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type 2 and sugar control

I am on benefits & low budget I find to shop at a market is best for salary bits & an online shop helps you choose cheaper meats without being impulse buying.. I get thighs& drumsticks, sausages & pork loin steaks on a deal& sometimes switch one of them for salmon on a deal.. I eat salad& veg each night.. I find a cuppa soup fills me for my lunch nicely &normally a oats porridge or weetabix breakfast.. Mini chedders seems a good snack& I add seeds on to my dinner plate.. The nuts are expensive but worth getting when can afford.. Low fat yoghurt or fat free are good as a snack also... You can get lactose free too. I try to make my own food where I can know the sugar range levels, though I look at healthy food in the main.. Always plenty of salad or veg.. I Love the other ideas I this page & will be looking into these so Thank you to you all:-)


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My doctor diagnosed my diabetes when I told him that eating a packet of chocolate biscuits made me semi-unconcious. During my years of having diabetes the Mornings were the worst part of the day. I would have to sit on the sofa watching tv until the tiredness eased and I stabilised. Luckily I am self employed so I could start work when I felt up to it. As I got better my tiredness dissapeared. The mornings are normal for me now. I grew up consuming a great deal of sugar laden foods. My generation did, as do those today, the difference being that maybe we didn't know the dangers. Breakfast for me was as many biscuits as I wanted. As I got older I got hooked on cola, 30 litres a week. No lie, 30 litres a week! A whole pack of chocolate digestives, bags and bags of chocolate covered sweets. It's a wonder I survived. I would like to know what reserch is being done into type 2 to discover how many of us can be 'cured'. I know hunt out the lowest sugars of the foods I buy. Weight Watchers yoghurts are very low. I don't bother with low sugar beans etc. One last thing. I don't eat eggs because I am 99% vegitarian (I drink milk) so imagine my horror a few weeks back to discover that most wine contains traces of egg. It is used to 'clear' the wine to save letting it sit for ages. I now buy my wine at the Co-op. Their own brand wines are fully labeled as to contents.
Lee
 
all good informative stuff

thanks everyone

am learning slowly what and how to do this eating as a diabetic with aim to lose the 17 stone I need to lose

1 stone at a time (2 lbs to hit first stone)

thanks

Vicky_l
 
vicky_l said:
today veg was again mushrooms and peas as in garden peas and chick pea curry (I know that beans and pulses are a no no
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They can be very good as they tend to be low GI. Depends on what you have with them. My local asian superstore always has three tins of chick peas for £1 and their bags of lentils are usually around the £1 mark. A mixed lentil curry is good too. Thing is to make the curry, not to use a pre mixed jar and be careful about chapatti's or nans. Some that say wholegrain don't agree with me but there are some which seem to have no effect on my BG. Spinach and mushroom curry is nice too. Most of the indian vegetarian dishes are ok, very tasty, healthy and cheap.

For meats, try skirt steak or flank steak. Its a cheap piece and very lean. I mostly use it for a ragu ala bolognese. One stick celery, one carrot and one onion blended and fried in a bit of oil, add the meat, sliced thinly across the grain, fry till brown, add half a glass of wine and a tin of chopped tomatoes and let it simmer very very gently for 3 to 4 hours. The meat breaks down and falls apart in your mouth. If you spend £4 on a piece of skirt, you'll get 4 big meals from it. If you use half of it, use the other half for 2 meals of chilli. So far I have had 10 portions from the lentils and still have half packs left.

Chinese food stores do very good packs of king prawns from Vietnam, about £7 per kilo. You'll get ten meals from one of those or Lidl do packs of greenlandic shrimps for about £3.50. These are very good with tomato and onion a little chilli powder or spice to taste, and brown rice. Use spices to brighten up meals and get them from asian stores. They are a fraction of the price. Large bags of chillis, 35p, big bags of broken cinamon sticks, about £1. Don't buy the jars at the local supermarket. They are a rip off.
 
