Sweet Stuff: May 31st

Last week I was fortunate to make it to a family party on the beach. Bonfires, pizza, and a beautiful sunset! It also happened to be mid-week, which always feels like a grand escape!

Found out that frozen yogurt cups fit perfectly in my cup holders. Dangerous knowledge. 

My 5am workouts have continued! Most days at least. My friend has been inspiring me to get up and go. Apparently it's making us think alike because twice now we've been dressed practically the same. Twins at the gym and completely unplanned of course!! 

We make quite a pair in the morning locker room!

To all my friends near and far (and my closest friend, my husband!): "You can always tell when two people are good friends because they're always having way more fun than it makes sense for them to be having"...this goes for family too! Happy Friday!

Healthy Snacking: Roasted Cauliflower "Popcorn"

My stress level is a little high at work this time of year (end of year reports) and snack cravings are insane. Especially for carbs when I get home from work! 

We've also had lots of "social" events at work and on the weekends that involve food. I've been trying to curb the cravings and temptations with reminding myself of my healthy options.  

This week's feature: Roasted Cauliflower "Popcorn"

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil (I use a garlic infused one from Trader Joe's) 
Salt to taste

Optional toppings:
Popcorn seasoning: such as "white cheddar" or "kettle corn"
Pepper
Nutritional yeast (gives it a cheesy flavor)  
Garlic powder


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  3. Chopped and break up the cauliflower florets into bite size pieces.
4. In a bowl or directly on the baking sheet (my lazy way) toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and salt. 5. Add your desired optional toppings. My favorite is a little nutritional yeast, white cheddar flavored popcorn seasoning, and garlic if I'm out of my garlic infused olive oil!
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Turn at least once. You want them very brown!! 
**If you are feeling rushed you can crank the oven up to 475 and bake for 15-20 minutes just keep an eye on them and turn often! 

Other's items I'm snacking on:
Roasted Brussel Sprouts*
Jicama
Hard boiled eggs
Carrots, cucumber, and bell peppers with hummus
Apple with or without almond butter
Low carb mission tortillas with almond butter
Chia seed pudding/porridge*
(**Recipes/ideas for these to come!)

Sweet Stuff

These last two weeks were full of beautiful, nostalgic, bittersweet, and some just crazy life moments. They were busy in both professional and personal happenings. Which is why I'm just finally uploading these. Looking forward to the relaxing 3 day weekend ahead!! Only 9 days until summer vacation!

This last Monday was a very special day. Our cousin turned 16 years old! Her beautiful twin passed away a few years ago from cancer, this day was a day of celebration that also tears at our hearts for our angel. They released balloons to heaven for her. My husband was sad he could not get out of work for it. However, he was able to surprise the birthday girl because he was stationed nearby!

Last weekend my husband, some friends, and I participated in the Los Gatos Wine Walk. This event always sells out! It was our second year going. The amount food, wine, entertainment, and shopping is exhaustively fun! We had a blast.

My co-workers and I have been having "Marathon IEP Meetings". We've resorted to planned margarita nights to relax after a day full of meetings.

My husband was supportive as well, he made me a fabulous brunch one weekend morning before I woke up! A sweet moment amidst the chaos.

Last but not least, a little story:

When I was in middle school I lived in Malaysia for a year with my family. I attended a British International School. It was a small and close knit community. Even though it was only a year it had a huge impact on my life and who I am. My father told me never to lose touch with the amazing friends I made there. Well, like a teenager, I lost touch. Thank goodness Facebook came along and I found my wonderful friends again! They are all over the world and it is spectacular to be in touch with them. I can't believe you can actually miss middle school! I felt such close bonds with my girls in Malaysia!

