One Day at a Time
Tomorrow marks 6 1/2 months without meat in my diet. I've settled in to a majority vegan + occasional fish eating routine. My A1C is down from 6.7 to 5.9. It was lower when I last wrote (pre-COVID) and it is still well below the diabetes level where I was one year ago.
My physical activity is less during COVID although Buddy and I still get in our walk. I miss our visits to hear Pelican West and dance and I need to just get up and dance anyway. :)
My stress is definitely higher so I am very conscious of staying grounded, meditating, getting enough sleep, focusing on "one day at a time." Our beautiful grandchild, Sophia Keshet Sloan-Love (above) arrived on June 11. She is well. Hannah is doing well after a complex and high risk pregnancy and an emergency c-Section plus post eclampsia. Looking at Sophie's photos every day just makes me smile, so I pull them up on my phone often.
I internalize stress and only I can do anything about that aspect of keeping diabetes at bay. I decided early on to learn how to live life in the COVID world without constantly waiting for it to be over or being angry with everyone who contributed to this catastrophic mismanagement of public health in our nation. These decisions help and I still have anxiety about doing the best for my family and for my team at work. I do my best and then let it go, breathe and accept what I cannot change, feel gratitude that I get to be here and I am alive today.
One of the good things to come out of COVID is the elimination of restaurants and "entertainment" eating. I enjoy cooking so it's been fun to be creative with what we have and can get. Lunch today was wild caught tuna with Northern White Beans, cilantro, red onion, olives, oil and vinegar. I made soup from left over Russian fingerling potatoes, black beans, green beans, onion and almond milk. It tasted like cream of mushroom.
Tonight wehad Dr. Praeger's quinoa and black bean patties, Black Eye Peas, fresh broccoli with vegan cheese sauce and Bananas Foster for dessert (modified for sugar, but delicious). I feel like we've been eating more but neither of us has gained any weight (nor lost any!). Breakfast is still a pea protein based smoothie with almond milk, frozen cherries (no sugar added) and 16 ounces of dark greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard).
Each week we prepare several pints of fresh cooked pinto beans, black beans or limas. So easy. Wash and drain the dried beans (two cups), cover with water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Turn off and let rest for one hour. Rinse and put in pot with 4 cups of water and 1 vegan veggie broth cube, two TBSP of fresh chopped garlic and two TBSP of chopped onion, 1 TSP of cumin, 1 TSP of crushed Black Pepper and 1 TSP of Sea Salt. Cook until tender. These serve as the core of our "taco" saladslayered with black rice or simple beans with vegetarian corn bread. A new favorite is cous cous layered with Portabella Mushrooms sauteed with onion and garlic, sauteed tomatoes, spinach or kale and vegan cheese sauce.
Each day the goal is to consume Dr. Furhman's recommended G-BOMBS--rich dark leafy greens in a quantity the size of my head, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds. We don't get them all in every day, but we've done pretty well.
I am not drinking enough water so tomorrow I will restart. My life has complicated elements so it is good to break things down into the actions I can take that matter. Get the glass out of the cabinet, fill it, drink. :)
Stay safe and well.
Peace,
Cindi
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