Easy Custard Recipe

Click the title to go to my amplify page where I put the recipe. It will be easy to sub the sugar to make it low carb. We love custard here, I might make this tomorrow.

Planning for Thanksgiving

I don't know who will be here for Thanksgiving this year. It may be just Pete and I and my mom, or my daughter and her toddler son (who live with us) may spend it here this year. Or who knows? If I find out about someone who will be alone, I'll invite them also.

Thanksgiving has become known as a holiday of excess to many but to us it is still a day that we concentrate on giving thanks to God - even more than every other day - for His blessings and provision in our lives. And we also celebrate the traditions that make our lives so rich.

We are dark meat eaters here, and a whole turkey is too much for just a few of us, so I will be trying to find turkey thighs. I have done a breast in the past but we ate it out of duty rather than enjoyment, so we'll do the thigh thing if I can find them. We'll have mashed potatoes, which will be mostly fauxtatoes but I'll throw in one or two of the real thing so there will be bits of skin and a more potato-y flavor. Green bean casserole hasn't been one of our traditions, but we will have other vegetables - the more colorful the better! Foregoing sweet potatoes, I'll do a winter squash dish, probably roasted chunks, and butter spinach. And also Pete's favorite, brussels sprouts, cooked with bacon and onions. Gravy will be of the creamed variety, with real cream. And dessert will be a whipped pumpkin dish using SF pudding mix, cream, diabetisweet brown sugar sub, cinnamon, and plenty of nutmeg.

And I want to mention this blog as a source for ideas, suggestions, and links to recipes for a lowcarb Thanksgiving meal too!

Low Carb Eating and Priorities

I find I am not worrying about carbs as much as I am concerned with comfort at this point. Whatever doesn't cause pain is what I eat. And trying to reduce any inflammation in my gut before the surgery (the reason for the liquid diet suggestion by my primary doc) is a priority as well. The two should go hand in hand. I have been sticking with soft foods though, rather than liquids. I am not getting a whole lot of pain eating this way - along with my digestive enzyme supplements to help break things down - and I am guessing/hoping that the levels of pain and inflammation are connected...

At any rate, this is about carbs and not about pain or surgery :). And I have introduced some carby foods that I wouldn't normally eat, for the sake of the above. Low carb foods that I am eating are eggs/heavy cream scrambled with cheese...cottage cheese...chicken...cream soups (homemade)...string cheese...SF jello/whipped cream (sweetened with sweetzfree)...SF ice cream...yogurt...

What I have eaten that is comfortable to my gut but not low carb: potatoes (baked or mashed) and rice, both well-buttered, and both eaten minimally (only made rice once in fact).

I'm finding that more things bother me than I thought. Most vegetables are all but out of the question, as are many meats - although I do a pot roast the other day, cooked until very very tender - falling apart in fact - and could eat small amounts of that, very well-chewed. But only very small amounts.

This is only temporary, but I miss my cooking and the types of meals that I am so used to eating. I will get past this in a few months, and be able to get back to my beloved and precious low carb eating. I think I will pick up a good protein shake mix to add from now until the surgery, because I know I'm not getting enough protein. I also need a liquid vitamin supplement since the big pills are just too much...

Anyway, just an update on how I'm doing with my soft-foods and my eating. Nothing earth-shattering. Which is probably a good thing :).