Day 1 Blog

Day 1 Lunch (see details below)

So the plan of this blog is to provide 15 Days of Meal Plans that meet Alexx's requirements for a ratio between 20:50:30 of carbohydrates: fat: protein and 15:65:20. This lo-carb meal planning is what keeps his glucose levels at a manageable range of 100-126 and his A1c levels below 5.2. We are continuing to monitor his blood lipid levels every 3 months, with the exception of 6 months in the summer when we are traveling in our RV. Our plan is to create 15 meal plans that we can rotate through the summer keeping meal planning and grocery shopping easy.

We would appreciate your feedback on any of the recipes that are included in the blog. In order for a recipe to be a part of a daily meal plan it has to have received a score of 3.5 or higher on Alexx's rating scale of 1-4. A 3.5 is his "very good, yes, I like this" rating and a 4.0 is "oh, my, I love this!" rating. (Pretty much anytime there is chocolate in the ingredient he rates it a 4.) Eventually, we would like to have all 4 ratings but that may take a while. We'll see how it goes. I have been creating and revising recipes for the past year and now I will put them together into meal plans that meet the ratio and rating criteria.

So check back regularly. It takes a few trials to come up with a full day's meal plan that balances things correctly. Sometimes one meal might be higher in one area and lower in another than what our goal is, but we try to balance things by the end of the day. When we do this, we find his glucose numbers do pretty well.  Alexx only tests one meal a day as he gets tired of pricking his fingers. But which ever meal is tested that day, we will include it in the blog at that time. Eventually, we will have every meal plan tested as we rotate through the meal plans every 15 days.

Day 1 Breakfast - 7:00am

• Breakfast Nut Granola (see recipe below) - 1 servings (1/4 cup)
• Almond Milk - 1/3 cup
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil mixed with 2 tsp olive oil
• Frozen blueberries, thawed - 2 tbsp
• Cottage Cheese, 1/2 cup, 4% fat
• 1 Tbsp flaxseed oil mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

I mix the sesame seed and olive oil into the Breakfast Nut Granola before adding the Almond Milk. The cottage cheese is mixed with the thawed blueberries, flaxseed oil and cinnamon.

Nutritional totals: 518 calories; 32 carbs, 44 fat, 57 protein (This is more carbs than he usually has for breakfast, but he welcomes a change from eggs. By the end of the day, his carbs will be in the correct ratio for his goals.)

Breakfast Nut Granola

• Introduction
• Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low-Sugar, Dairy Free cereal option! 
• Minutes to Prepare: 15
• Minutes to Cook: 30
• Number of Servings: 14

Ingredients:
Shelled pistachios, 1 oz
Raw cashews, 1 oz
Macademia nuts, 1 oz
Sunflower seeds, 1 oz
Sesame seeds, 1 Tablespoon
Almonds, 2 oz
Walnuts, 2 oz
Pecans, 2 oz
Coconut flour, 2 Tablespoons
Flaxseed meal, 1/4 cup
agave nectar syrup, 1 Tablespoon
20 drops vanilla creme Sweetleaf
Ground Cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon
sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon
Liquid Aminos, 1 teaspoon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon
Sesame Oil, 1 Tablespoon
Fresh Ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon

Directions:

1. Pulse the nuts, flaxseed, and flour until the nuts are rough ground – like big gravel pieces
2. Mix into a bowl with ¼ cup olive oil, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar, and 20 drops of vanilla crème stevia, salt and spices
3. Spread the mixture on a baking pan that has been rubbed with coconut oil.
4. When the mixture is evenly spread, spray with liquid aminos and sprinkle an additional tablespoon of olive oil.
5. Roast at 275 degrees for 30-45 minutes, stopping every 15 minutes to toss and redistribute the mixture evenly.
6. When the mixture is evenly roasted and fragrant, shave fresh nutmeg overall. Let cool and then keep in airtight containers. Keeps well in the freezer.

Serving Size: Makes 14 one-quarter cup servings

Tips: Serve with almond milk and berries of choice. A little goes a long way! The next time I make this I will substitute sugar free maple syrup for agave syrup and will be able to lower the number of carbs in the mix.

