Why am I doing this again?

I am asking my self this question…. “Why am I doing this again?”

With all the left over Easter candy hanging around the house, I am constantly tempted to eat sugar!!! I swear if I had been diagnosed with diabetes, I would most certainly be dead from all the sugar I ate yesterday! BAD BAD BAD!!! I am back on track today… thank god!

This is not the fast track to losing weight, so if that’s what you are looking for, you are out of luck! If you want fast, join the BIGGEST LOSER and have JILLIAN MICHAELS screaming in your ear as you run your ass off! Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to watch and yes, you have the potential to lose 10 pounds a week, but that is not for me!

This is a slow and steady pace that works! You may only lose 3 pounds a month, but it is 3 less than 30 days ago and 3 pounds times 12 months adds up to at least 2 pant sizes! Not to mention, very little, if any, loose skin! This has been the best part! Minimal exercise (30 minutes, 3 times a week at low to medium intensity) and the flab of skin that took up the front of my pants is now a void! Not to mention the seat of my pants bagging like I had a sack of potatoes living there before!

So, why am I doing this? I believe the above explains my reasoning : )

A Diabetic in Training

Philly Cheese Steak Sliders

Here is another recipe from the REAL WOMEN OF PHILADELPHIA contest! I submitted this one last night. Your biggest carbs in this are the ciabatta rolls. They are 44 carbs each. The vegetables have some carbs and natural sugars, but also have fiber. You can opt to use a lower carb roll, or omit the roll all together and make this more of an entree. Just add the garlic (chopped) into the peppers and onions to saute. Then just pile on the peppers, garlic and onions, layer on the sliced steak and top with the gooey cheese sauce! Use a low carb beer or chicken stock.

PHILLY CHEESE STEAK SLIDERS

• 1 pound(s) of rib-eye steak
• 1 softball size onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 8 ounce(s) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 8 ounce(s) of shredded provolone cheese
• 12 ounce(s) of bottle honey wheat beer
• 6 ciabatta rolls
• 1 whole garlic clove – peeled
• 2 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup(s) of olive oil
• 1 tbsp. of kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. of fresh ground pepper
• 2 tsp. of season salt

1. Fire up the grill! Season your rib-eye steak with season salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on how well done you prefer.
2. Allow steak to rest for at least 5 minutes before you slice it.
3. Heat saute pan over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to pan. Slice onion and peppers and add to pan. Season with one teaspoon each salt and pepper. Saute until onions and peppers are tender. Once tender, add 4 ounces of the beer and remove from heat.
4. In a sauce pan, over medium low heat, add the cream cheese and the rest of the beer. Whisk until warm and all beer is incorporated. Whisk in the shredded provolone cheese until melted. Set aside off heat.
5. Drizzle ciabatta rolls with olive oil and toast under broiler or on grill.
6. Rub warm grilled rolls with the cut end of the garlic clove.
7. Slice rested steak thinly.
8. Assemble sliders. Take bottom of rolls and pile onions and peppers. Layer on the sliced rib-eye steak. Pour the cream cheese fondue over the top of the sliced steak. Top with ciabatta roll.
9. Bring on the Napkins!!

ENJOY!!

A DIABETIC IN TRAINING

Yummy Stuffed Mushrooms

I have been away too long!

So I am continually entering the “Real Women of Philadelphia” cooking contest hosted by Paula Deen.  Every week I have entered a video and recipe for this contest. I have done two so far and both are relatively low in carbs and no sugar. When it comes to the dessert week, I won’t be able to do the sugar-free for the contest, but I will do some converting and get it posted on here!

So here is the recipe for my “Philly Stuffed ‘shrooms”.

1 large red bell pepper – diced

1 cup green onion – diced

1 pound ground sausage – regular or spicy

1 splash good red wine

8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese – cubed

2 pints crimini mushrooms – stemmed

4 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp. toasted plain bread crumbs

1 tbsp. italian parsley

1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

2 pinches each of salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease bottom of a baking dish. Set aside.

Place 1 T. olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the diced red bell pepper and green onions in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the sausage and break up with a potato masher or a wooden spoon. Cook for 5 minutes or until sausage is browned.