Mongoose39uk said:
Liver is a good cheap option as suggested above. As is shin beef. If you like them tinned pilchards are pretty cheap.
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Offal is cheap, and tasty, but I don't understand why haggis is so expensive. Lidl do some big salamis which can be used in various stews. They go a long way. Some of their smoked pork rings are good chooped up with onions and various veggies, lightly fried with wolegrain pasta which has been cooked beforehand. You get a big plateful for just over a quid.
 
thanks yorksman

some good advice there however I live in the middle of no where with one local shop half a mile away and another farm shop 2 miles away next shop is supermarket which is 6-7 miles away there are no markets and no indian/chinese shops locally or any other type of cuisine around here (unless you talking take aways) so no option of shopping in this way and I dont eat rice or pasta or potatoes or bread on a regular basis as it doesnt agree with me although this week I am going to test out home made flat bread made with spelt flour

and I dont drive so its local shop for carer to get to as she doesnt drive either or online shopping

have lots of veggies being delivered tomorrow and have a few menu recipes to try out

bean curry
mushroom and chicory soup
creamy chicory soup
celeriac and cashew soup
peasant pot
homemade cornish pasties (veggie) with spelt flour pastry
then with whatever veg is left (wont be much I think I just ordered for recipes) will make a veggie curry

aim for four of each meals means I have one meal a day til next shop day

got meat and fish in freezer and cupboard so can add to some of the meals or have as a separate meal and got some rice and veg (5 portions in freezer ready) just need to add meat or fish to it and a meat order coming this Thursday bulk buy make it cheaper per meal I hope will try this company twice and if doesnt work out cheaper will try another company whoever I use has to deliver between the delivery of veg tomorrow and meat on Thursday I will have spent my food budget for the month

I will win on a financial side with solid nutritious meals out of it

Vicky_l
 
Bury black pudding, chadwicks v pud , the vegetarian version that substitutes the pig blood for beetroot. Mcsween also do a vegetarian haggis.
The offal haggis get from Sainsburys,
The Aldi haggis is an abomination and a taint to the good name of a true haggis.
 
vicky_l said:
this week I am going to test out home made flat bread made with spelt flour
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I do a lot of experimenting with different flours. I have tried wholegrain spelt and you can get a rise out of it if you are patient, 12 - 18 hours, but it won't double.

I did make some very tasty cheese buns/scones however with oat bran and allinsons wholemeal seed and grain flour, Basically 50/50 for those and then some oil, grated cheese baking powder and baking soda and a couple of eggs. The cheese I chose was a pecorino and the final result, which is a cross between a scone and a bun, tastes great with a little bit of butter. Rye flour is my favourite though. I usually make 'sponges' to get a rise and have made leavens for white wholemeal flours. There are some good wholegrain flours wround and you can make breads which are low GI yet meals in themselves. One thing I want to have a go at is homebaking scandinavian crispbreads. They are great with some added seeds like sesame and you only need a very thin sice of cheese, with thinly sliced pickled onion or thinly spread fish paste and they taste great, have crunch, won't raise your BG and contain relatively few calories.
 
Hi. Do try the Metformin and ask for the Slow Release version to avoid stomach problems. Metformin is/was derived from a flower in France so in that sense is 'natural'. Don't be taken in generally by this 'natural' stuff. A chemical molecule is a chemical molecule whether taken from a flower or produced in the factory. If it is proven to help and after much international experience doesn't cause harm then do take it. Obviously you do have to be bit careful with your liver so do Google the web for Metformin side effects but it does have very few problems. BTW your current diet looks very good to me so keep at it. Bananas are best avoided but apples and pears aren't too bad and not too expensive.
 
thanks everyone

I will try out some cheese scones and I am quite happy not adding yeast and making my own seeded crackers or unleaven bread and using those as wraps

today for lunch I have had small tin mackerel and piece brie with an apple and 3 dried apricots and of course my normal water :lol:

later will have hot drinks to keep me going as I feel quite cold today so peppermint tea, coca or/and dandelion coffee with plum

so thats the plan

this afternoon is one of organising before recycling people come in the morning lol

happy sugar control people

Vicky_l
 
Hi Vicky,
So good of you to share your story with us. Weight loss may not be easy but it is well worth it, and a pound a week, excellent! :thumbup: I am not going to insult you by saying do the sums for what that adds up to over a year...BUT! do the sums! When you have lost that first stone have a little celebration. Please keep us informed of your progress Vicky.
Lee.
 
