Pasta Fazool

The wonder child of Lorraine, Elizabeth and Karen!

I am happy to be participating in the First (Weekly?) D-Feast Friday!!  It's a day for us to come together and share a recipe, diabetes-friendly or not, and walk away with a slew of new recipes to try!  So, without further adieu...

Pasta Fazool

Now, this is a staple meal in our home and has been, long before diabetes entered the picture.  But what's so great about it is that it really works great with C's blood sugars.  And, as anyone who deals with a faulty pancreas can tell you, usually pasta is one of those foods that misbehaves.  Because this recipe is balanced with beans, the fiber can actually be subtracted out of the total carb count.  Hence, making it a more manageable meal, bloodsugar-wise.

Some of you might be more familiar with it's other name:  Pasta Fagioli.  It's kind of like a pasta/bean soup.  My dear mother-in-law taught me how to make it.  In fact, when each of the grandkids were old enough (11-12), she taught each of them how to make it too.  Unfortunately, she is no longer with us to teach our kids.  I have already taught my oldest and now middle C is next in line.

When I was still a newlywed, she brought a bag full of groceries to our little apartment and showed me exactly what to do.  It's a challenge for me to write it down because it really does help to see it done.  But, I'll try!

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz.) cans of Great Northern or white beans
+ 2 cans of water
1/2 can (4 oz.) of tomato sauce
+ 1 can of water
3 T. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 heaping T. oregano, crushed between palms
1 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 c. ditalini pasta
1/2 c. spaghetti, broken into 1 " pieces
chopped onion for garnish (optional)

*Keep a couple cans of water near stove in case you need to add to pot when pasta is boiling.

Heat all ingredients (except pastas) in large pot to a gentle boil.  Turn down to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Turn heat up to boiling again and add pastas...stirring every few minutes so that the pasta does not stick.  Gently boil for 10-12 minutes.  At 10 minutes, check the ditalini for done-ness.  If, during boiling, mixture becomes too thick, add water.  It should stay at a thick, soupy, consistency.  (I like it thinner and usually add water when it's done.  This cools it down a bit too.)

That's it!  My kids love it and ask for it regularly.  I wish I had a picture of it to share.  But it's been so hot that I haven't made it recently.

It serves 6-8.

After much trial and error, I have finally found that counting a 1/2 cup serving as 10 grams of carbohydrates works well for C.  But, please do your own calculations from the bean label and pasta packages.  The great thing is...you can subtract out the 7 grams of fiber per serving from the carbs!

Enjoy!  And, Happy D-Feast Friday!!

But I Made Bacon & Eggs...

It's been a few weeks now.  I think I can sit back and write about this subject with a little more objectivity than I had at the time.  I think I can...at least with as much objectivity that living with diabetes allows.

We had state standardized testing spread out between 2 weeks of school in May.  This is probably nothing different than any other school, at least in our state.  Letters had come home to inform parents of the testing schedule.  They had some pretty big hints about not taking students out of school for any unnecessary reasons during these times.  Giving our kids some extra protein-enriched breakfasts was also going to be appreciated by the teachers.  Well...okay, I thought.  I can do that!

Middle C put in his order.  "Okay, mom, for the first morning before testing, I'd like eggs, bacon and toast!"

So, I did that.  It didn't throw too much of a wrench into our morning schedule.  Usually, my kids make their own breakfasts, consisting of cereal, toast or an English muffin.  But, hey, the direction was specific...more protein.  So I got up just a bit earlier, made the eggs, bacon and toast.  (Okay, I used pre-cooked bacon!...in fact, I probably will never cook bacon again.)  The kids were happy and tummies were full and off to school we went.

After I kissed and hugged them good-bye and did my usual stop at the health office, I crossed paths with C's 2nd grade teacher.  In a flurry, she told me that the class would be snacking during the testing time and to just let her know "what C can or can't have!"

"Well, I'll just have to come by the room before recess to see what the snack is and what we should bolus," I said.

Oh, no..."you're not allowed in the room while we're testing," she explained.  "It's not going to be at recess time.  The children will be allowed to eat as they take the test...they'll be grazing," she said with a smile.  She had done this for the last 16 years and felt that children did better and stayed calmer if they were allowed to eat during the test.  All the while, we were walking quickly to the lines of students, as the bell had already rung.  She rattled off several different snacks and added, "and so-and-so's mother is bringing in fresh fruit!  Isn't that lovely?"

Lovely?  Hardly.  What was happening here?!

The teacher had the stack of tests piled high in her arms.  I could tell she was in a hurry for our conversation over crackers and fruit to end.  "Just tell me what she can or cannot have and we'll be fine!"  UG!  I felt so not fine at the moment.

