes I hope to embrace my diabetes instead of being so scared...Right now for dinner I am cooking Steak chunks,Butternut squash,peppers,sprouts,cauliflower...xox
 
Thankyou Rosemary, most stuff about most stuff can be found on youtube, it's especially totally great for cooking info of every kind.

That meal sounds very nice, and very similar to the sort of things that I make, btw, have you ever tried replacing meat with quorn chunks ?, it has a similar texture to meat, it's high in protein, and low carb, it's fermented from a kind of fungus similar to mushrooms, and mushrooms also have a somewhat meaty texture.

When I'm not feeling lazy I sometimes follow a recipe, but mostly I just wing it and try what I think might work, and touch wood, it usually turns out better than I had hoped for.

Soups are such a great standby, and so tasty, quick, easy and cheap, and also filling, as are smoothies.

You like mushrooms I believe, well that's a great soup to start with, there are various involved recipes for it, but the most basic, as with many soups, starts with sauteing some onion in a very small amount of olive oil, and then sauteing the mushrooms, but I tried an even more basic version, and it worked well.

Just get a box or two of plain old white mushrooms, ( which have more flavour than they're often given credit for ), or chestnut ones, chop them up fairly small or slightly larger by hand, or with a quick whizz in the food processor, warm a small amount of olive oil in a pot, no point in adding more oil because they will soak it up like a sponge, lowest heat, occasional stir, and they will start to release their liquid, when there is a good amount of liquid, ( after about 5 minutes or so ), add a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of ground black pepper, then add enough water to cover them about half an inch, ( I like thick soups ), and a stock cube or half a stock cube depending on the amount of mushrooms, because stock cubes can be salty, I like the Knorr chicken or veg stockpot kind, simmer it for 10 minutes.

Then whizz it in the blender and it is surprisingly thick and creamy, almost as if cream had been added, and banging with flavour, check the seasoning, job done, make too much, no prob, chill it or freeze it.

Leek is pretty good too, a couple of big leeks, roughly chop, saute in olive oil, season, I used to like to add a couple of potatoes, but I've gone low carb, so now I add a small sweet potato, butternut squash would work too, add stock, simmer for 10 minutes, blend, you can add some garlic a minute or two before the stock, and some dried herbs to the liquid.

Anyway, I'm off out now, I've found a health food shop in my area that sells buckwheat pasta, aka Soba noodles, a good diab alternative to pasta, so I'm going to give those a try, they also have buckwheat flour, and btw, there are lots of youtube vids about making buckwheat pancakes, ( pretty quick and easy ), and as a wrap for a salad or chicken filling or whatever, they should make a good diab alternative to bread, so I'll have a go at making some of those.

You might also want to try unsweetened wholebean soy milk as an alternative to cow's milk, it has almost no sugar content, and I guess that every little bit of sugar reduction helps.

Cauliflower makes a banging and creamy soup as well, and frozen cauli or veg is great for making a quick soup.

Bon apetite.
 
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Love it all,shall try the soup for sure,I love buck wheat,had some the other night and did not spike me...Would love to try the wraps,I miss my bread so much...Enjoy your day...thank you once again...xox
 
Thanks Steve,shall go and look now...thank you...xox I like the look of this site,am looking to make bread,I miss it so much,couldn't watch the video as my iPad to slow,I wish I knew someone Diabetic who lived close by and offered to cook me a meal Lool, or show me how to cook from these new ingredients,I am quite bored with my meals,it is quite lonely being diabetic some times,especially when you don't know what your doing,I tried to make cup cakes,what a disaster,I shall just have to practice more...:happy:
 
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