Count-Down to Monday

DIABETIC DELIGHTS: A CONFESSIONS OF A FOODIE OFFSPRING will begin posting diabetic recipes on Monday, August 10. Confessions of a Foodie will continue to post diabetic recipes on Thursdays as part of its regular postings. However, as I continue to run across more people who are either diabetic or who have diabetic family members, I frequently hear requests for more diabetic-friendly recipes.

That's where this blog comes in. Most week-days, I'll post five or six diabetic recipes. There's nothing scary or magical about them, except that they've been created with the diabetic person in mind.

But what if I'm not diabetic? you may wonder. Can I eat these, too? The answer is a resounding yes.

But how good are these recipes? Isn't cooking a diabetic meal, well, boring? They're every bit as good as any other type of meal, whether cooking for someone with no health issues (but most of us could probably eat a little healthier!), a few health issues, or many issues. The trick is to take what health issues one is addressing - even if it's preventative - and go from there. Boring? Only if one makes it boring.

I'm not a dietician or currently a medical person (I've long since let my EMT license lapse, as I'm no longer in that field), so you may honestly ask where these recipes come from. Most of them will come from the Diabetic Gourmet website, while other recipes will come from DiabeticLifestyle's website. Both have recipes and tips on diabetic living.

Okay, so why do I need to read your blog? you might ask. Honest question.

Most of us live fairly hectic lives, with a minimal amount of free time. And while I recommend checking out both of the aforementioned websites, it's pretty difficult to look through them thoroughly on a daily basis. I'll be hitting both us to pull five or (usually) six recipes Monday through Friday, along with where each recipe is from so that you can hopefully find something for your next few meals. (Of course, you can also pull up previous days' posts to recheck a favorite recipe, or go to Diabetic Thursdays on my Confessions of a Foodie blog.) Then, when you have more free time to casually browse through the websites I've mentioned, you can. I'm a lot more familiar with the Diabetic Gourmet website, having discovered it while cooking for a diabetic family member; however, a cursory glance at DiabeticLifestyle looks helpful.

Also, I'll occasionally post links to stories from both sites that you might find useful. If you happen to have any questions on diabetes, my best advice is to ask your health practitioner. Any answers I might give would be more along the line of "here's how we felt when my family member learned of his diabetes, here's how we coped, yes, we were a little scared..." Much beyond that, I intend to use different sites (again, like the two already mentioned) to give you recipes and info. I may use these and other medical websites to help you find answers; but in the end, talking to your medical practitioner will probably be your best bet.

My family member and I had to frequently remind ourselves that while this was/is a life-altering diagnosis, with the right lifestyle changes, the right information from his doctor, the right food decisions, and everything that goes along with discovering that you or your family member is diabetic, this is doable. Doing it right improves one's overall health, even when one has a health issue such as diabetes. Remembering to breathe once in a while helps, too (as does a sense of humor).

So...see you back here Monday!