My sweet (diabetic) life...

November is American Diabetes Month. I’m not one to share my story, but felt it was time. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes right out of college. Early on I didn't deal with things very well, like learning to give myself a shot. It was a hard blow to learn I could never eat chocolate again (I’m a serious chocoholic) or have more than one drink (I was young!). So I ran away from taking care of myself and tried to live my life (with chocolate). I did the minimum to get by, or at least I thought I was getting by until I ended up in the ER when my blood sugar went so high I couldn’t hold down water. I was in the hospital for several days I don’t remember. That was a bit of a wake up call, but I’m stubborn and it took me a little longer to really get serious in dealing with my diabetes.

Luckily there have been many advances in how they treat diabetes, like the fact that you can eat chocolate as long as you compensate for it!! I have gotten better at my management of diabetes and I live a very full life and find there isn’t much I cannot do! A few things that have really helped my management are getting the insulin pump (now I have a cool version without all the tubes), eating healthier, and exercising. I won’t say I’m always good every single day, that is a standard that is really hard for me to meet, but I find these small things really make a big difference.

I look for alternatives to having a lot of carbs in my meals and have a wonderful, healthy recipe for smashed cauliflower to share. To me it is like having a big heaping of mashed potatoes without the guilt and carbs!

Boil water, place 1 head of cauliflower florets in water and cook until a fork goes in easily. Meanwhile, add 1 little container of plain Greek yogurt into a mixing bowl, along with a 1/4c blue cheese crumbles (spurge for the good stuff, it has more flavor). Then add the cauliflower and smash/mix away. I use a hand held blender mixer, but a regular mixer works. I don’t mind if there are chunks, but mix to the consistency you like and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy and don’t feel guilty about seconds!!

If you’ve been living with diabetes, please send me your thoughts or things that work for you!