Monday, March 7, 2016

Diabetes, Meat, Downton Abbey.

What an idiot. I have been working a week ahead of myself. Telling everyone we were so busy this week with doctors etc. and then I finally woke up and realised it was next week. I  have therefore been able to make arrangements with the foot nurse to call on Friday which will be something of a relief. Having diabetes (or even pre diabetes as in Matt's case) you really need to take care of your feet. One of the things I really had a horror of was losing my foot/feet because of diabetes. Mind you I think it is a lot more because people don't take care of the whole body and aren't careful what they eat or know what their blood sugar readings are. I have always been very careful about everything to do with having the disease. Of course losing 46 lbs helped too. In fact now I am more inclined to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) these days and having to take steps to correct or prevent it. I met someone recently who was prone to the same thing and hated to take sugars of any kind. The result being she was prone to being faint and dizzy amongst other things. Luckily I don't have an aversion to candies or orange juice or anything like that.  This picture shows US measurements, Canada's are different. However, this is something I do every morning and prior to going to bed. Sometimes during the day if I have cause to suspect my sugars are low. If I have a glass of wine at a friend's in the afternoon, this can bring on a low. Most people don't realise that lows can make you act as if you were drunk and so they assume the person is drunk which can be a problem. My mother also had diabetes and basically ignored it in her later life. Considering she ended up as an alcoholic, I don't know how she survived at all.

Tuesday, a friend and I are going to Costco to share a membership. Neither of us go there sufficiently
often to justify the cost of a full membership each. Whilst there I will be purchasing my lamb for Easter together, no doubt, with some lamb chops for the freezer. Talking of chops, I made a casserole with pork chops and mushrooms etc. on Saturday night. Tasted pretty good, but the pork was tough as old boots. Well maybe not quite that bad, but bad enough. A friend lived in BC for a while and tells me Ontario pork is so much better than there. I cannot imagine how bad BC pork must be. One of the problems, at least in Canada, is that they don't age meat very long and meat does need to age to become more tender. I don't remember pork being tough in North Carolina which is a State which grows pigs. I have a recipe for aging meat. I should find it and use it perhaps.

Well, that's the end of an era. Downton Abbey's last show was tonight (Sunday) and I am very sad to see them go, it really was a wonderful programme. The last show went on a lot longer than usual. But mostly, of course, everything ended happily ever after even if one knows the Second World War was just around the corner.

Here's a very simple one pot meal which I picked up from the South Beach Diet email on Sunday. I think I will get some chicken breasts at Costco too so I can make this and save some.

This recipe makes 4 servings


  • Trim excess fat from chicken; season with salt and pepper. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown chicken, 3 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium; add mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of the broth. Cook 4 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching; transfer to a plate.
  • Heat remaining 1 teaspoon of the oil in the same pan; add onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Return chicken and accumulated juices, mushrooms, and remaining 6 tablespoons of the broth to the pan, nestling chicken under vegetables. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat until just simmering; cover and cook, about 6 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon juices over chicken before serving.


For even cooking, place the chicken breasts between wax paper and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet to about 1/2" thickness.

Have a great day
 

26 comments:

  1. Jo, it is good to know you are conscientious about your diabetes. My mother lost her leg from the knee down. I will miss Downton, too. So happy for Edith and Barrow. They finally had happy endings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the kind of thing I have always been scared about Denise.

      Yes It's such a pity it ended. Barrow was a bastard at the beginning and then one ended up being sorry for him. Clever really.

      Delete
  2. I finally got a meat mallet. I have been very dissatisfied with chicken lately. I'll have to try pounding it down. Russell told me about how meat is aged. Sounds a little gross but I guess it's the best way to get the edible bits tender.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Be careful with the meat mallet JoJo, you can overdo it if you aren't. Aging does make it so much more tender though.

      Delete
  3. That's a good idea to share a membership to Costco. We go about once every 2 months; I'm thinking after we move, we'll see if son/daughter in law want to do something similar in sharing a membership.

    Wise to be diligent with your diabetes. Not only the feet, but it does affect other parts of the body as you know as well.

    Our dog had diabetes and his sugar went low one time. Yep, the drunken sailor walk described him. We just had to feed him and he was fine.

    Never watched Downtown Abbey but did hear wonderful things about it.

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You go there more often than I do then Betty. A Costco membership is $60 something here so it will save us money. Oh I do know. I went to more diabetes seminars than I ate hot breakfasts at the beginning. Didn't know dogs could have diabetes. You should have watched it Betty, it was a marvellous series.

