2023... A New Beginning
It's been quite some time since I posted anything here. I'll admit... the whole blogging community just got to be a tad overwhelming for me. I've still been cooking, experimenting, tweaking, exploring... and with some time on my hands I've decided to post again as some major dietary changes have made a real difference in my labs.
In early 2022 I was able to hook up with the cardiologist I had wanted to work with 20 years ago, but that was tabled as he was the new kid in the practice and it would not have sat well with senior docs if he "stole" patients. Long story short, having not seen any docs in a couple years because of the pandemic and a distinct dislike for my previous cardiologist, I simply booked an appointment online and promised to stand my ground if there were any complaints.
My first visit with Dr. T. lasted over an hour. He remembered me well and was quite happy to have the opportunity to work with me. One of his first questions was: "So how often do you eat red meat?" Being a deer hunter with a freezer full of venison, and a sausage maker as well (both dry cured and fresh) I said 4-5 times a week. His response was an audible gasp! LOL ...and he told me my red meat should be limited to..... 1-2 times A MONTH. Without hesitation I replied that there was no way that was going to happen. He didn't push, but instead explained how red meat affects the body. Still not convinced and even less thrilled, I went home and started thinking.
Carolyn and I have a monthly subscription to Wild Alaskan Company and have been enjoying their top quality fish for several years now. I was so impressed with Dr T.'s approach that I decided to try no red meat for a week in April of 2022. On his request I also limited my alcohol to one glass of my homemade red wine per day.
In case you don't know, "red meat" includes dark meat chicken as well as pork. Yeah.
Week one we had salmon, cod, halibut, shrimp and chicken tenders. It went pretty well, and so we moved into week two... then week three, four, five etc. My labs at the end of July were nothing but astounding. You're here so you know diabetes numbers as well as good and bad cholesterol. My results had not been this good in more than 15 years. I'll just give you one example.... A1C went from 7.9 to 6.7.
And the best part? We ate really really well the whole time to the point where even going out to restaurants I was absolutely fine ordering chicken or seafood.
So... I'm here to tell you that you don't have to go Vegan, Vegetarian or even completely Pescatarian. I love all the seafood, sure, but my big thing was I wanted to be able to make white meat chicken without choking on the usual dryness of chicken breast.
To that end I will be reviving this blog with new recipes that reflect an even healthier yet still fun Michael's "Diabetic" Food. It may take a while for me to get back into the swing of things... looks like the blog needs some tlc, but stay tuned.... good food is coming your way!
Blessed be... and happy cooking!