Pinterest Tested DIY Sugar Scrub

I cannot recall the exact place I first saw this but it was on Pinterest. A very easy DIY sugar body scrub! It makes your skin super soft and moisturized at fraction of the cost of store bought equivalents. I already had all the ingredients at home!

You will need:

• Olive oil
• Sugar- regular granulated
• Scented essential oils (optional) 
  

This is so simple I don't even measure it. I fill a small container with sugar and slowly add enough olive oil until the texture becomes paste-like. It's about a 2:1 ratio of 2 parts sugar and 1 part olive oil. 

I also have been adding tea tree oil for it's natural skin benefits and oil of rose for scent. Olive oil on it's own does not smell bad, but it smells like olive oil. I've also added vanilla to it before and any essential oil you like would add a pleasant smell. You only need a few drops 3-5 of tea tree oil or any other essential oils. Mix and use like crazy! It's cheap!

I also recently started using this on my face. This was after some internet searching to make sure it wasn't a horrible idea! It is amazing! My skin loves the exfoliation from the sugar and the moisturizer from the olive oil is doing wonders. I have large pores and always have treated my skin like it is oily, turns out I actually need more moisture! 

Diabetes note: Those horrible sticker sites from various diabetes related gadgets? This removes the leftover adhesive better than anything else for that too!

Sweet Stuff

Some of my favorite things from this week:

 

A good friend went to Hawaii last month and neglected to take me with her, but she brought back the BEST margarita salt a girl could dream about! The salt makes the margarita! I make "skinny" margaritas also known as "real margaritas". NO sweet and sour mix/sugar/junk. Just FRESH lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau blended or on the rocks. Deadly. Delicious. Low sugar.

 

Oh you know, just putting away laundry and finding a full insulin reservoir in my sock drawer. This happens to everyone right? 

 

My Dexcom being awesome and alerting me to a low. I have always thought I've been very good at feeling lows early and feeling myself drop. So far this week though Dexcom 3 Sarah 0, as in the Dexcom has caught 3 lows this week before me. Today it's been a little off, but most days obviously very accurate. Scary accurate. 

Thank goodness for OtterBox, because I'm a clumsy speech language pathologist. I drop the iPad more than the kids! That says a lot considering most of my caseload is 5 years old or younger. Also, notice my spooky dark office. Power outage for over an hour at work! Johnny also stopped by my office that morning as a nice surprise (when we had power). He was in his Paramedic uniform so I had my students talk about different occupations and ask him questions. When he stood up to leave a few of them freaked out with how tall he was, 6'2" by the way.

Students: "How can you be that tall? How old are you?"
Johnny: "How old do you think I am?"
Students: "41.....no wait 44!"
Johnny: "I'm 27"
Students: "You CAN'T be that tall at 27!, You gotta be at least 41!!"

This was hysterical, it made the day for both of us!!

 

My favorite things. Oh and a new car, no more stranded smoking engine for me! I'll miss my '96 Camry, but we are a clunker free home now and adjusting just fine.

Low Carb Miso Ramen Soup

The weather is getting warmer, however, for some reason I'm still craving soup constantly! This one has been so easy to make and it would be an easy recipe to individualize! 

Ingredients:
4 cloves minced or 1/2 tbsp garlic
1/2 tbsp olive or sesame oil
1/2 an onion diced
1 cup diced carrots
4 stalks celery diced
4 cups miso soup broth (or use dry mix packages or paste and follow directions accordingly)
1 1/2 cups water or low sodium vegetable broth (optional)
1 package Shirataki noodles
1 1/2 cups kale or spinach 
1 hard boiled egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Saute the garlic and onion in oil in a large sauce pan on low-med heat until onion is clear. About 3-5 minutes. 

 2. Add carrots and celery (add more veggies if you like...maybe mushrooms!) and cook for about 5-8 minutes. 

3. Add the Miso soup broth. I bought mine at Whole Foods, but I've also used the mix packets and my husband does a great job with the paste. I also add the optional water or vegetable broth at this point because I don't like salty soup, if you want more flavor omit or add less water. Simmer the vegetables in the broth for about 10 minutes or until they reach desired texture.

