Weekend Update Jan 2011

This past weekend I did a pretty good job of keeping up with my food and blood sugars.

Friday my parents came to town and requested that I cook for them. I made Pan Fried Chicken Breasts that had been coated with Parmesan Cheese, along with Roasted Carrots and Onions and a simple Spinach Salad. A squeeze of Lemon over the whole plate left us all satisfied.
Then as I have been doing on nights that I work, I started my FASTING around 5pm and then took my blood sugar at 3am when I am finished at work. I find this easier then trying to get in a 10 hour fast at night. My saturday morning reading... 100 (aka Perfection - remember I am aiming for somewhere between 80 and 120)

Post blood sugar we went to Bananas where I had a salad with a Grilled Chicken Breast. Wow, I guess I don't have to have something battered and deep fried every time I go! then once I got up I went with Ashton and Rafael to try out a new place downtown. Pine 22, a build-your-own-burger place. Once I visit it again and they have their website up and running i will probably do a proper review of it. I was very pleased with my creation - Black Bean Burger on a multi-grain bun with Greek Feta, Lettuce, Sprouts, Tomatoes and Cucumbers! Delicious! I was also pleased with myself that I went for a healthier selection than the usual Bacon and Bleu Cheese covered Beef Burger.

After my work fast - Blood sugar 116. Then I came home to eat Vegetarian Indian Leftovers that I had re created from an episode of the Food Network Star's winner AARTI PARTY! Chickpea and Artichoke Masala, Roasted Root Jumble with Feta Cheese and Indian Summer Stew. A Meatless day, and the next day I felt great...hmmm!

Sunday, a meeting with some friends at Carlucci's. I had the special of the day which was Tortellini with Mushrooms, tomatoes and Alfredo Sauce with a Ceasar Salad for $8.95. Not bad, but probably my least favorite meal of the weekend. However the fasting sugar was 84 (yay) which proves that diabetes Can Be Delicious!

Mr. Sisters vs. Bananas

First off, this blog entry will have nothing to do with Diabetes and is simply a restaurant review.
As many of you know, here in Orlando we now have two new dining establishments in our community.
I often write restaurant reviews on Urbanspoon, however with both of these particular establishments I don't think it would be fair. I have many friends that work at both of these places, and I don't want to post something that could be biased due to friendships or politics.
So the following information is not about the restaurant's concept, the service, the other times that I have dined at these locations, etc....
This is only about my meals that I ate yesterday, Tues. 1/18/11.
I knew that i was going to dine at each of these restaurants and wanted to just order what I thought looked best on the menu at each place, and then compare the two to see what i did and didn't like. (please keep in mind that I am not suggesting that any of these options are Diabetic Friendly)

Lunch at Mr. Sisters. I had the Gluttonous Build-A-Burger $11.75. You choose between Beef, Ground Turkey or Portobello Mushroom. I chose the Beef, Well Done. My cheese of choice was Muenster, and my 3 toppings were Avocado (even though what actually came on the burger was a generous portion of Guacamole), Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Red Peppers and my Side Item of choice was Sweet Potato Fries. To drink, and Unsweetened Iced Tea at $2.50.

Dinner at Bananas. I had Daddy's Burger $9.95 which has Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Apple-Wood Smoked Bacon and Carmelized Sweet Onions and your choice of Angus Beef, Turkey Burger, Chicken Breast or Veggie Burger. (When I found out that you could get the Chicken Breast FRIED, I knew that was the proper choice). My Side Item was the Homemade Potato chips and to drink (Surprise, surprise) and Unsweeted Iced Tea (Mango Flavored) $2.75

Now to Grade and Compare these two specific meals.

Presentation goes to Mr. Sisters, the recyclable plates get points and the plating also made a nicer picture.

Portion Size goes to Bananas, The Chicken Breast Spills out of all sides of the bun, where Mr. Sisters was more Bun then Burger.

Quality/ Taste of Sandwich goes to Bananas, The breading on the Chicken was too good, plus there was plenty of Bacon!

Quality/ Taste of Side Item goes to Mr. Sisters, I ate every single Sweet Potato Fry, Where some of the Potato chips were soggy rather then crispy and I left them on my plate.

Quality/ Taste of Beverage goes to Bananas, The Mango Tea tastes Great! The Tea from Mr. Sisters tastes like it comes from a gun.

Price goes to Bananas, $12.70 plus tax, is still cheaper then $14.25 with tax included.

So, on this particular day it goes 2 points Mr. Sisters and 4 points Bananas, Making Bananas the Winner!

I won't pick a favorite. There are good and bad things about both places. The diabetic in me feels that I should eat at Both establishments a little LESS FREQUENTLY! and never both in the same day again. When I do go to them, there are definitely Healthier Choices to be made. When waking today I craved a big salad, and have eaten great today, so as long as I keep them to a minimum, I can occasionally indulge at both Bananas and Mr. Sisters!

Delicious Food/ Low Sugar Fit

The first part of this blog entry is about Delicious food. The second part is about the diabetic FIT I had last night.

