My Personal Eating Plan Lets Me Enjoy The Flavors I Love
My lo-tech diet is always evolving
Introduction
There is a lot of advice out there about what to eat and how to eat. Everyone has a diet hustle these days. There is an endless supply of diet breakthroughs, discoveries, and announcements on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The guy in the video implores you to watch his video (speakers on) to show how their amazing breakthrough defeats type 2 diabetes in 21 days. The video takes 33 minutes then tries to sell you a diet plan. Your results are moments away. Pathetic!
The videos promise everything but a cure for Diabetes. By the way, there is no cure for Diabetes, only attempts to control blood glucose. Once you have it, you have it. It is a progressive disease. If you let it take over, you are in for an unpleasant ride. Best to take action BEFORE your A1C gets out of the safe range.
I set out to write down everything I eat in a day. I was planning to go for a week or a month, then thought slogging through the repetition of plates of mangoes or salad this or that was more torture than most people can endure. So I went for a typical day and added items I rotate into my daily routine.
My goal is to eat well. I love to eat freshly prepared food. I will find new and healthy things to keep a variety on the table with delicious variations. I try to keep carbs and blood sugar in check. I avoid anything sweet or with added sugar. When that is impossible, an informed choice is best.
Morning
Steamed veggies including zucchini, Brussel sprouts, carrots, onions or shallots, and mushrooms. Sauteed with two or three sunny side eggs.
If I am still hungry, I have a toasted bagel, real butter, and cream cheese. A light sprinkling of salt and sesame seeds for flavor. I like to circle the bagel with olive oil. I may add slices of rare sirloin or some salami.
I drink three cups of coffee in the morning. I alternate Columbian, French Roast, Sumatran, and Kona. I get up at 4:05 am most of the time. A steaming cup of black coffee is perfect. I drink 5–6 cups in total in a day. A cup at 3 pm cup is my favorite way to get to dinner. I love tomato juice and thick bacon. I have eliminated both from my morning.
10 am Snack
I cut up one or two Honeycrisp or Red Delicious apples. I have some mozzarella along with it.
Salt makes flavors come alive.
I consulted my doctor. She advised me not to overdo it.
I alternate days with slices of tomatoes in basil, drizzled with EVOO. Other favorites are sliced cucumbers in sour cream or a handful of bing cherries. Bananas are too sweet.
I think the idea here is to push down the hunger pangs, peg your blood sugar, and supply a little energy till lunch. To change things up, I like baked potatoes sprinkled with chopped, grilled veggies and sour cream. It is a nice break from rabbit food.
Just a quick note, Portland is known for donuts, pizza, and coffee. There is a lot of farming around these parts. In particular, apples here are amazing. Washington state adds a lot of crisp, crunchy apples to our table.
Down The Hatch!
I make my power drink in the Magic Bullet.
Raw egg
The juice of a lemon
Thinly sliced fresh ginger
A sprinkle of turmeric accompanied by cracked black pepper
A splash of EVOO
I drink it down from a tall glass rather than sip it. It’s easy to add ingredients like cilantro or spinach to add variety, I add and subtract ingredients as I go. I like to experiment and test new ideas. When things fail to work out as I had hoped, I just toss it and start over.
Lunch
Forget the food trucks. I make mine from scratch daily.
Packing my lunch gives me control of what I eat. This usually turns out to be a salad and homemade dressing. I don’t miss sitting down at a lunch special in a restaurant. Plus, with covid-19, a lot of places are closed or just carry out anyway.
I start with a base of greens. I add some cold cuts. In goes salami, ham, and roasted turkey. I add feta, olives, a spoonful of rice, roasted red peppers, marinated garlic cloves, a hard-boiled egg or two. Plus any roasted or grilled veggie I can find in the icebox. I keep the dressing and tomatoes separate since they can bog down the salad if you assemble everything the night before. Ain’t nobody got time for a soggy salad.
Homemade Salad Dressing
Salad dressing is EVOO, Dijon, salt, a small amount of mayo, pepper. I recently discovered white balsamic-style vinegar at Trader Joe’s. It’s easy and delicious. Since I make it myself, I get to decide what the ingredients are.
I bought a jar of Vidalia onion dressing made with real Vidalia onions for that authentic real Vidalia onion taste. I ended up throwing those real Vidalia onions away since it had enough sugar alongside the real Vidalia onion taste to make Willy Wonka blush. It was a big-name salad dressing company too. Once you eliminate it from your diet, that much sugar can overpower you.
Afternoon Snack
When I need to defeat the sleepy crash after lunch, I will eat an apple or have a handful of almonds. The sleepiness thing doesn’t occur every day. It is strange to me when it happens since I don’t eat sugary carbs. My Doc says I can eat as many veggies as I want. I will skip a snack to keep my blood sugar low until dinner.
Dinner
I try to skimp on calories around dinnertime. I try to enjoy what I eat, and variety helps. I have sauteed shrimp, whole wheat pasta, a leafy salad, or enjoy a small serving of sirloin.
I avoid rice, bread, potatoes, or anything that is going to spike my blood sugar. If I need more to eat, my go-to is a plate of sardines. I add dijon mustard, chopped onions, mayo, turmeric, EVOO, salt & pepper. Sardines may be an acquired taste, I happen to like them. They are healthy and a great source of omega-3.
This is My Food Rotation
Anchovies, sardines, avocados, baked potatoes, shallots, pickles, sirloin, colorful peppers, ground beef, tuna, shrimp, garlic, cauliflower, zucchini, garbanzo beans, sparkling water, NA Beer, pinto beans, jalapenos, habaneros, cheese, pickled anything.
What did I eliminate? Beer, wine, and scotch. My doctor says one ounce of alcohol every two to three years is ok. Soft drinks, sweet tea, ice cream, chocolate, pizza, cheesecake, bread, rice, pork, soda, cookies, cakes, candy, butterscotch, or caramel toppings for ice cream. No butterscotch and caramel for me!
This is my eating plan. It changes a lot. Share your thoughts!
Have a look at these two very informative articles by Dr. Mehmet Yildiz.
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Douglas Pilarski is a journalist living in Portland. He covers luxury goods, lifestyle, exotic cars, CJ-CX, workplace issues, food, horology, and tech.
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