 4. Open, drain, and thoroughly rinse the Shirataki Noodles. A few notes on these: I love them! Not a normal noodle because they are made from some sort of yam and soy. I think they taste best as a ramen noodle in soup but have also enjoyed them with sauce. What do I love the most about them? Low calorie, which is a plus, but I really care about the carbs! So how many carbs? 8 carbs in the whole package and 6 grams of fiber! According to my last dietician you subtract half the fiber for a total of 5 carbs in the whole package!! Compared to 40 or more in regular pasta!! T1D (type1diabetes) heaven!! The thing I don't like? They have a very unique "fish" smell. This goes away once rinsed well and keep in mind to follow package instructions if you are going to use as spagetti. 

5. Add the yummy Shirataki Noodles to the broth with your kale/spinach. Heat on low about 3 minutes until noodles are warm and greens are slightly cooked. 

6. Pour soup in a bowl, add an egg if you want some extra protein and enjoy!

My estimated carb count, for the WHOLE pot would be about 30 carbs. I get 2-3 servings from this recipe so only 10-15 carbs per serving! 

Sweet Stuff

Highlights over this week. 

Getting nails done with the family. Bright spring colors!

    

New shoes from Target! I love the white lace look, but cleaning them is going to be an adventure!! I saw a lace version of Tom's last year and loved them. These were cheaper and actually I think they are even more comfortable. I might buy another pair in a different style they are so comfy! I was so excited about these I went to 3 different Targets before I found my size, and the last pair left. Love it when that happens!

 

My longest run ever. I definitely walked the last part. Eugene Half Marathon here I come!!

 

The Chihuly sculpture at my medical office. I lingered for awhile, love it when health places have nice decor like this! Love Chihuly! 

 

Low Carb Miso Ramen I made for dinner this week. Miso broth, low carb Shirataki noodles, carrots, kale, cucumber, onion, garlic, and topped off with a hard boiled egg! Yum!

Seven Days of Dexcom

My Dexcom CGM (device that monitors my blood sugar patterns) has software where you can upload the data to your computer. Unfortunately, your computer needs to be a PC. My husband and I find ourselves in a world of nothing but Apple these days. I'm slowly going to think of a way to get a hold of a PC or Windows in order to upload eventually. If you have one I can borrow....let's talk. :) 

I wouldn't need it so bad if my receiver would show more than just the last 24 hours of blood sugars. I want to keep track of the patterns over the days

So I'm waiting for them to develop a web based system overnight just for me. In the meantime, I've been trying to remember to take a picture of my Dexcom trend graph every night so I can look at it later. Humoring my geekiness, here are my charts over a weeks time. 

Friday: A normal diabetic day. That little arrow means my blood sugar is slowly rising. I kept an eye on it.

Saturday: "Bubble tea" day. My husband and I had a craving for bubble tea and drove across town to get some. I carefully studied the nutritional facts online and made a choice based on the carb count. Turns out this did not include the tapioca balls. We could not for the life of us figure out how much was in them. I have had bubble tea a million times, but it's been awhile, and this one really shot up my sugar. Lesson learned; no more bubble tea until I figure out the carb count. I'll probably just be skipping it in the future, so not worth the almost 5 hours of high blood sugar. Well, not this time. I might change my mind on that during my next craving.

Sunday: This one shows the nasty low overnight after I finally came down from my bubble tea high ("bubble tea high" ...ya I'm chuckling too). My blood sugar was finally looking good and I fell asleep on the couch while my husband was on the computer. He woke me up letting me know my receiver was alarming and to check my blood sugar. I haven't had a high of 300 for at least two months and then on the SAME day a low of ....46, I haven't been that low in even longer. Your typical diabetes roller-coaster. I probably should have seen it coming. Seriously though, no more bubble tea.

Monday: This day was all in range and well earned! Notice the little blank space? I had to replace the sensor, it takes about 2 hours before it starts detecting blood sugars and then all set for the next 7 days after that.

Tuesday: This day was actually all in range. The dexcom was off by a little bit. For the most part I've felt like it is very close. Some days it matches almost perfectly.

Wednesday/Thursday morning: I forgot to take a picture of the Dexcom Wednesday night because that was the day our car went up in smoke and then came home to a backed up sink. When it rains it pours! So I took this Thursday morning. 

Friday: Definitely a trend of post dinner highs. I've made some adjustments already.

These graph may look a little crazy and maybe even scary to a non-diabetic. For a type 1 these are very typical and those ups and downs very normal. A non-diabetics blood sugars vary in this fashion in a smaller range throughout the day as well. 

My husband and I attended an event over the weekend where we heard another type 1 diabetic joke, "The perfect blood sugars would be a flat line...but we all know what a flat line means in the medical world." I immediately turned to my husband and said, "that's not funny". It's still not funny, but I appreciated her pointing out the impossibility of perfect blood sugar graphs.