Part 1 - So I realize that i have been neglecting posting photos of the food that i eat. That was part of the reason I started blogging in the first place, so here you go. Wednesday, two days ago, i actually remembered to take a picture of everything that i ate that day. Upon waking up i decided to make a big breakfast, something that i really enjoy, but don't always do. I had just enough fresh spinach left to saute' and put in a scramble, which i did with some jarred sun dried tomatoes. My eggs consisted of one egg white and two full eggs, i find that when I do this I feel slightly better about my cholesterol intake. I also put a pinch of curry powder in the mixture. Along with a couple pieces of french bread toast with jelly, i was completely satisfied.
For lunch my parents were in town and they wanted to meet at P.F. Changs. I spent several years thinking that it wasn't very good, but since they always want to go there, I decided to stop ordering the Chicken dishes that i am use to and look at their vegetarian options, and I have found over my last couple of visits that i really enjoy the COCONUT CURRY VEGETABLES Stir-fried mixed vegetables, crispy silken tofu and peanuts in a vegetarian coconut curry sauce. Delicious, and i ate every bite!
Then finally before work i made a salad with Spring mix, a drizzle of Ranch, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Walnuts and a sprinkling of Bleu Cheese.
a day of deliciousness.
So Deborah (My Doctor) wants me to fast for 10 hours and then take my sugar. So far, I am finding that on days that i work it is easier to eat dinner around 5pm, then start my fast. i usually work from about 8pm until about 3am, and so if i don't need to eat anything at work, i take my Fasting Sugar Reading at 3am and there is my 10 hours! I am ALWAYS hungry after work and want to eat. I feel that if i were to eat at 3am and then start my fast, then i wouldn't be able to eat again until after 1pm the next day - which is hard for me. So i feel that at least for now this is a good solution.
Also so far in 2011, while i have done my fasts at work they have been pretty good (104, 95, 99, and on this particular day 90), and i am thinking that it is because i have been active during these 10 hour periods. When I just sleep through my fasts they tend to be a little higher.

Part 2 - Now It has been a little while since I have had what i call a FIT (a period where my blood sugar drops a little too low and I get sweaty, shaky, and jittery - eating something, especially a sweet, usually brings my sugar back up to a normal level) Last night at work was the first FIT of the year. I started my "Work Day Fast" at 5pm like i have been doing. In retrospect i probably didn't have enough to eat before I started my fast, which is probably part of the reason it happened. Around midnight (7 hours in, instead of 10) it started. It wasn't that severe, but i knew that if I didn't eat something that it would get worse. I had my Meter with me so I excused my self to the bathroom and took a reading - 75 - Not too low, but still a little below average. I could feel that it was decreasing over time and that I had better eat something. Off to the vending machine for a bag of Peanut M&M's which did the trick and the rest of my shift was perfectly fine. (Sad that a vending machine snack is the answer to my problems, but it was delicious) So we will see how tonight goes. I promise to eat a larger dinner to tide me over through the 10 hours, and i also promise to have a snack with me just in case.

Drive Thru

This blog entry is not about Diabetes or Deliciousness.
It is about fulfilling a personal goal.
Towards the end of 2009, i realized that not only was I dining out entirely too much, but I was also eating way too much Fast Food.
I was spending so much time (and money) eating out, and not only that, but i wasn't even eating good food, i was just hitting Drive Thrus at least once a day, sometimes even twice a day.
I knew this had to stop, so i decided to make a goal of taking one whole year and not going through any Drive Thrus at all.
I told myself that it was OK to eat Fast food, but I would have to park, get out of the car, and actually go inside to order.
I felt that the inconvenience of getting out and going in would make my Fast food intake much less often....
and IT WORKED!
Throughout 2010 when I really wanted something, I would have it.
When Wendy's introduced the Bacon and Bleu Burger I simply could not resist! and that's OK.
However now that i look back, I realize that during the course of the year i had Wendy's 4 or 5 times (maybe 6), I had McDonald's probably 4 times, Taco Bell about 4, KFC twice and Chick-Fil-A about 12 times. Now all that added up is 28 Fast Food Dining Experiences for 2010.
Probably about 300 Experiences for 2009.
That is a decrease of over 90%.
Wow!

Now I am certainly not saying that I have been an angel, and I know for a fact that my Steak-N-Shake numbers have probably tripled from 2009 to 2010.

So it is currently the 5th of January, and since the new year I have DRIVEN THRU at Chick-Fil-A once and McDonald's twice.
My loose goal is to not get my Fast Food intake back up where it was in '09 and to decrease my Steak-N-Shake a little bit.
Maybe I will keep track of how many times I visit each place.
Maybe Not.

Throughout the year I really didn't miss it.
I still love Chick-Fil-A, and I love a McDouble from McDonald's.
Taco Bell I could do without.
I've never been a Burger King fan.
KFC upon occasion.
Wendy's is good.
Steak-N-Shake I like because I love Bonnie the waitress who works graveyard shift, plus it is right next to 24 hour Wal-Mart for your late night shopping needs.

So it is going to be a challenge, I will let you know how my progress goes.
BUT, I am pleased with my Fast Food 2010!