Showing posts with label healthy options. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy options. Show all posts
In my quest to cook things diabetic friendly, I cooked this Banana Coconut Bread the other day and was very pleased with how it turned out! High in fibre and low in both fat and sugar. Yay! That makes me happy. Although you still wouldn't want to binge on something like this of course. All baked goods should be occasional treats (which I am now saving for weekends) and not daily thing.
I can remember making this easy casserole back in the 1970's when I was a very young new bride and thinking it was the penultimate in sophistication.
First there was the name, which sounds exotic. Then there was the broccoli. I don't know about you, but growing up in the 60's, in Nova Scotia, Canada . . . in a small town . . . broccoli wasn't something we ever saw.
To me Broccoli was an exotic vegetable.
To me, back then . . . this was dinner party or date night fare! You had meat, a vegetable and a scrummy sauce, all blanketed beneath cheese and buttered cracker crumbs.
To me, back then . . . this was dinner party or date night fare! You had meat, a vegetable and a scrummy sauce, all blanketed beneath cheese and buttered cracker crumbs.
What was not to like! It was easy and delicious! And I thought, quite impressive!
Nobody thought anything much about using condensed tinned soups back then. They were ineverybody's most people's cupboards.
Nobody thought anything much about using condensed tinned soups back then. They were in
My kids used to love this. (It was a great way to get them to eat their broccoli . . . well this and then there was melting cheeze whiz and pouring it over top, but we won't go there.)
I still make this from time to time and we still enjoy it. Only difference is now I am more than likely to make my sauce from scratch.
I still make this from time to time and we still enjoy it. Only difference is now I am more than likely to make my sauce from scratch.
It's healthier and there are no chemicals or preservatives.
I am also more than likely to use Purple Sprouting Broccoli or Tender Stem Broccoli because I am lucky enough to live in a time and age when those types of things are readily available.
It tastes rich and it is delicious and it provides just enough nostalgia to make me feel all warm and comfy inside.
It tastes rich and it is delicious and it provides just enough nostalgia to make me feel all warm and comfy inside.
I like to serve this with small baked jacket potatoes (for the fibre) and a vegetable. Yesterday it was green beans.
This
hearkens back to the early days of my cooking life, when I thought this
was the ultimate in sophistication. Maybe it was pretty sophisticated
in comparison to my mother's cooking, but it is rather dated now. That
doesn't mean it doesn't still taste delicious. Only difference now is
I make my own sauce instead of using tinned soup. Super simple and
super tasty.
You will need:
2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into chunks
4 cups of broccoli florets, cooked
2 ounces grated cheddar cheese (I like to use strong)
a couple handfuls of crushed cracker crumbs
*Back to the 70's Chicken Divan*
Serves 4
butter to dot
For the Sauce:
180ml of chicken broth (3/4 cup)
pinch dried thyme
pinch dried sage
pinch dried parsley
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch paprika
salt and black pepper to taste
180ml of milk (3/4 cup)
35g of plain flour (1/4 cup)
First
make the sauce. Blitze all of the ingredients together in a blender
until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, in a saucepan over medium heat
until the mixture boils and begins to thicken. Cook for several minutes
over low heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Set aside
until needed.
Preheat the oven to 420*C/425*F/gas mark
7. Butter a 10 inch glass pie dish. Stir together the broccoli and
the chicken pieces. Place into the pie dish. Spread the sauce over top
evenly. Top with the cheese and then the cracker crumbs. Dot with
butter.
Bake for 20 minutes, until hot and bubbling,
heated through, the cheese melts and the top is golden brown. Let
stand for five minutes, then spoon out to serve. Baked potatoes and a
vegetable go very well with this.
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I've been experimenting a lot with my baking since my Type2 Diabetes diagnosis, and I have to say in all truth a lot of my experiments have been quite disappointing . . . it seems that when you take the sugar and fat out of things . . . and pile in fibre, the results have been largely nothing to write home about. One exception has been these lovely wholemean pumpkin pie rolls!
I scored some cheap Turkey Breast Fillets at the shops last week. We love turkey in this house, turkey burgers being a real favourite. You often see turkey steaks or turkey chunks, but I have only ever very rarely seen Turkey Breast Fillets, so I did what any turkey lover would do. I bought them. I froze one and then used the other one to make this delicious casserole!
Carbohydrates are very important to a person's diet, wether you be diabetic or not. They are your main source of fuel to keep your body and brain going and active. They also are the things which affect your blood glucose levels the most, so it's really important as a diabetic to know which carbohydrate sources are worth ingesting and are the most nutritious! It goes without saying that if you are having to limit your carb intake, you will want the ones you do eat to count in positive ways.
Controlling how much you eat can be as large a challenge as deciding what to eat can be when you are trying to control diabetes and eat smarter. At first it can seem a bit daunting, but with time and understanding it becomes a bit easier . . . the changes almost become seamless part of your life. What to put into your shopping card . . . how to count carbs, downsizing servings, etc. all are steps towards becoming a healthier person.
It has been almost a month since I was diagnosed as having Type 2 Diabetes. In that month I have taken myself off of sugar almost 100%, and switched my way of eating almost completely. It hasn't been easy. It's been really hard . . . and there are many days which I feel really lousy. Dizzy mostly, but I am hoping that will soon rectify itself. I have also been having to take extra iron, which doesn't make me feel very well either. On the plus side, I've lost a stone in weight . . . that is 14 pounds to you North Americans.
In my quest to get more fruit and non starchy veg, fibre and vitamins into my diet, I created a delicious salad the other day which we enjoyed along with some steak and a baked potato. I really love salads and I could eat them every day of the year, and to be honest . . . every meal! The Toddster . . . he's not a real salad lover, but I like to think that I am converting him, one delicious salad at a time!
When I was in high school, my mother discovered Italian food, in the way of Italian Spaghetti . . . which meant . . a tin of catelli spaghetti sauce, stirred into a pound of browned hamburger and heated through. This was considered a real Italian treat. I never liked the meat in the sauce, but was quite happy if she kept a couple of tablespoons of the sauce out for me to have on my spaghetti, meat free.
Cooking and eating delicious food should be fun. Sometimes when one is faced with dietary restraints you can feel a bit down . . . and like all of the fun has gone out of eating and cooking, especially if you are a person who loves to cook.
Normally after having a turkey dinner I would be treating myself to a turkey sandwich with two slices of bread, mayo, stuffing and cranberry sauce. And enjoying it. My new lifestyle means that is a no no and so today I made myself something different. A Turkey Taco Pizza. Sounds hedonistic, but it really isn't . . .
I have to say I am really enjoying my healthier eating lifestyle these days. I have not had a piece of chocolate in over three weeks now, nor have I had any cookies, cakes, candy bars, wine gums, etc. I have banned sugar from my life along with white flour . . . it's been a bit of a challenge, but it can be done and putting on a pair of trousers today that is two sizes smaller than I was wearing a month ago feels good.
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