A Post With No Name

As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, I’ve been lacking in the blogging department lately. I’ve kept up with my D-Feasting thanks in large part to mom usually asking “so what recipe are you sharing this week?” during one of our many phone calls sending me into a frenzy trying to remember what I’ve eaten that week that would be good to share. I also haven’t been around Twitter as much as I usually am. I haven’t even posted a recap of TCOYD which was, without a doubt, one of the best experiences of my d-life thus far. (Thankfully, though, Kerri, Karen, and Stacey have all posted theirs and mine will get written eventually.)

The thing is I don’t really have a good excuse. I’ve just been busy. INSANELY busy. Pull my hair out by the roots kind of busy. This always leads to the same conflict that I’ve had since I started this blog: does what I want to write about have a place here? Maybe it’s because this started as a class project, but whenever I write I always find myself wondering if it’s relevant to diabetes and the parameters I’m supposed to adhere to. I try not to post things that don’t directly have to do with diabetes, but then again, there’s so much more to me than that. At the same time, isn’t diabetes in every single thing I do? I’m walking that bg tightrope trying to stay off the glucoaster every minute of every day. Even when diabetes isn’t the focus, it’s always there even though I try as hard as I can to get it to give me a vacation every once in a while.

So here I am either breaking my own rules or rewriting them. Or maybe I’m just getting out from under the remnants of this blog being a class project in order to fill you in on why I’ve been so absent for the last few weeks.

When I graduated in May, the plan was to get a job and work for a while before going back to school. Well, as of September 1st, with 3 honors degrees in hand, I was still unemployed and realized that if I didn’t go back to school at that moment I was going to have 2 years ahead of me without quite knowing what I would be doing. I’m too much of a control freak planner to be ok with that. So within a very tense and stressful 48 hours, I was set to go back to school. I made the decision to do a Direct/Graduate Entry Nurse Practitioner program. In order to do it, I have 3 more prerequisite classes to take. How it’s even possible that I have more classes to take boggles my mind but it’s the unfortunate truth. It took some searching to find a way to take them since I’m no longer considered a matriculated student at my alma mater and am no longer in the degree program required for entry into the classes. (The degree program in question would be the one I just @!$%& graduated with). Thanks to a stroke of genius from my father coupled with the supportive offer to move me anywhere necessary to get the classes done and the encouragement to look outside of the state, I found a way to take them online. In the long run, this decision works in my favor since the organization I’m taking them with actually “looks better” than if I’d gone back where I just was. This semester, I’m taking two courses and one lab while working on applications (first one’s due October 15th) and preparing for/taking the GRE in November. I’ll be taking the last of my pre-requisites and one lab during the spring semester and starting my program in either June or August depending on where I decide to go.

It’s funny, really, because when I told a friend of mine I was going back to school already her response was, “Ash, everyone knew you were going right back to school except you.”

Point taken.

So now I find myself in the midst of an academic monsoon trying to balance classes, applications, GRE prep, and being daughter/friend extraordinaire so my blog has been suffering. And honestly, this is the most at peace with things I’ve felt in a very long time. Despite the chaos and the unwavering stress, I once again have an ultimate goal that I’m working towards. I know that as d-day gets closer and I’m waiting to find out about where I’ve been accepted, the anxiety and self-doubt will creep in but for now, I can honestly say that I’m happy.

D-Feast Friday: Baked Scrod

We all know the health benefits of the "good fats" found in fish. For some reason, many people are afraid to cook it because they're under the impression that it's difficult. That, ladies and gents, is a big, huge, MYTH!! This recipe is super easy and uses a variation on the typical bread crumb crust that you see in restaurants that can be a carb counting mess. 

You'll need:
2 lb fresh scrod (serves 4)
8 "Back to Nature" saltines (I prefer these because they're the closest you'll get to a saltine and still have whole wheat flour involved but any brand will do)
2T whipped unsalted butter
Lemon to taste (optional)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. 

Spray glass baking dish with non stick spray.
Place fish flat in dish.
Break crackers into crumbs and sprinkle over fish
Dot with small dabs of the whipped butter.
Sprinkle with lemon juice. (optional)

Bake for 30-40 minutes until fish is flaky

Enjoy!

D-Feast Friday: Chicken Cutlets!

I won't lie - not even I eat perfectly healthy foods all the time. Sometimes, you just want to splurge a little. This recipe is one of those splurges.

You'll need:
1lb chicken cutlets sliced thin
medium size frying pan
1 cup vegetable oil (you could use olive oil, but it makes them heavier)
1 cup whole wheat Italian seasoned bread crumbs (as always, watch out for the brands full of HFCS and steer clear)
1/2 cup skim milk

Heat oil in pan
Place the bread crumbs and skim milk into 2 separate bowls
Place cutlets into milk
From the milk, place the cutlets into the breadcrumbs and coat all sides
Put the breaded cutlet into hot oil and cook on one side until golden brown
Turn over and repeat

Drain off the excess oil on paper towels and serve hot.

Variation: Add them to the gravy recipe I posted last week, bake slowly in the oven, and you've got yourself Chicken Parmigana!

Enjoy!

D-Feast Friday: Gravy!!

Last week, I gave you the recipe for Baked Meatballs. Today, I'm adding onto that and giving you the recipe for gravy. Now, I'm sure most of you call it "red sauce" but in my household (and that of most Italians) it's gravy! This isn't the start from scratch recipe that's been passed down through the generations, but it is, however, the stressed out college student without much time to cook version.

2 -28 oz cans Pastene crushed tomatoes
2T olive oil
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar (to cut the acid)

Use a 6 qt stock pot. 

Heat the oil in the stock pot. Add the tomatoes and seasonings and bring to a slow boil. 

Turn the heat down to simmer and add previously made meatballs.

Cook for 1 hour stirring occasionally until thickened. 

Serve over cooked whole wheat pasta.

Enjoy!

D-Feast Friday: Baked Meatballs

This recipe allows me to embrace my Italian roots without all of the fat and carbs. I just can't have my whole wheat pasta without meatballs!

You'll need:

1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground veal
1/2 lb ground pork
(many stores sell this together in one package)

1 1/2 cups flavored Italian whole wheat bread crumbs - BE CAREFUL!! There are brands that are truly whole wheat that don't use HFCS, but you have to look for them. You can also use plain whole wheat bread crumbs and add your own spices to taste.

1 cup milk (any kind will work, but I use skim)

Mix all of the ingredients together well. Your best bet is to suck it up and use your hands.


Roll into golf sized balls. If they are not forming easily or they're too wet or sticky, sprinkle more bread crumbs as needed. If they won't form at all and are too dry, add a little more milk.


Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and placed formed meatballs on it in rows. Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Diabetes Art Day!!!

Click for larger image

Big hugs, thanks, and appreciation to Lee Ann Thill of The Butter Compartment and Drawabetes for creating such an amazing day for all of us to express ourselves. I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!!