One of those friends from middle school now lives in Thailand. Last week she posted a picture of San Francisco to which I immediately replied telling her I lived nearby and would love to see her. It sounded like a long shot and I kept thinking our get together was too good to be true until the moment I saw her. Like a cliche movie moment we ran into each other arms meeting up at Dolores Park. Thanks again to Facebook/the internet for making the world a smaller place. The last 15 years felt like nothing at all and we quickly chatted the night away! We had dinner at great restaurant that my friend's friend introduced us to, Limon Rotisserie in the Mission District. It was a Peruvian Restaurant with a whole section of the menu filled with Pisco Sour drink variations (my favorite mix drink these days and not always easy to find). I tried the original and the "Sneaky Pisco" which had whiskey in it. My friend who was not driving was a sweetheart and finished it for me. The food and drinks were amazing. However, nothing could out shine the reunion moment! I might be planning a trip to Thailand (and all the other amazing places my Penang, Malaysia friends now live)!! 

The last few weeks have touched my heart in many ways!

Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood and Don Wood, Speech Language Therapy Activities

Many of my favorite children's books are the ones my mom read to me when I was little. Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood was always a favorite, especially because my mom could do ALL the voices so well! This book is very engaging and the illustrations are phenomenal.

The Woods (husband and wife team) are my all time favorite children's authors. I have a small collection of their books and love them all! A few of their other books I've read to my student's this year: The Big Hungry Bear (great for preschoolers and making predictions), Quick As A Cricket (simile practice!), The Napping House (sequencing/synonyms), and Silly Sally (/s/ sound practice!).

I live, eat, breathe, and sleep my job right now but I'm finally feeling motivated to write about it. Thought it'd be fun to share one this book and the activities I use with it. This is a long post because I really love this book and have a lot I do with it.

Materials I use:

• The book!
• Picture cards that I've made and laminated of the children, the items they've requested, and the different food they turn into. I used a color copier and google images to make these.

I have an activity for almost every page of this book. Sometimes I use them all, sometimes not. Let's explore:

Page 1:  On this page and every page we review vocabulary in the book as needed. I always like to pause here and discuss the word "chores". Everyone gets a turn telling me one chore they don't mind doing and then their least favorite chore. For example, mine goes like, "I don't mind doing the dishes, but I DO NOT like cleaning the bathrooms".

Then, I have them describe the different chores they do versus the chores done on a farm like in the book. I may also do a thinking map or venn diagram here. (This activity can be done before reading the book as it can take up a speech therapy session on it's own! Then it is just a quick review while reading.)

  Page 2: The children ask their mom for what they would like from the store. I lay picture cards out of the children, the items they've request, and have my students match them.

Page 3: On this page the mother tells her students two "rules". Not to play with fire and not to talk to strangers. I prompt my students to recall the "rules" and foster discussions about fire safety and stranger danger.

Page 4: Here we discuss whether or not the witch is a stranger. She offers them gold to let her in, so we discuss not accepting items from strangers, even if it's gold.

Page 5: The suspense grows on this page! The children bring the witch burning pieces of straw to light her pipe. An opportunity to talk about how gross smoking is and ask the students to recall the mother's rules!! 

Page 6: The witch turns the children to food! My students freak out with anticipation at this moment and are enthralled in the book. I love it. Once they calm down, I bring out the picture cards again and we match up who turned into what food.

Page 7: Some basic concept vocabulary review words on this page (in, across, through, over).

Page 8: The mother returns and we talk about the emotions of all the characters at this point. (Also, the little blackbird offers to help her. It's fun to flip back through the book at this point or when done reading and do a search for the little blackbird in all the scenes.)

Page 9: I just read this page. :)

Page 10: Check for understanding, character emotions reviewed, and predictions. 

Page 11: This is my favorite page/activity! The witch tells the mother she has to guess which food is which child or they will be eaten. The mother has to guess right the first time. All she has in front of her are her children (as food) and the items they asked her to bring them. I ask my students what they think she will do. I give them support as needed to figure out that she will match the items in her basket to the food (for example, milk goes with pitcher).

I do not let my student turn the page yet. THEY get to participate in the book. First, I lay out the items that the children turned into. Then, I give the students the items in the "basket" and have them work as a team to match the items. I remind them that they have to get them all correct or the witch will eat them! When they are *sure* of their answers, they get to turn the page. 

Page 12: As we read this page, I check my student's answers and place the pictures of the characters above the items they matched. Did the mother get it right? Did the students get it right?

The last pages: No more activities, we all just enjoy a happy ever after and talk about how much we love the book. :)

I spread this book and the activities over a week or two of therapy sessions depending on the age of my students. I have used it with 1st-4th grade. Modify as needed.

