Feed me some good food and all is forgiven.

This is something I’ve been meaning to write about for a long time now and I’m finally getting off my buns to do something about it. Especially because I have to emphasize lower carb foods, I find I am constantly searching for new and tasty treats to add to my sometimes boring diet.

I am thrilled when I find a new food product that is both delicious and “approved” for my nutritional requirements (remember, I’m high maintenance).

Anyway, I must admit that I do love ketchup. And, ketchup is notoriously high in sugar and therefore carbs. Several months ago, I discovered President’s Choice blue menu ketchup. It’s sweetened with sucralose and has only 1g of carb and 5 calories per tablespoon as opposed to the “favourite brand’s” 5g of carb and 20 calories per tablespoon.

That means I can eat 5 times as much!

I’m sure you’re getting tired of listening to me rant about my blood sugar woes, but believe me I am getting tired of having blood sugar woes. My latest round of “new meds” has not been working for me - except to plunge me low and then send me soaring into the double digits for no apparent reason. My soon-to-be-on-maternity leave GP is understandably pre-occupied and we’ve been fumbling around in the dark trying to “fix” my sugars for months now.

My most recent solution to my sugar problems has been to go off of the offensive new meds until I can see another doctor. I am supposed to see my specialist soon, and this is even more crucial since my GP has no replacement and may not ever return to her practice.

So, to take matters into my own hands and try to get my sugars closer to a state of normalcy, I am returning to my low carb diet. Ugh.

It’s not the food I mind so much, it’s more the prep. Our world is not set up for low carb convenience. Other than protein bars (which are $2 each and according to my daughter, taste like play-doh), low carb snacks are pretty much non-existent. When I think about everything I put in my kids’ lunches, very little qualifies as something I could eat myself.

So it’s back to the kitchen I go to make myself a stockpile of flax and whey protein muffins, hard-boiled eggs, veggie platters and dip, chicken wings, soups, roasted nuts and delectable soy-bean concoctions.

Just to forewarn you, I may be grumpy for the next few days.

Okay BJ, you know this one’s for you.

While trying to think of ways to “roast” you on your big day, I came to the conclusion that it is a virtually impossible feat. You sail through life with such grace and charm. You make it all look so effortless.

How can you “roast” someone who is generous, gorgeous, passionate about life and food(!), an incredible mom and wife, and a cherished friend?

So I give up. No “Dogbert”-ian speechifying today. Happy Birthday to you BJ - the undisputed winner of “the best 80’s hair!”

Take note TV chefs, I can cook a meal with not a single person clapping.

I’m told diabetic fatigue happens when you’re just “plum wore out” of looking after your diabetic self. I admit, I am high maintenance and sometimes I just want to eat chips and lie on the couch - diabetes or not. (But I’ll have DIET pop with that!)

I do think it’s important to give myself some breaks from the annoying routine of diabetes. This is usually a mental break, without too much straying in the food department. Sort of like, “I’m not going to focus on every molecule of food that goes in my mouth today.” The problems arise when the breaks and the treats all run together into one big orgy of self-indulgence (okay, maybe it’s more like a threesome.) That’s when the objectivity of that darn blood sugar meter puts an end to the fun and games. It never lies. While I can sometimes fool myself about the state of my health, I can never fool my meter.

Kissing don’t last:  cookery do!

- George Meredith

This soup is our family’s equivalent of “Grandma’s chicken soup.” It’s wonderful when you have a cold or just need some “comfort in a bowl.” The original recipe is from “Quick and Easy: Enjoy Chinese Cuisine” by Judy Lew.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 people. I generally make a jumbo pot of this soup to feed the whole family plus have leftovers. Also, that way I can use full packages of ingredients like bamboo shoots because I find partial cans often go unused. So feel free to adjust the amounts upwards!

Hot and Sour Soup

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup slivered pork (you could also use minced pork or sliced chicken thighs)

1/4 cup slivered bamboo shoots

2 Chinese mushrooms (soaked, rinsed and sliced thin) or fresh Shiitake mushrooms sliced thin

a few cloud ears (tree ears) soaked, rinsed and thinly sliced

1/2 cube tofu sliced into thin strips

1/2 teaspoon white pepper or to taste

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

chili sauce to taste (I use toban djan, guilin chili sauce or chili garlic sauce - any chili sauce that has a deep rich flavour)

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons preserved Szechuan vegetable, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Combine the stock, pork, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and cloud ears. Bring to a boil and cook for at least 5 minutes, stirring to break up the pork.

2. Reduce heat and spoon off any foam/scum on the surface. Soup should look fairly clear.

3. Add tofu and cook gently for a few minutes.

4. Add white pepper, rice vinegar and chili sauce. Add egg and stir to distribute.

5. Stir gently and bring back up to a slow boil. Add preserved vegetable.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning (I find the vinegar evaporates quite quickly so you may need to add more).

7. Add green onions and sesame oil just before serving.

As Rachael says “yum-o!”

I must admit it. I am a chip addict. Of course, this doesn’t really jive with a diabetes-friendly diet. My “solution” to this conundrum (I’ve always wanted to use that word) has been to eat Lay’s salt and vinegar chips in relatively small quantities. We’re talking chips here so you be the judge of what a small quantity really is. Basically, not the entire bag at one sitting. I’ve found the Lays s&v to be naturally limiting as if you eat too many, a few layers of the inside of your mouth - tongue, cheeks, roof of mouth - are ripped off, leaving a sensitive exposed surface with no remaining tastebuds.

Most of the time this is not a problem, as I usually wash them down with some sort of diet drink. In this case it’s actually a benefit to be a few tastebuds short.

The challenge presents itself when I have to cook something after over-consuming the s&v. Have you ever tried to cook something when you can’t taste? It’s quite a bizarre experience, and one that strips you of all that is joyous about food.

Will this make me ease up on the chips? Probably not.

While helping her grandma put together emergency kits for our family, my daughter asked “Dad, if there’s an earthquake, what would you like for lunch?”