Today I went to see my quack – a beautiful young woman who INSTANTLY recognized the term “laryngopharyngeal reflux” when I saw her last week, to my absolute joy* ! – to talk about diabetes. Yes, I’ve given up the attempt to eat the right thing: there are so many varying inputs that I can no longer pretend to be coping.
But the worst part has been not continuing on with my vegetarian diet. I LOVE the food I used to cook.
(Some of you might remember that I became somewhat leery about cooking a while back; but that was because I put pressure on myself to keep cooking new recipes. Once I settled on several tried&trues, I was laughing.)
No more. Introducing meat into my consumption has rendered me helpless. I can’t cook meat ! I mean sure, I can grill a steak and have it with vegies or salad
(or sausages, which I like as long as they don’t have bread in); but to cook a one-pot meal using meat ? – no way. Casseroles don’t have anything LIKE the variety that vegetarian recipes do !
I did my best to
- not eat anything sweet (or with sugar in)
- not eat carbohydrates anywhere near as much as I did when vegetarian
- eat FAT – full-cream milk, full-cream yoghourt and so on
- eat meat
but I was detesting it. In the end I had to admit that having my coffee with full-cream milk was making me feel sick; that adding cream to blackberries (gosh, they were yummy ! – but so short a season !) just ruined them; that I was missing my morning Freedom cereals so much I felt like crying; and that the meat-eating simply wasn’t working.
And added to all this was my absolute LONGING for one of my vegetarian one-pot wonders ..
At the beginning of this week I caved: I cooked a big potful of chickpea coconut curry with fresh tomatoes, and it was .. it was .. to tell you that it was the best thing I’ve eaten in roughly three months is no exaggeration. It was HEAVENLY. And I have one serving left ..
So the quack and I discussed all this and agreed that to get the advice of a dietitian who knows about diabetes and how to eat for it is indeed the best way to cope with everything food-oriented. My dear friend M is sceptical; but we shall see what we shall see – I see her next Wednesday.
I failed, see ? – failed at trying to approach my eating using common sense. I’m too torn: I don’t want to be eating more fat and less carbs, but I know I’m definitely going to have to cut down on the latter .. So to throw it all in someone else’s lap and just cry “Help !” seems good to me.
*as opposed to every GP I saw during the 4½ years I lived in Geelong, none of ’em either recognizing the term or indicating the slightest interest in reading about it (for I printed out and took to each one a most respectable article that had peer reviews ad everything)
Here’s hoping you’ll be able to find a middle ground with the help of a dietitian.
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Thanks, MW ! – I’m incapable of finding it on my own. Why my brain is turning to mush is beyond me: I never thought it would ..
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I understand the limiting of carbs. But why full fat?
Your curry looks delicious. Here’s another delicious one, best for winter, though. Which it is, here! https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/09/tangy-braised-chickpeas/
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Michele, you little ripper – I had forgotten all about the Smitten Kitchen !! :D
What a source of wondrous things, eh ? – even though she states clearly that she was once vegetarian but is no longer. Still enough recipes there to keep me going till the cows come home .. https://youtu.be/MWXuXjfaSaQ
Why full fat ? Well .. it can be seen as a long story, but in fact it’s due to the pretty recent change of thinking about cholesterol: Nina Teicholz’s “The Big Fat Surprise” – https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Big_Fat_Surprise.html?id=YJicAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1
is VERY detailed ..
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And I forgot to say that anything that’s had fat removed has had sugar added – otherwise it would taste horrible.
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Yes, I agree, those chick peas look delicious. I took notice of the smittenkitten site too. Definitely worth a look.
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The Smitten Kitchen can support a cook forever, and that’s not exaggerating, Chris – because you don’t need to cook different things all the time.
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Very sensible approach M-R. You have to be able to enjoy your meals, otherwise you just won’t eat properly, and anyhow, what’s the point of eating to live! Much better to live to eat, I say. I hope the dietitian can come up with something that suits your health and taste preferences. I’m sure they’ll be able to do something, though perhaps in the end it will be a matter of choices about how you want to live your life?
BTW I’m so glad you’ve found a GP who is responsive and interested in you.
(That curry looks delicious, even if I can’t eat it.)
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I’m always doing that to you, Sue – sorry, me old china ! :}
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You are, but I’m used to it now – and I do know your heart’s in the right place. Haha. And, anyhow, tomatoes do make most vegetable dishes so I completely understand.
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Would reducing your portions and eating those yummy meals help at all, MR. Of course, this would require discipline.
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Disci— dis— what is that word again ..?
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It may be a little unfamiliar to you, but it is in the dictionary, M-R -[grin]
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PFUH ! I’ve never found it.
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hehe!
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Coconut, chickpeas, fresh tomatoes, all nicely spiced and sharing their goodness and flavours in a one-pan dish. Heavenly indeed!
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I am honoured ! XO
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