HAPPY READING  

Literacy is important for education and success!! Find ways to inspire a child in your life to fall in love with reading!

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” 
^{- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"}

“The nonreading children are the greatest problem in American education.” 
^{- Glenn Doman, "How to Teach Your Baby to Read"}

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” 
^{- Emilie Buchwald}

A1C- The Diabetes Report Card

For those who are not familiar with the term "A1C", it is not a new fangled bbq sauce. An A1C is a snapshot of the last 2-3 months of blood sugars. As a type 1 diabetic, this is blood work I have done every 3 months. It takes a look at how my sugars have been overall. A certain amount of sugar remains in the blood stream attached to red blood cells and this test measures that percentage. A percentage of 4.0-6.0 is considered the "non-diabetic" range, 6.0-8.0 is typically considered an "in-control diabetic" range (at least for type 1s and typically less that 7.0 is best). Higher than 8.0 is considered at risk for further complications and not in great control. When I was diagnosed with diabetes my A1C was 14.8!!! It should go without saying that I was very sick.

 

After being diagnosed, I stayed in the 6.0-7.0 range for many years. In the most recent years, I've been hanging around 7.0, my last A1C was 7.3. This March, I found the BEST....can't stress this enough, BEST endocrinologist (diabetes doctor) I have ever had. I've had so many doctors over the years and some have been pretty good, but this woman shows them all up! She is understanding, knowledgeable, experienced, and personable. Her support and guidance has helped me get back down to 6.3, and looking forward to staying as close to that "non-diabetic" range as I can. Please note that even if my A1C goes below 6.0 I still will be and will always be a type 1 diabetic, it just would means I'm probably losing my mind every hour of the day to accomplish those numbers without causing myself more problems with lows!

All the half-marathon training, 5am workouts, walks at lunch, blood sugar logging, carb counting/logging, doctor emailing, Dexcom use, and insulin calculating pays off! (The above picture is from Type 1 Diabetes Memes site on Facebook.)

Sweet Stuff

I've been sick this week with a nasty head cold and sinus infection. Took Monday off of work to hang out in bed with lots of DayQuil! On the positive side:

1. I ordered a new pump clip! My last one is 5 years old now. After my insulin pump broke and I needed a replacement, I've been paranoid of other things breaking! I use my clip almost everyday and lately it has been feeling a little flimsy.  Now I have a new pretty clear one!

2. I've woke up at 5am for the last 4 days to go to the gym. Working out with a friend and texting each other in the mornings has been seriously the best! I have always had better blood sugars all day if I start my day with exercise. Exercising in the evenings is usually easier, but I have a harder time sleeping and am more prone to overnight lows. 
 
My friend recently heard that working in the mornings means you burn more calories overall! Makes sense to me, my blood sugars are better when my metabolism is higher! Win-win all around. However, as you can see I'm not super excited to be up at 5am. 


3. It has been 4 years since we rescued our baby Luka!! Always a puppy.


 

4. The administrators at my school have been bringing us breakfast for the last two weeks because of the state testing going on. Waffles, egg dishes, tortilla casserole, sausages, yogurt, boiled eggs, fruit, and coffee. Seriously feeling spoiled and going to miss it!


 



5. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I am blessed to be surrounded by amazing moms, grandmas, mother-in-love, foster moms, stepmoms, and even aunties!!!

And MY MOM!!! Happy Mother's Day!! Found this cute picture my mom took of us in a photo booth when I was scanning pictures this summer. I just love it!! Love her!

Healthy Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten free, Vegan and Paleo Variations)

I've been playing with this recipe for weeks now. The idea comes from here. A co-worker and dear friend recommended it. I've been adding variations to make them less sugary and even more delicious. My husband and I are a little more than obsessed with them. New favorite creamy soft delicious protein-packed cookies!! I've included some variations as well.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond butter*
2 eggs*
1/4 cup sugar*
1/4 cup stevia*(I use the cup for cup "Stevia in the Raw" brand, not the packets)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line cookie tray with parchment paper.
3. Mix all the ingredients well until the almond butter is blended well with everything. This mixture may appear a little softer than your typical cookie dough.
4.  Drop spoonfuls of dough on your cookie tray and bake for about 8-9 minutes being careful not to burn or over bake them! Let cool and ENJOY!