 A zoomed in version makes it look much different. Oh, and I treated the low. 

Sweet Stuff: Cars and Zombie Apocalypse

This week had as much bitter as it did sweet. Starting out with our local getaway canceled because of car issues. Our Camry went up in smoke while we stopped in San Francisco for some yummy brunch at Zazie's with some friends. Engine up in smoke as soon as we parked. Thankfully it turned out to just be steam! Kinda scary.

We were fortunate to be surrounded by lots of helpful and wonderful people in Cole Valley. We made it back home safely and full of gratitude.

Car shopping then became the agenda as well as discussing our next little getaway since we will be needing it even more now than before. Although it put a damper on my spring break, much less stress than if it had happened during the work week!!! It also meant we got to spend a lot of time with family locally this week. We had dropped our dog off with them and she was having the time of her life. We hung out there a few times this week and also had the time of our life with family. It was worth coming home and remembering to make the little things priority too. 

After pouring over computers and spreadsheets neurotically, I dragged my husband out for some hiking/trail running. We talked cars a bit, but we were also able to take in the fresh air and relaxing surroundings! At one point after some great conversation we were both silently walking side by side. 

Reading my husband's mind I said, "We are both quiet because we are both thinking about cars right now" He responded, "Yes, and the difference between what we are thinking right now is that you are debating which cars will better fit dogs, groceries, and future children....whereas I'm more concerned about which car will be able to go further on one tank of gas when the zombie apocalypse occurs and there is no gasoline left." Hysterically true. Love him so much!  

That weird thing I'm holding onto I fondly refer to as a "bumbag" aka a fanny pack for my type 1 diabetes plethora of goods. I'm trialling this bag and probably going to stick with a backpack Camelback.

Jicama Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

Jicama Salad

1/2 a large jicama, peeled (about 12 ounces)
1/2 medium zucchini, sliced
2-3 thin slices red onion chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce leaves, as garnish-optional

1. Cut jicama into desired sizes either small sticks or cube sizes. Combine jicama, zucchini, and onion in a bowl. Pour dressing (see below) over it and toss; season to taste with salt and pepper. 

2. Arrange lettuce leaves on salad plates; top with salad

Cilantro Lime Dressing
2 tbsp lime juice
1 small roma tomato finely diced *(see variation note)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
4-5 drops liquid stevia *(see variation note)

1. Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until serving time; mix before using. 

Makes 6 side dishes about 2/3 a cup each. 

**Variation note: This recipe is alkaline as written. If you like you can add 1 small orange cut into segments to the salad. The variation for the dressing would be to substitute 2 tbsp orange juice for the tomato and 2 tsp sugar for the stevia. 

  

Estimated calories/carbs per serving (best estimations I could do!):
Tomato version:  64 calories and 10.5 carbs
Orange/sugar version: 77 calories and 13.5 carbs

It is a colorful salad. I added orange as garnish for the sake of more color! 

 I originally bought zuchinni with the idea of making these flourless zuchinni muffins. Then felt inspired to make the jicama salad. Turns out still had enough to make half the recipe, which was more than enough.

  I've made these before and they were scrumptious, made a few of my own adjustments this time. Less honey, less chocolate chips, added a little almond flour, and a little cocoa powder. Thankfully I didn't ruin them, still sweet and chocolatey goodness. Clearly cut out a lot of the sugar because I had about 10 of these mini muffins and my blood sugar went DOWN. So I had more. 
 

Jicama: Snacking, Salads, and more!

Jicama is one of my favorite snacks. I discovered jicama when I took a four week vegetarian cooking course from my college dietician. A jicama salad was one of the dishes we made, I'll post the recipe for that later this week!

Fun facts/benefits of jicama:

• Jicama is a root vegetable often found in Mexico, Central America, and South Asia. 
•  I often joke that jicama tastes like "water and fiber" because it has a crisp refreshing flavor and definitely a high fiber content. 
• How high is that fiber content?! 6 grams of fiber in one cup!
• Great snack for keeping blood sugars in range. I see very little to no affect on my blood sugars from snacking on jicama. There are 12 grams of carbs in a cub, but with 6 grams of fiber, the net effect on blood sugar is 6 carbs per cup.
• High alkaline food
• Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory  
• Keeps you full with all that fiber and very low in calories!

Storing and Preparing Jicama:

•  Choose the smoothest jicama you can find with no blemishes or dark spots. Jicama is in season fall, winter, and spring.
  