"Uh....hmmmm..." I didn't quite know what to do.  I raced into the classroom and saw all the different snacks that had been brought in.  Why I wasn't notified about this was beyond me.  It is even stated ever-so-clearly in C's 504 plan that "the parents (that's me) will be notified prior to any extra food offered in class for special events."

"What can she have?"  The room was filling with kids, scurrying around us. 

"Uh...she can have anything," I said.  "She just needs to test and bolus for it."  Why, at the end of May with just 3-4 weeks to go, I was needing to explain this basic type 1 fact again...ug.

I grabbed some animal crackers, checked the carb count, counted them out, found a paper cup and wrote the grams on it.  "There," I said.  "She can have these...no fruit though.  It's not here for me to see it and count it and feel comfortable about it.  (Uncomfortable about fruit?...yes.)  But she will need to test before and have the health aide work the pump for the bolus."

Well now, that did throw a wrench into the whole "calming, snacky-eating thing" for the entire class!  I was told that C could not be leaving the room to go down to the health office during the test.

"Hmmm," I said, "Can't the Health Aide come into the room to do it?"  I felt like I was asking for a small miracle.

Eventually, things got worked out by the end of the week.  The second half of the testing schedule went along much smoother.  But, sheesh!...it was pure craziness, I tell you.  Nearly at the end of the school year and I was still trying to explain C's diabetes management. 

As I drove home, I kept thinking to myself  But I made bacon and eggs.  I did just what they said to do.  Yep, I made my kids a big ol' breakfast.  Why does C need to snack on animal crackers, pretzels or whatever?  I made a big breakfast. 

In reality, I do know why C needs to snack on those yucky, dry, little animal crackers.  She needs to be just like all the other kids.  And we want her to feel normal...even with diabetes.

Carb-o-licious

Day 4 of Diabetes Blog Week:  To carb or not to carb?...That is the question for the day.
By the title, I'm sure you can guess on which side of the fence I stand!

Our daughter, C, was diagnosed when she was just 22 months old.  Whether or not she would eat carbohydrates was not a question for us.  The question, rather, was how to count the carbs and bolus accordingly. 

In the hospital upon diagnosis, the cafeteria staff definitely did not know how to feed a toddler with type 1 diabetes.  When meal time came, and a nice young candy-striper brought in C's dinner, I couldn't even imagine even myself eating what was on that tray.  Here's what I remember:  some kind of unidentifiable meat smothered in gravy, a mound of mushy vegetables, hot water for tea, a lemon slice and an enormous amount of sugar-free lemon Jell-o.  Yes.  This was what they offered my baby to eat.  The next meal looked way too similar to this.  And, the next.  And the next.  Finally I asked the nurse "Do you think they have a different flavor of jello other than lemon?"  It was ridiculous.

She was down in her weight as it was.  And there's only so much sugar-free lemon Jell-o a person (at any age) can swallow.  We began sneeking in food that a toddler might actually eat:  mac 'n cheese, fish crackers, cheese.  It was so great to finally see her weight increase.  She had been, literally, starving!
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We don't place restrictions on what she can and can not eat.  The exceptions are:  regular fruit juice, regular soda, strictly sugar-y candy, regular popsicles and the like.  Those items are reserved solely for treating lows.  And, of course, there are the times when an extremely high blood glucose number dictates whether she can have a snack now or later.  It's a constant balancing act. 

Some foods are just more difficult to count...but we work hard at it.  We have our problem foods (pizza, pasta and anything with corn in it) but we don't deny her these things.  We may not hit the mark each time, but we correct and move on with life.  We want C to grow up with healthy eating habits and a great self image.  We want her to enjoy food, to feel free in choosing what to eat.  I guess you could say we want her to have her cake and eat it, too!

"Lemon Jell-o?"

"No, thanks.  I'll have the chocolate cake!"

Don't Believe Everything You Read

...or everything you see on television!

I get so frustrated when I read things that are incorrect.  Unfortunately, there's a lot of this when it comes to diabetes.  I've written letters before.  I have friends who have done their part too.  I'm tired, though.  Instead of writing another letter I wished I could have jumped through the television screen the other day.  I wanted so much to set them straight at the Today show.

Natalie Morales was interviewing a fitness expert, Jorge Cruz for a short segment on, you know...getting in shape, staying in shape, shaping up...something like that.  The show was playing in the background while I worked.  But then they started discussing carbohydrate counts, my ears perked up.  I sat and listened for a few minutes and began feeling very antsy.  What he was saying was NOT correct.  And the sweet little hostess, Ms. Morales, just sat there, nodding her head, saying "right, right."  Ug!...It was so not right at all!