Nutritional Information per single serving of 1/4 cup:
Calories 112.7; Net Carbs: 17.8g; Fat: 9.4g; Protein: 44.5g

Day 1 Lunch - 11:00 am (see photo at top of page)

• Mission Carb Balance Tortilla Wrap, 1
• Hormel Natural Choice Turkey slices, 3
• Romaine Lettuce, 1 inner leaf
• Egg Salad made with 1 hard boiled egg, 1 tablespoon of peppers (red, green and jalapeno), 1 tablespoon raw onion, 1 tsp. flaxseed oil, 1 tsp olive oil mayo, 1 tsp spicy mayo
• 2 slices Nature's Own no nitrate bacon, center cut

Use the above ingredients to make the wrap.

Serve the wrap with 3 medium strawberries, an additional hard boiled egg sliced in two and topped with spicy brown mustard, and 1 maple chocolate chip cookie (see recipe below.)

Nutritional Information for Lunch:
Calories: 627; Carbs: 22 g; Fat 45g; Protein: 29 g

Alexx likes egg salad and the Mission Carb Balance tortilla is as close as he can get to having bread. The fiber content in this tortilla is very high so the net carb is just 4.

Glucose testing on this lunch was 104 at the start and 110 after 1 hour.

Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Easy to make and so tasty!
  
• Minutes to Prepare: 5
• Minutes to Cook: 10
• Number of Servings: 21

Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour, 1+1/4 cups
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp soda
1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup Walden Farms Pancake Syrup
1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract (sugar free)

Directions

1. Blend the dry ingredients in a small bowl. 
2. Blend the wet ingredients in a 1 cup measuring cup. 
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until evenly blended. 
4. Prepare a small cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven at 350 degrees. 
5. With a teaspoon, measure evenly 7 scoops of dough on the sheet. 
6. Press each scoop flat. 
7. Bake for 10 minutes. 
8. Repeat for next two batches of cookies. 
9. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They also freeze nicely.

Serving Size: Makes 1.75 dozen small cookies
Tips: A sugarfree maple syrup can be substituted for the Walden Farms Pancake Syrup but will slightly alter the nutritional components. I use a small cookie sheet in the RV stove, but a large cookie sheet could easily be used and accommodate more cookies at one time. I have also successfully made these on a pancake griddle when I don't want to heat up the oven in the RV!

Day 1 Snack - 2:00pm
Alexx is not a great fan of vegetables but knows he needs to include them in his diet.  He goes by the "old boot" philosophy...if you put enough cheese and bacon on anything it is tolerable...even an old boot!

This is the mixture in his salad bowl:
Iceberg lettuce, chopped, 1 cup
Kale, 1 leaf, chopped small, approx 3 grams
Green onion, chopped, 1/4 cup
Green peppers, chopped, 1/4 cup
Cucumber with peel, chopped, 2 tbsp.
Feta Cheese, crumbled, 1/4 cup
Hormel Natural Choice, no nitrate bacon, 1 slice crumbled
Blue Cheese Dressing, 2 tbsp.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 353; Carbs: 11g; Fat: 13g; Protein 10g

Day 1 Dinner - 6:00pm
Pancakes are usually saved for a breakfast entry and Alexx's favorite pancakes will be shared on a different meal plan day.  On this day, we have our version of Pigs in a Blanket.  I used to love to make Swedish Pancakes, but since flour has been eliminated from our diet, I had to find an acceptable substitute.  This is as close as we have come so far and we are pretty happy with the result:

• Beefy Blankets (see recipe below)
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 2 Tbsp whipped cream

Total Nutritional Value for the meal:

Calories: 611; Carbs: 17g; Fat: 51g; Protein: 20g

Beefy Blankets

Minutes to prepare: 15
Minutes to cook: 20
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
Ricotta Cheese, whole milk, 2 Tbsp.
Egg, 1 large
Sugar substitute, 1 Tbsp
Vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon, ground, 3/4 tsp
Organic Butter, 1 Tbsp
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 tsp divided
Open Nature Uncured Beef Franks, 4 franks
Sugar Free Maple Syrup, 1/4 cup

