Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Day 15, the Diabetic Food Stamp Project

I have an entire extra 1.21.

I also have a fear of over eating and over spending. Even with careful planning, shopping and cooking ahead and knowledge of my subject I have a fear of running short at the end of the project.

I go between the feeling of hunger and the fear of it.

Not a happy place to live.

Today I begin with 5.46 and I had an great breakfast.

Coffee .10
Half Apple .50
1 Tablespoon Peanut butter .09
Half of my Game Hen broth as soup .38
6 dumplings from the freezer 1.20
Total 2.27
Carbs 38 grams

With a disappointing 325 calories to show for it. I am not seeing my nutrition jump off the charts either.

I wonder how hungry I will be later?

The answer was so hungry I wanted to scream. Instead I grabbed some lentils as they are quick cooking.

I remembered breaking fast in Istanbul during Ramadan with lentil soup and egg in a vegetarian household. While I watched the soup being prepared I was waiting for the sunset.

One of the many reasons for the fast is to be mindful of those who have less. As this proceeds I am going to try to use hunger as a meditation, a reflection and rather than focus on the physical sensation I will see if I can widen my thoughts.

The soup cooked...I used half a can of one of my 4 for a buck tomato sauces, a lot of cumin and turmeric and despite my mindfulness I scarfed down 5 Ak mak Crackers with about 20% of the pureed liver and onion from yesterday. I poured the soup into the clay bowl, cracked the egg and put it in a hot oven to poach.

I must say that I am enjoying my food ever so much more for it's scarcity. I savor every bite and after about 3 bites I am able to slow down and appreciate it. My Madras style soup a success I added up the carbs and cost.

5 Ak Mak .34
Liver (25% of .45 of liver with a .10 onion.).14
Lentils .19
Tomato Sauce .12
Iced tea .03
Total .82
Carbs 62 grams

I had to go back and re-check. Day after day I have been getting e mail telling me how cheap, filling and nutritious lentils are. The deal finders have practically been pleading with me to add lentils to my diet.

And the combo drove me over. The good in this is that whole wheat and lentils are both high fiber so that even for a type II the absorption of the carbohydrate will be slow and may not cause a crisis, however any amount over 60 has the potential to cause a problem.

As I look at the lentils I am not seeing any huge nutritional benefit. Some decent A and iron plus a little bit of other good things, but I got my B12 boost from the liver.

...and it is 3:00 and I am hungry again. I've a class to teach tonight so I am not sure when/if I will get dinner. I am going to have to eat something before I go.

...and it ended up being a quick sandwich. Grilled cheep cheese with a couple of anchovies.

Bread .16
Cheese .20
Anchovies .28
Total .64
Carbs 28 grams

I had a great night with two wonderful residents at Trinity. We prepared a vegetarian and a turkey sausage lasagne. Once they were in the oven I was off to a meeting.


At the meeting was Pad Thai. I was with Columbia grad students and a cousin planning out some of what we are going to do to move Stirring The Pot forward and I was offered Pad Thai. Hell yes. I was already hungry again.

Pad Thai 0.00
Carbs 36 grams

Yet that did not satisfy me....I felt like a bear just out of hibernation. As I walked home from the subway I was hungry again. I'd no pizza crust ready to go and I spied Celeste personal pizza on sale for .99.


Yes I caved and grabbed one on the way home. As I heated the oven I got it out of it's plastic and added half a tomato and 2 strips of bacon cut up to the pizza. I had bought the mushroom so as not to eat fatty meat but the best living in my stomach decided that fatty meat was needed. I hit it with a lot of red pepper and popped it in the oven.

Then I read the box. When I make pizza it has a few ingredients...whole wheat flour, yeast, water, tomatoes, cheese...up to maybe 10 if it is opulent.

I stopped reading the label on this after I got to 50...what could those ingredients possibly be...even though I knew this was no health food I scarfed it down.

Pizza .99
Tomato .25
Bacon .35
Total 1.59
Carbs .46


Now while at each meal my carbs were fine, for the day it was too many. 220 would be the absolute maxium under any circumstances and I went to 211.

I blame Paula Deen for my voracious appetite. At the gym she was on the monitor today making butter biscuits, white gravy (bacon grease base) and fried crabs. If you have never had butter biscuits with white gravy you do not know what you are missing. I was actually standing there trying to think if I could come up with a low carb bacon fat gravy. 

Hunger is how diabetics get into crisis.

So let's add up the day. I spent 5. 33 out of my 5. 46 and .13 for tomorrow.

I don't feel like I spent it wisely. The day was filled with carbs, devoid of vegetables, however I did get enough fiber for a change. Thank you lentils.







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