Mar 17
Everyone,
I guess I’m about 3 weeks into my gestational diabetes diet and things are going well. I seriously don’t know how I failed the 3 hour test twice (neither does Dr. SA) but I did and I am being a very good girl. Even with all the Easter candy around. It is my favorite candy, with those peanut butter eggs, starburst jelly beans, and cadbury cream eggs. I have had a few searches and hits on my blog about GD so I thought I’d lay out what I eat in a regular day. Everyone is different, and I think just testing your blood often and accurately will let you know what you can and can’t do.
In college, my favorite professor used to make us waffles on the last Friday of the month. They were whole wheat buttermilk waffles and I used to love them. He gave us all the recipe and I used to only make them when I had time. Now, I make the time to make them and I freeze them. They have no sugar added and are so filling and tasty. I have one for breakfast (yes with butter AND syrup since my sugar levels are around 70 in the morning or below normal) and a big glass of milk. Butterfly can down two of these at a time, and prefers hers with jam or just straight up butter.
I test my blood again 2 hours later. If they are good (below 100), I will have a small snack. Mostly yogurt made with splenda and peanut granola. Or an apple with peanut butter. Or a cold hard boiled egg. Sometimes it’s just too close to lunch and I won’t have anything so I can have a nice big lunch.
For lunch, I have a variety of things. Frozen personal pan pizzas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (sugar free pb and j, of course), egg salad sandwiches, leftovers from the night before, egg and sausage burritos, or low sugar oatmeal. I do feel like I’m eating breakfast all the time because it’s the one thing that’s tasty and easy to make.
Again, 2 hours later I test my blood (if I am awake). Most of the time it’s around the 105-115 range so I don’t have anything to eat then. If I’m starving, I make sure I have just straight protein like another egg or some leftover meat from the night before.
Dinner has been a little bit of a hassle just because Butterfly doesn’t always like what we are eating. So I haven’t really changed our diet for this meal at all. I just eat a smaller portion of it than I normally would. Like last night, we had pork roast, parsley potatoes, and veggies. I loaded up my plate with veggies and pork roast, and had only a very small portion of potatoes. (It was sad because that is probably my favorite part of the meal but I want the boys to be healthy too…) The night before, we had bean and cheese burritos from a recipe I got off of a diabetic website. They were so tasty and filling!
Again, another 2 hours later and my blood gets tested again. If I’m below 100 again (last night I was at 81! Super low!) I have something to eat. Either popcorn or a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter on one side and butter and jam on the other. And another glass of milk. Or sometimes I’ll have string cheese and some dried fruit. Or apples and peanut butter. Or an egg.
I have no idea if I’m getting everything I need out of this diet, but so far it’s working for me and I feel like I’m actually eating good things. I have loved the menu planner at onetouchgold.com which has given me an idea of things I can and can’t eat, and portion sizes for 2100 calories. They have a few really good recipes too which I’ve enjoyed reading through. If you search ‘diabetic recipes’ you get a ton of things to make and most of them are very good.
Things I stay away from because they seem to kill my numbers: cereal, pasta, crackers and white bread. Things I eat because they do nothing to my numbers: eggs, cheese, fruit, and meat.
Really, I just try to keep portion size in mind and eat smaller amounts more times a day. If I find I want, say a muffin, and my blood sugar levels are too high for me to eat it, I just wait two hours and have it then. I refuse to eat any kind of sugary stuff (candy, tarts, pies, ice cream, cereal, chocolate, etc.) and try to eat more protein and have only healthy snacks in the house.
It’s been working out good for us, but I really can’t wait till it’s over. Still dreaming of that Something Chocolate!
Safire
SafireGD
Mar 06
Everyone,
My friend Liz asked me what I was craving the most and it has gotten me thinking a lot about food lately. So since I almost wrote a novel answering her, I thought I’d turn it into a regular post. (Went to the peri doc today…update tomorrow when I finish typing it all out.)
My first thought when she asked what I was craving the most was a big, gooey, cheesy burrito with steak and guacamole and black beans. But looking at it, I probably could have this, I just wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing. I suppose it would be okay to only eat a 3rd of it and continue to eat it in small amounts, but I’m getting a little tired of being hungry all the time. I guess with this burrito fantasy, I’m dreaming more about eating A TON rather than eating the burrito.
The next thing that came to mind was of course, ice cream. I really want a double scoop of white chocolate raspberry from Brusters or really anything chocolate from there. Even their vanilla is heavenly, or the one with all the cherries in it. Yum! Sadly, I am still banned from chocolate so this will have to wait till after. I am thinking of going there and getting a small cone of sugar free sorbets that they have just because my numbers have been so excellent I think I could probably handle one.
The last thing I am dreaming about is called “Something Chocolate” at the RedRock Canyon Grill. (If you watch all of their little food pictures, it’s the really tall desert dripping chocolate.) This is one of our favorite places to eat, and everyone we take there loves it. Just thinking about the something chocolate makes my mouth water though…all that whipped cream! And the nutmeg! And the ice cream with warm chocolate sauce! And the little crunchy bottom thing! Okay, I have to stop thinking about it now.
My intent is to go to the RedRock Canyon Grill after the twins are born and order one of those something chocolates for myself. Because the chance to eat it all by myself (without Juice or Butterfly eating half, because they do, Butterfly would probably eat one herself if we let her) is part of the treat.
Safire
Safirefood, GD, pregnancy
Feb 28
Everyone,
Butterfly is taking a champion nap today and I will have to go wake her up in about 20 minutes so she can go off to the babysitter’s for the evening. We are off to a multiple birth class downtown. Butterfly will spend the evening with the family I used to babysit for. She knows the house, the girls, the routine, etc. We probably won’t be home until 10:30pm or so and since it’s a school night, I didn’t want to ask our regular teenage babysitter. Still, it will be fun for her to have a chance to play with some kids and get out of the house.
