Food and Fiber Friday - New Lifestyle

My whole life I have been on the low end of the blood glucose scale. In fact, at 32, pregnant with Savvy, I had to take the gestational diabetes test twice because they had a hard time believing a 32-year old woman, who was a bit overweight, didn't have gestational diabetes. My 'score' was 82, well below the range for being in trouble.

Fast forward 3 decades and your's truly has been teetering on the brink of falling into the diabetic range. Damn menopause! 

Of course, did I really 'do' anything about it?

Nope!

So recently I started testing my blood glucose levels. 

Needless to say, the results have been eye-opening and troubling. (Note: I do have an appointment next Friday for a check-up and blood tests with my doctor.)

Anyway, being the sugar-addict that I am and a semi-reformed 'Old Southern Cook', I have been trying to modify what and how I eat. Luckily, I do have a friend who has been diabetic for many years to give me tips and hints and suggestions. 

I am trying to look at my new lifestyle changes, whether or not I actually have diabetes, as an adventure on a new path. It will also give me the opportunity to reverse my situation if I am diabetic. 

One of those things is to try some new recipes or to fix tried-and-true recipes a different way. The whole balancing carbs/proteins, etc. is 'interesting' to say the least. 

Last night I fixed a personal pizza. 

I did purchase a thin-and-crispy crust. There were some recipes using a tortilla, but I felt it was a bit too thin and flimsy. Two tablespoons of pizza sauce were used. Luckily, I am a light sauce person anyway and I found it was just enough to add some flavor. I diced up 2 small rounds of thinly sliced Canadian bacon and some green bell pepper. From my garden, I had a small Roma tomato which I thinly sliced, along with some fresh basil.

I topped it with a little less than 1/2 cup of a three-cheese blend - asiago, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Into the 425 degree oven for about 9 minutes it went.

One problem with having a pizza craving is that (1) most pizzas are way too big for just one person and (2) I do not like reheating leftover pizza. But this size seemed to be just right for a meal.

I have to say it was as delicious as I hoped it would be. And yes, it was just right to be filling, but not too much. I had carbs and protein and some veggies. Ok, maybe not as much veggies as it should be, but more than half the toppings, other than the cheese, were veggies. 

This will definitely be on my meal rotation because it is not only tasty, but quick and easy. 

Then, since my sweet-tooth should be appeased, I had a fresh sliced peach. After all, my Chocolate Avocado Pudding was chilling in the refrigerator.

A friend had fixed this for our dessert when she had me over for dinner. 

Now, I have to say I don't 'do' avocado. It may be texture, but I don't eat avocado. 

But this was good!

So I made myself a batch of the pudding. I did top mine with some unsalted almonds. It's basically avocado, unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a bit of vanilla, cocoa powder and maple syrup. 

The serving size is about 1/2 cup. However, the pudding is rich tasting enough to be filling and appeases my sweet tooth. 

Why am I dragging all this out onto my website?

Accountability!

Even if the results of my blood test still shows me in the pre-diabetic range, I need to drop weight anyway. So my sharing my journey, I am hoping it keeps me on the new path I am walking with regard to my health. 

So I am off this morning to dice up a banana to top my whole grain cereal.