thanks Lee

yeah I know but I am impatient as I have 17 stone to lose at least

anyway today ate

3 sausages, half a courgette and a dozen mushrooms

considering some almonds and dried apricots (too tired to cook a meal and still need to wash up in too much pain to want to do anything)

sorry

Vicky_l
 
Hi Vicky,
I do know what you're going through. But I am concerned that you might not be eating enough. I won't nag, much. I discovered that not eating enough can sometimes slow the weight loss down. And others have found that too. Again, not nagging, but have you thought of preparing meals in advance? I have to plan my meals that way now so that I won't have the temptation to snack if I have'nt eaten enough. I try to plan my days food intake so that I reach the evening haveing consumed my days allowance, if I get to the evening and I have 'points' left over I start to get worried. I also have to eat by 5pm at the latest, that might be a 'leftover' from my diabetes days when I used to get glucose ups and downs. I made myself a promise that I would never go to bed hungry, I have a yoghurt and a small gass of milk, what do you do if you feel that way? I hope you will continue with the diet, maybe it won't fix all your ills, it didn't fix all mine, but it cetainly helps. I watched a programme last year about a man who had to lose about 10 stones before the NHS would operate to remove dozens more. With all that he endured, to see the man he became must have given many people a boost. It certainly affected me. Keep posting Vicky.
Lee.
 
thanks Lee

I know I am not eating enough that is due to financial limitations my food budget is £20 a week and wish I knew how to make it work and give me adequate food that works for me as a diabetic who needs low carbs

I gave in and ate the dried fruit and some nuts and then realised how hungry I was so went on to eat 3 sausages (oops no more left) and two bacon (no more left now either) and well so breakfast will either have to be almonds, smoked haddock or tinned tuna

weird breakfast I know but its food alternative is rice and beans

lots of different kind of beans

any ideas welcome

thanks

Vicky_l
 
Anyone local to you you could go the supermarket with and get some pointers?
 
sadly not nearest supermarket to me is 7 miles away and carer sold car last weekend so no supermarket trips except online

got tesco delivering today mostly fruit and veg will do another shop Monday (normally or use to have Waitrose on Monday before the income cut they deliver for £50 which is what I use to spend on food but now its half cant use them unless I do fortnightly and well not sure thats viable on fresh food

so important if finding how much carbs a day to aim for and try to work out whats in each food esp those without labels which is most of what I buy (dont like tins or packets thats why thats all thats left in house as I buy them thinking o might get stuck and thats what ends up in cupboard when no money but not good)

tesco is only supermarket who doesnt have a minimum spend before delivery so I have about £23.50 a week for food toiletries and cleaning products so food prob about £18-20 if I am to stop doing deeper into debt

So breakfast mayb egg and bacon and mushrooms three days a week then alternatives for say other four days so if I can find two things that I like and fills me up without being carb based ideal so though almond oats be perfect for two and mayb cheese omelette for two days but not sure how to make almond oats as in balance of nuts to oats to ensure not too carb dense

after a massive battle with gp got metformin for next 7 days agree lowest dose possible whatever that is and bloods on tuesday to decide if I can continue on it (they going to monitor super close) so will start those on Friday AM (blood glucose testing tomorrow and charting then onto metformin and blood testing again so am thinking need 50 strips a week to test before and after meals and no snacking ;-) well no snacking and testing atleast but right now aim is three meals

seem to be waffling I think its too early to be awake :lol:

Vicky_l
 
Do Asda or Sainsburys or Ocado deliver near you?
If you go to one of the money coupon saving websites with a quick Google you can often acquire free delivery codes or money off that "pays" for delivery.
I use Tesco ocassionally here. Can you're local authority help you regards to a carer with a car , or an allowance towards its running costs?
 
thanks sainsburys and ocado dont deliver here and asda too expensive due to min spend so its tescos

as for local authority they just cut my carers budget by 300 a month so dont think they will want to help either

its keep juggling finances until I find a more realistic way forward hoping just for a few months

thanks tho and will try the websites

Vicky_l
 
Ok taking control :!:

as of today am low carbing

I will conquer this disease or at least slow its progression down :D

will continue my progress reports in journey has begun :D

Vicky_l
 
Vicky, hi there.

It must be very hard being on such a tight budget for food.

Do you have a freezer? If you do, then cooking large batches then freezing portions is a great way of always having the 'right' food to choose from.
I make a great tasty curry out of the cheapest chicken pieces, strip off the meat, etc add curry paste, a tin of tomatoes, onions and add oodles of cheap veggies, like carrots, turnip, courgette, apples, in fact any veg you have handy. Cauliflower works well, as does adding green beans etc. It makes loads of curry, and if you could have some brown rice with it perhaps, just a little?

You can make bolognaise with mince and add lots of veggies to that too - and it's not too high in calories or carbs.

Good luck on your weight loss, be positive and try to think ahead for meals, as others have said, as it does stop the snacking!
 
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