      Delete
  4. If you take care of your body, diabetes (in adulthood) can be controlled. Losing one's foot does not sound pleasant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or losing the leg from the knee down as Denise mentioned Alex. Not pleasant at all. I have encountered several tales of relatives to whom this has happened.

      Delete
  5. Sharing a membership sounds ideal. I hate paying dues or membership fees for anything. :)
    Taking care of yourself is all you can do, you sound as though you've got a handle on it!
    Yum! Now I'm hungry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too Yolanda. I have had diabetes since 2004 although I had tests prior to that I apparently didn't have it even though I thought I might.

      Delete
  6. Hi Jo - I'm glad you're watching your diabetes and paying attention to the signs - makes sense to me .. to take care and then there's no panic - one hopes. Matt too ... but I'm sure you are taking extra care.

    I can't do big buys now .. but the pork dish sounds good, as too the chicken ... I've always eaten vegetarian or fish, and would have meat occasionally ...

    Cheers - but enjoy the shop .. Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Hilary, one needs to be careful but not to worry too much or it can make life a misery. I have always eaten healthily and continue to do so.

      We can because there are two of us and a freezer. I've always eaten practically everything in one form or another. I probably will enjoy it thanks.

      Delete
  7. I bought the whole season a month ago and watched the ending. I had no idea I was ahead of the TV premiers. Good thing I didn't tell you how it ended. I was happy with the ending. I do love happy endings :)

    My son told me he read somewhere there may be a Downton Abby movie...I could only hope. I LOVED it. I started on a weekend when the men were gone and watched the entire series in a few days. I would watch on my Kindle in bed at night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't have any of the DVDs Liz, but have a friend who does. I am sure I can borrow as and when!

      I heard about a possible movie too. Would be good. I would love to have seen what happened in WWII though.

      Delete
  8. I don't watch Downton Abbey but I do see the promos and it reminds me of a show that used to be on back in the seventies called, Upstairs Downstairs. Did you ever see it? I wonder if I have low blood sugar. I often feel faint and sick and it goes away if I have something to eat. Sometimes if I drink juice on an empty stomach my voice goes a bit slurry and I feel slightly drunk for ten minutes or so... I must google it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's all over now Pinky anyway, well other than on DVD. I never saw Upstairs Downstairs, but I am told, by those who did, that this was way better. You might have hypoglycemia Pinky. You should check with your doctor.

      Delete
  9. I do love a good Chicken Cacciatore! I saw the very first episode of Downton Abbey and that was all. No particular reason. Just busy with life, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too Stephen. Pity you missed it, it was a wonderful series and popular world wide.

      Delete
  10. Glad you are taking care of your diabetes and watching what you eat and watching your feet! Don't get me started on Downton Abbey! We were so looking forward to this and at 10pm an amber alert came on and screwed up the show! We couldn't get sound, couldn't change the channel...it was hell! I had to call Cogeco for them to fix it. We missed the Christmas episode but I found it will be on again on Saturday eve, well, early Sunday morning so I have it ready to be taped.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had the same thing Birgit. Never seen that before. However, all I had to do was press exit on the remote and it went away. It came back twice more but exit fixed it each time. Hope you get it taped OK. It was a good show.

      Delete
  11. We're just back from India where I ate curry most 3 times per day ... but 99% vegetarian dishes as their meat tends to be on the bone and contains splinters etc., I have some chicken in the fridge so looking forward to a meat meal tonight and will probably make this dish you've shown (or very similar) as I have all the ingredients to hand.

    Well done on keeping the diabetes under proper control - not a thing to take chances with

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think 3 times a day would be a bit much Sue. Sounds safer to not eat the meat then. Hope you enjoy your meal tonight.

      No, you're right, it isn't. I never read any of your blog posts from India, assume you wrote them, just didn't have time with everything that has been going wrong in our lives lately. I will have to look up the link and read them.

      Delete
  12. Sharing a membership is a great idea. As for lamb ... sad face, I can no longer digest it. And boy, I really enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a shame Ivy when you have only just started eating it. I am so sorry.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Jo. Yes, all new to me and I did enjoy it a lot. I will give it another go in maybe six months or a year from now.

      Delete
    3. As I just wrote, maybe local grown lamb will be OK for you if you can find it Ivy.

      Delete