Directions:
1. Saute the franks in 1 tsp olive oil on medium low heat.
2. In small blender pulse together until blended: ricotta, egg, sweetener, cinammon, vanilla
3. Stir in the remaining 2 tsp of olive oil to the batter
4. Heat a crepe pan or skillet to medium heat and add the butter to melt.
5. Make one crepe at a time with 1/4 cup of the batter.  Tip the pan so the batter spreads evenly.
6. Cook the batter for approximately 1 minute.  You will see the crepe setting.
7. Turn the crepe carefully to cook the other side.  (If you are confident the crepe won't land on the floor you can try flipping it!)
8. Repeat until all four pancakes are made. (If you can keep them warm in the oven that is nice.)
9. Roll one frank inside each pancake.
10.  Top with sugar free syrup and serve.

Nutritional information for a serving of 2 Beefy Blankets:
Calories: 572.5; Net Carbs: 9.9g; Fat: 49.2g; Protein: 19g


Day 1 Late Snack - 10:00pm
Alexx absolutely loves dessert and when he was diagnosed with diabetes he sadly said goodby to his favorite eating establishments of Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins.  We never dreamed we would be able to add desserts into his meal planning, but with a little bit of research and trial and error in the kitchen has resulted in some very nice options.  Consequently, we are including 15 desserts in our meal planning so every day there is something to look forward to for sweetness.  Sometimes a recipe will make a larger portion than for the two of us, and sometimes I don't care to have dessert (that is a hard concept for Alexx to comprehend) so he will have the remaining portions on the following day(s).  Despite that, we have included 15 different recipes for desserts.  All our desserts have been tested on friends too so they work well for entertaining too. It's such a treat for Alexx to be able to eat the same food that everyone else is eating and all enjoy it.
All the desserts are tested so that we know they don't spike his glucose numbers.  But that's just Alexx. Everyone does not respond the same to ingredients, so if you are using our recipes for a diabetic person, please be sure to have them test the foods to see how they react.  Hopefully, it will be as successful as it has been for Alexx.  (Oh, by the way, I don't like to cook every day so sometimes he just gets a Carb Smart ice cream bar.  They are only 9 net carbs per bar and they fill the bill quite nicely.)

• 1/2 cup frozen vanilla custard
• 1 Tbsp. Smuckers Sugar Free Fudge Topping mixed with 2 tsp walnut oil
• 5 halves chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp Redi Whip topping
• fresh berries for topping

Nutritional Information for the snack:

Calories: 302; Carbs: 14g; Fat: 27g; Protein: 4

Low Carb Frozen Vanilla Custard

Minutes to prepare: 5
Minutes to cook: 20 plus overnight to chill custard and 30 minutes in the ice cream maker
Servings: 4 scoops of 1/2 cup each

Ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 egg yolks
3 Tbsp. powdered stevia
1 Tbsp. sugarfree vanilla syrup
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan mix the cream and milk and stir over medium-high heat until foam begins to appear.
2. Remove pan from heat.
3. Beat egg yolks and sweeteners until light and fluffy - about 2 minutes.
4. Gradually pour the cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture and whisk constantly so there is no curdling.  If any lumps form, remove them.
5.  Place the bowl with the combined mixture over a saucepan of simmering water and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, cooking until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.
6. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to stir the custard for 2 minutes.
7. Stir in the vanilla extract and syrup.
8. Cover the bowl and let it cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator.
9. Chill overnight in the refrigerator.
10. Transfer the cold custard to the ice cream maker and use as directed.
Nutritional Information for one 1/2 cup serving of ice cream:
Calories: 88; Carbs: 8g; Fat: 8.1g; Protein: 1.8g

Total Nutritional Information for Day 1 Meal Plan:
Calories: 2401; Carbs: 94g (15%); Fat: 198g (67%); Protein: 121g (18%)