Remove pan from heat and deglaze pan with a splash of red wine or chicken stock (or even water!) Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the bits up.

Add the cubed Philadelphia Cream Cheese to the warm pan and mix into the sausage mixture with the potato masher. Set aside.

Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Clean out the bowl of the mushroom cap to make room for the filling.

Place the mushroom caps into a bowl and drizzle with 2-3 T. olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat.

Lay mushrooms in the prepared baking dish and fill each cap with the cream cheese and sausage mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together the parsley, thyme, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Top the filled mushrooms with the herb mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender and the topping will be crispy and browned.

Pop ’em hot!!

These are great little appetizers and you can get carried away eating them because they are super low in carbs!

Huge donation to AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION

Last night on “THE APPRENTICE”, BRET MICHAELS was the project manager and won! His charity is AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION. Bret Michaels has lived with diabetes his whole life.

This donation was $100,000.00!! Hopefully they can find a cure for type 1 and stop it from making people’s lives miserable!

Type 2 can be stopped! EAT LIKE A DIABETIC!! Cut out your sugar intake and lower your carbs people!!! Stop this disease before it stops you!

A Diabetic in Training

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

I saw this done on the RACHEL RAY show. I added a few extras and made this RECIPE my own. They are not fried and come out super crunchy!

MOZZARELLA CHEESE STICKS

16 part skim mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese) – cut in half

2 whole eggs

2 tbsp. water

1 cup flour

2 cups panko bread crumbs

pam cooking spray (olive oil flavor is best)

2 tbsp. Johnny’s garlic salt

2 tbsp. mc cormicks grinders italian seasoning

Mix the flour and the garlic salt together in one dish. Mix eggs and water in another dish. Mix italian seasoning and the panko bread crumbs in another dish. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with pam cooking spray. Toss cheese sticks in flour mixture until well coated. Then toss in egg mixture. Make sure all the cheese sticks are coated well with egg, this will ensure the panko bread crumbs stick really well. After they are coated in the eggs mix, toss in the bread crumbs until thoroughly coated with crumbs. Place on the greased cookie sheet and spray top with more cooking spray. Bake for 8 minutes and check. If cheese is oozing they are done, if not, bake for another 5 minutes, but keep a close watch or you will end up with a puddle of cheese and crumbs.

Allow to cool for a minute and serve with marinara sauce or alone.

Thanks to Rocco Dispirito. A variation of this recipe is in his new cook book.

A Diabetic in Training

Diabetic Snacking

Looking for some great snacks that are LOW in CARBS and SUGAR-FREE? I found some terrific DIABETIC friendly SNACKS!

Chester Cheetah has a good one! It’s called CHESTER’S PUFFCORN. It is like popcorn without the hulls! They have it in butter and cheese flavors. It is only 12 carbs and 1 sugar for 3 cups! Yes, I said 3 CUPS! The extra kicker is the price… for a big bag, the cost is only $2.00!!

Beef Jerky is also a perfect fix. The original flavor is 3 carbs for half the bag! Plus it is all protein so it zaps the cravings and fills the void!

Enjoy!

A Diabetic in Training

Parmesan Chicken Recipe

PARMESAN CHICKEN is super LOW IN CARBS and great for snacking or used in a meal.

Cut these into small bite-size pieces and you have an appetizer or chicken nuggets for the kids. Cut into strips and top off any great salad or pasta dish or pair with seasoned brown rice and vegetables for a full meal.

PARMESAN CHICKEN

12 to 15 chicken tenders – trim off tendons – cut into bite sized pieces or lengthwise into strips or keep whole depending on the use

1 cup grated parmesan cheese – a fine powder type not the shreds

1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

aprox. 10 grinds of MC CORMICKS GRINDERS italian seasoning (about 2 tablespoons)

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick saute pan on medium heat. In a shallow dish, mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, seasoning mix and pepper. Press chicken (full tenders) or toss small pieces in parmesan mixture until completely coated. Place half of the chicken into the hot oil. Allow to cook until browned (about 3 minutes) and then turn over. Heat oven to 350 degrees and turn off. Place cooked chicken on a cookie sheet and put in hot oven to keep warm. Make sure the oven is now off. Heat the last 2 tablespoons of oil in saute pan and cook the rest of the chicken. Keep it warm in the oven until ready to serve. 