• Store jicama unpeeled at room temperature. Mine usually last up to a week unpeeled in my fruit bowl. Some say they can last longer. 
• Once peeled and chopped store in the refrigerator, it will spoil/turn brown if left out. 
•  I store my jicama in rubbermaids, you can add water, olive oil and/or lemon to help keep it fresh. I occasionally do this.  
• Do not eat the skin. Peel it off or chop it off (This is easier for me). Then chop into desired sizes. I chop into long sticks or small cubes.  

1. This side of my jicama is smooth and blemish free. 
2. This side is not as pretty. A little damage to the white meaty part underneath may need to be cut off as well. My grocery store never has perfect jicama. As close as you can find!
3. I cut off the skin and rinsed it off with water. 
4. Chopped into small pieces and ready for snacking or throwing into a salad. A second jicama standing by, as I plan to finish the first by the end of the week!
   
Eating it:

• Raw nothing on it! 
• Olive oil and lemon
• Lemon and Tajin (yummy chili pepper seasoning)
• Throw it in a salad
• Dip it! Hummus, guacamole, or anything you fancy!
• Some ideas I have yet to try: Boil/mash as substitute for mashed potatoes, roast it, add to stir fry or to soup! I'm looking forward to testing a few of these out in the near future!

On more than one occasion the cashier at the grocery store has asked me "what do you do with this?" while holding up my jicama with a puzzled expression. The most simple response: "Just cut it up and eat it!"

Sweet Stuff

It's Friday and no better time like reflecting on the highlights from the week and embracing another well deserved weekend!

1. I had an amazing Easter with my husband's family (sans my working husband). Full of good Filipino food (hello lumpia!) and the best family! I had so much fun I completely forgot to take any photos so hopefully Aunt Ev doesn't mind that I stole one of hers. 

2. Easter also came with it's type 1 diabetes mayhem. My 5 year old insulin pump broke. It got a little wet during a morning run because my Camelback leaked on it. Thankfully it was working up until dessert. Then I became quite the entertainment for a few minutes with my alarming insulin pump. My pump company has the most awesome customer service. One great phone call and two days later, replacement pump in my hands! Thank you Kenya from Medtronic! Also, I didn't mind a few days doing the insulin shot thing. It was a nice reminder that switching back and forth is not so hard. 

3. The pump broke just in time for my new Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to get here. I was able to learn how to start using with only the tutorial videos and my paramedic husband supervising. I watched TONS of youtube videos including this cutie: Superhero CGM. In case you don't know, this amazing piece of technology measures my blood sugars from the tissue under my skin and sends the information to a receiver I carry with me. The receiver graphs the blood glucose trends. I can see if my blood sugar is rising, falling, or stable. I can track changes and make well informed adjustments.  

In the picture below, it shows a low blood sugar in the red zone in the middle of the night. The receiver's alarm woke me up and I treated the low with carbs. However, you can also see that I actually over-treated the low and immediately had a high blood sugar right after. I would not have woken up so soon for the low or had known that I'd over-treated it because my blood sugar was back to normal in the morning! Just awesome. Maybe a whole post on this life changer in the future, but if you're curious now learn what CGM is here or visit Dexcom's website.

4. Found the best almond butter brand at Whole Foods this week. I don't care for almond butter by itself because it is usually chunky and tastes bland to me. I usually just use almond butter in baking recipes and put it in smoothies. However, this stuff I could eat by the spoonful. Hoping this "Barney Butter" will help wean me off of my peanut butter addiction. Unfortunately it costs almost twice as much as regular almond or peanut butter. I find this brand to be much more satisfying and therefore I haven't been tempted to eat the entire jar or even half as much of it as I normally would. Hoping it slows down my consumption enough to be worth the cost!  

5. Last and best of all, not only is it Friday, it's SPRING BREAK!! Looking forward to relaxing and soaking in some good weather. Waiting patiently this favorite California flower to start blooming, Lily of the Nile. They look like giant dandelions/pom poms. 

Blogging Round 3!

Giving the blog another chance! Looking forward to sharing thoughts on speech pathology, type 1 diabetes, healthy recipes, and all other adventures!!

Thanks to many friends for inspiring me to get back to writing. Especially a special quick visit from Erin!!

We had a wonderful Tuesday night together this last week when she needed to be in the area for work. The adventure started with picking her up and making great time into San Francisco! 

A walk along the Marina, through the Palace of Fine Arts, and off to dinner at DeLaRosa! Complete with Gelato for dessert, well earned with all our walking!