I have been watching all those daytime baby shows on tv the past couple of days. Almost every single one of them say something like this: “Can you imagine 2 of them?” or “Twins, one is hard enough!” Having a baby is hard. I’m actually glad we’re having twins the second time around because I know a little of what to expect. Although, having one already makes me know what to expect and oh boy…it’s going to be…interesting. But that’s another post I’m working on.
Gestational diabetes has been going really well actually. In 4 days, I’ve only had one reading over 120 2 hours after a meal. (That’s the cut off my doc gave me.) And I was only at 130 so it wasn’t terrible. I’m slowly getting used to sticking my fingers. I’m slowly getting used to eating every 2 hours or so. And I feel like I eat a little bit more than before. Sort of. Let’s just say I feel fuller which is good. And I’ve found that my blood sugar is positively pathetic in the mornings (less than 60), and I can have waffles and syrup every day and it doesn’t do anything to my levels the rest of the day. Yum!!!
Alright, time to go pack her bag and get all ready to go. As Butterfly says after she’s done talking on the phone, “Okay, talk to you later! Bye!”
Safire
Safire2 boys-double trouble, Butterfly, GD
Feb 26
Everyone,
I’ve had several people ask me for the recipe I talked about last post. So here you go! I got it from my food “bible” or my absolute favorite cookbook, The One Armed Cook. (But the cover is red…I can’t figure out why it keeps coming out at blue. Just know, the cover is red!) We eat out of this cookbook at least 2 times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. We love the ease, the tastiness, the little tips that it’s full of. I love it so much I’ve actually stocked my pantry with all of the staples she suggests so that I can just whip up something quick and easy. If you’re looking for a great cookbook, this is it.
This recipe is for a flank steak, but I switched it to a London broil and added a few steps. Here is how I cooked it.
London Broil, adapted from Broiled Flank Steak from “The One Armed Cook”
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon ground ginger (heaping because ginger is good!)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon bottled chopped garlic (I add an extra teaspoon or 3 because we love garlic)
1 tablespoon sesame oil (we have dark sesame oil…so flavorful!)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 London Broil, about 1 lb-2lbs
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine all the ingredients except for the London broil, shaking well to mix.
2. Add the meat; turn to coat with marinade. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, turning the bag occasionally. (If you’re doing this with a flank steak, it needs to be marinated overnight. London broil is a little more tender and I put this together before church, cooked it when we got home and it was tender and juicy.)
3. When ready to prepare, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Snip a corner of the bag with scissors and drain the marinade into a small saucepan; set aside.
4. In a broiling pan, place the meat and bake for 10 minutes. Turn meat over, bake for another 10 minutes. Turn meat again, back for another 5 minutes until the meat is brown. (Omit this step for the flank steak.)
5. Turn off the oven, turn on the broiler to high and broil for 4 minutes on each side or to desired doneness, watching carefully for flare-ups. (The meat should be around 160 degrees. I actually turned the broiler down to low and did a few more flips just because I can.)
6. Remove pan from oven give it 5 minutes to rest. Slice meat diagonally against the grain. The middle should be pink.
7. Bring the marinade to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with the steak.
You can double the recipe nicely for a bigger piece of meat. It says it serves 2, but it always is enough for us to eat it for 2 days. And it’s really good the next day, or even cold. Let me know if anyone tries it.
Safire
PS- Day 2 with the blood glucose monitor. My levels have been hovering around 90 , which makes me wonder if me cutting out the cereal in my diet has really paid off because I really haven’t changed much else. Wish I had known this fact before I failed the test…
Safirefood, GD, recipes
Feb 22
Everyone,
So who knows what this is? And can anyone guess what news I got at my doctor’s appointment yesterday?
Yeah, I have gestational diabetes. NOT COOL. Eating for me is so horrible during pregnancy anyway that this is a real blow. I hate the diet. It’s stressing me out. I feel like it’s just one more thing on top of not sleeping, feeling huge, and trying to deal with my wreck of a house and a very active 2.5 year old. So not only do I not sleep, I don’t eat really either.
My doctor’s office gave me a meal plan set at 2200 calories a day. I kept asking the girl (whom I thought was a diet person but now I think is just an RN) if this was okay for twins. I always heard I needed to eat more than a singleton pregnancy. I have only gained 27 lbs so far (which is great, I think) and she kept telling me they didn’t want me to gain much more than that. Aren’t I supposed to gain 40-50 lbs with twins? Or am I just getting my information from bad sources?
Anyway, I now have to test my blood sugar 4 times a day (before breakfast, 2 hours after each meal). The box for the meter says, “Now with less pain!” Fills me with a great desire to use it, let me tell you. (I got a bad meter from the pharmacy…the company is sending me a new one hopefully tomorrow so I can start testing. Luckily my insurance covers it.)
Other than this stupid life changing news, everything else is great. My blood pressure is very low (110 over 60) and I am measuring around 32 weeks (they must have a better tape measure than mine at home because I thought I was measuring around 40 weeks). I only gained 2 lbs these 3 weeks. Both babies look fabulous and Baby B has flipped around so he is no longer breech. I go back and see them in 2 weeks, or if my blood sugar is consistently high. I feel like calling the office and begging them just to put me on insulin because I really don’t think I can handle this diet.
Because no ice cream, no pancakes (well, no syrup and honestly, who wants a pancake plain?), no guac, so no Mexican food like I like it…it’s just so depressing.
29 weeks and the weeks can’t fly by fast enough.
Safire
PS- Thanks for all the input about the slowness of the blog. I took away some things and hopefully that will continue to help. 
And it’s nice to know that I have readers!
Safiredoctor visits, food, GD