The Mc Cormicks grinders italian seasoning has garlic, sea salt, red pepper flakes and a bunch of herbs that give this amazing flavor. This recipe works with just the parmesan cheese too, but the flavor kick comes from the seasoning.

The chicken ends up so tender, you will never want chicken nuggets from a fast food place again!

A Diabetic in Training

RECIPE FOR ROASTED VEGETABLES

Need a way to get more vegetables into your diet??? Have I got a yummy recipe for you!

ROASTED VEGETABLES RECIPE

5 cloves garlic – smashed

1 large red onion – sliced

1 bunch asparagus spears (cut about 1 inch off ends)

3 small zucchini (cut off ends and split lengthwise and then slice into half-moons about 1/2 inch thick)

1/2 package cherry or grape tomatoes – cut in half

1 red bell pepper – cut in half and slice

1 orange or yellow bell pepper – cut in half and slice

1 green bell pepper – cut in half and slice

3 carrots – cut into sticks

3 ribs celery – cut into 1 inch pieces

6 sprigs fresh thyme – strip off leaves and toss stems

1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese – shredded 

handful fresh italian or flat leaf parsley – chopped

1 pkg. mushrooms (baby bella or button) – quartered

1/2 cup (approx.) extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 425. Toss everything (but the cheese and parsley) together in a large bowl making sure everything is coated with the oil. This will make enough for two meals for four people. Take half and put in a gallon size ziploc baggie. Place veges on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, in one layer. Roast for 25-35 minutes. You can also add potatoes (red are my favorite) just make sure you cut them into small bite size pieces so they cook at the same time the other veges do. While veges are still hot, top with parmesan and parsley and serve.

A Diabetic in Training

Diabetic BANANA CREAM PIE

So I started new today… Again! I have had a rough go this last little while and I am ready to get strict again.

So here is a DIABETIC RECIPE for SUGAR-FREE BANANA CREAM PIE!

1 package SUGAR-FREE JELLO PUDDING in BANANA CREAM flavor (prepare according to pie filling directions)

1 sliced ripe banana

1 KRUSTEZ pie crust mix (prepared according to directions)

canned whipping cream for topping

Create and bake pie shell according to the directions on the package and allow to cool. Make pudding mix and fold in sliced bananas and chill while pie crust is cooling. Pour pudding into pie crust and garnish with whipping cream.

This is about 8 grams of sugar (in the milk) and 18 grams of carbs per slice (about 1/12 of the pie).

So yummy, you will never guess it is sugar free!!!

A Diabetic in Training

Diabetic Ups and Downs

So it has been 10 tens since my last post. I have had numerous ups and downs, from the scale going nowhere to craving sugar like it was air! I didn’t feel it was fair to those of you that are doing well to let you know I was failing. I have now regained ground not to mention my footing. I found my “WHY”. I know there is a reason I need to do this.

I realized, because of my family history with DIABETES, if I don’t stick to this now… I will be FORCED to stick to it later or DIE!

Diabetes is a killer. Yes, most recently it can be controlled with diet and medication, but if you don’t follow through with that, you will DIE! Simple as that! It took my grandmother and numerous other people’s grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles alike. RACHAEL RAY lost her grandfather to it. It took LARRY H. MILLER in 2009.

If DIABETES runs in your family, PLEASE consider this change in your lifestyle NOW before you have to change it later.

There has been an increase of 61% of diabetics in a three year span. Don’t allow this disease to continue on the rise. It attacks the OVERWEIGHT bodies even more often because that is an easy target.
I have committed to re-creating DIABETIC FRIENDLY or LOW CARB RECIPES and posting them from some popular cook books. I will try to post at least five per week. I will also lend tips I have found for snacking and SUGAR TREAT ALTERNATIVES.

This DISEASE is truly deadly. It is not a quick killer either. It is slow and methodical, taking pieces of you at a time. It is an ugly and miserable death. Stop it now before it stops you! 

A Diabetic in Training