This guy was rattling off numbers that did not make sense.  After scooping countless servings of ice cream with a measuring cup, I basically know that a serving is anywhere between 15 and 22 grams.  But this guy stated how terrible it is that a serving of ice cream is 54 grams.  What??  54 seemed to be the number of choice with this man.  Did you know that a cup of chocolate milk, nonfat, is also 54 grams?  Well, it's not.  It's about 32 grams.  I was furious and wanted to jump through the television screen and let him know what would happen if I gave insulin to my little kid  for 54 grams of carbs when it definitely isn't 54 grams.

And all the while, the hostess...smiling and nodding, "right, right."

Maybe these shows that are packed with information, just need to back off.  If they're going to cover a story, COVER a story.  Do the research.  Watch what they aire.  To them, it may be just filler time.  But it matters.  At least it matters to me.

Whenever I Meet Another D-Mom...

Would you just look at this picture!  I mean, I nearly broke down in tears when I saw this. 
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We were at C's soccer game last Saturday.  When we arrived to meet up with the rest of the team, one of C's little teammates came running up to me and said quickly and energetically with a BIG smile, "We brought snacks today.  And there's Twinkies, chips and a drink.  The total carb count is 55 grams.  My brother is diabetic."  And just like that, she was gone.

I looked around.  Did she just say what I thought she said?  Where was her mom?  Who is her mom?  This was only our 2nd game and I didn't have all the faces matched with names yet.  And, because of all the Southern California fires, we really only had one practice for the girls.  So...I looked around for the mom.

She actually, came up to me and handed me the bag.  "Just thought you may like the carb count on everything beforehand."

I was down on my knees tying C's shoes.  "Oh," I said, as I got up.  "Thank you, thank you!"  I gave her a big hug.  I don't know this lady from Adam, but...she hugged back.  "That is so great," I said.  "Thank you!"

I didn't know she had a diabetic son.  Rarely do I step up and ask for any accommodations for C's diabetes.  But this lady had heard me at our first team meeting simply explain that C is type 1 and tell all the parents it's perfectly okay to tell me or the coach if she looks "out-of-sorts" on the field...that she may be experiencing a hypoglycemic episode.

Our families sat next to each other during the game.  We talked "diabetes" but we also cheered on the girls, and laughed at her husband's jokes.  Instant unspoken bond...whenever I meet another D-mom.

The Incredible Shrinking Carbs

So the other day, I was in the grocery store.  No big news there.  But, as I headed down the frozen treat isle, I came upon the ice cream.  I checked them all out, going forward and back.  What's on sale?  Do they still have the Junior Mint Limited Edition?  These were the questions on my mind.  And then, I just stared.  I stood there and stared.  I looked left.  I looked right.  And, although I reprimand my children for doing this, I opened one of the "clear glass" doors and continue my pondering.  I picked up a 1/2 gallon container and compared it to another.

While I was deep in thought, a store employee who was stocking the Fritos behind me, asked "Is there something I can help you find?"

I realized the guy was speaking to me, so I turned around, with Rocky Road in one hand and Double Chocolate Swirl in the other.  "Oh," I said.  "Well, I can't help but notice how these containers have shrunk.  They aren't even 1/2 gallons anymore."  And then I looked at one of the cartons:  1.75 quarts!  "Sheesh!"

"Oh, yeah," the guy said.  "That's what they do.  Those companies keep the same price and shrink the packaging.  Then, just wait a few months.  You'll see the prices go up!  That's what they do."

"Huh," I said.  "Terrible.  For a minute there, I thought I was losing it."

Yeah.  No more 1/2 gallon ice cream containers.  Weird.  In the era of SUPER-SIZING, some things are actually shrinking.
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When it comes to counting carbohydrates for C's diabetes, a half cup of ice cream is a half cup of ice cream.  We scoop it.  We look at the nutrition guide for the total carbs.  And, we bolus accordingly.  The smaller ice cream container doesn't affect the way we manage her insulin per serving.  However, some items can be greatly affected...

Take, for instance, a slice of bread. Our brand of choice happens to be Homepride Buttertop Wheat.  We've used it for years.  And with counting carbohydrates seriously for 5 + years now in order to give C the correct doses of insulin, there are many food choices that are simply memorized at this point.  Slice of bread...15 grams.  Most any brand...15 grams, unless we're using some multigrain or specialty bread, we can usually be certain that it's 15 grams.

Well, after my ice cream epiphany a while back, you'd think I would have taken other foods into consideration.  But, I really didn't.  Until...

One day, while making lunches, I thought, wow, this bread looks so small!  The ice cream scenario flashed through my mind.  Hmmmm, I thought.  I picked up our staple loaf, looked at the guide, and, lo and behold...13 grams!!  It's one thing to have containers shrinking, but now we have the actual carbohydrate count shrinking.  Although 2 grams is a smidge, if we doubled it for a sandwich, that would be 4 extra grams we've been covering with insulin that aren't really there.

Needless to say, we've been checking carb counts again on even our memorized food items.  I think it's the case of the "incredible shrinking carbs!"