This makes about 16 cookies. The recipe is gluten-free! I was making these in smaller half batches until my husband discovered how much he loves them. They are disappearing too fast to cut in half now.

Nutrition information for the above recipe (using www.myfitnesspal.com to calculate):
Per serving
Calories: 150
Carbs: 11
Fat: 11
Protein: 5
Fiber (I had to calculate this): 2grams  

*Almond Butter: Any nut butter should work, I've only tried it with peanut and almond. Both taste great in my opinion, but my husband strongly prefers almond butter. I use "Barney Butter" Almond Butter because it is creamy like peanut butter. I've also resorted to buying this particular almond butter online recently as the price went up at whole foods. They adjusted it for me after I said something, restoring my faith in customer service, but if it stays so expensive I'll keep buying it online.
*Vegan variation: Use egg substitute or flax meal instead of the eggs. I've tried it with the flax meal and the taste was just as awesome, but the cookie turned out a bit flat. Make sure your chocolate chips are vegan!
*Paleo variation: Substitute the stevia and sugar with 1/2 cup of raw honey. Maybe a little less if you don't want it too sweet, I personally think honey tastes seriously sweet and a little goes a very long way. I like the paleo diet, but I've stopped using honey because it has a bit more carbs than regular sugar. Also, I can more easily mix sugar with stevia to cut out half the carbs. There are some mixed reviews out there about stevia, but for now I'm still using it in moderation. Two more notes on paleo: make sure you are using a "bare" almond butter, no added sugar and don't use peanut butter, it is not paleo. Use dark vegan chocolate. 

Sweet Stuff: Eugene Half Marathon

I flew to Portland this past weekend and drove to Eugene in order to visit some college friends! Ran my first half marathon (13.1 miles!) last weekend! For the record, this was not my idea. This was my college roommate's idea and the "purpose" of our trip. Which was really to just see friends and eat at our favorite restaurants. It was successful in that we more than made up for the calories burned during the half marathon. 

Some highlights:
1. Traveling. This was my most productive airport experience ever. I discovered that the San Jose Airport has a meditation room, yet I skipped it and splurged for a massage chair and margarita instead. 
2. My bag of cucumbers at the dinner table. I had no time to spend in Portland so my mom and brother met me at the airport for dinner. I didn't want to carb load on chips with my dip so I ordered a side of jicama and pulled out the cucumber snack I had packed instead. (This was after eating chocolate on the airplane of course). I spend my carbs like I spend my money, get the most out of it! So.... chocolate>chips!
3. Arrived in Eugene and greeted by the adorable "Wadsworth"!! The pet of the amazing friends who hosted us in Eugene!    

 

4. We went to Florence for the day, a coastal town. It was amazing weather for Oregon spring. The beach was actually warm!!

5. We enjoyed a small jaunt down to the coast called "Hobbit's Trail" and played some frisbee on the beach. I cannot throw a frisbee, but it was still awesome.

6. Dutch Bros Chai Latte! It says "I missed you". I missed you too, Soy Chai latte!

7. With friends along the river.

8. My training for the half marathon was exhausting and I was discouraged, but turns out I must have done it right because I beat my goal time. I still came in last of my group of friends though. However, they've all run half marathons before so I had that excuse to make me feel better.

9. My friend Erin was doing the race as well and joined me. Since she has done this BUNCHES she basically paced me the whole way, I would not have finished nearly as quickly on my own!

 

10. The hosts of the weekend ready for the race!! 7am and bright-eyed!

11. Puddles was there for photo-ops! I flew to Portland, drove to Eugene, and ran 13 miles....picture with the Oregon Duck? Um YEA!!

The whole trip was a fabulous escape, so thankful for such great friends and company!

Diabetes note: I was very careful with my blood sugars during training and the race. I run with a Camelback backpack which holds: water, blood sugar meter, back-up sugar, emergency glucagon shot, Dexcom CGM clipped on where I can constantly look at it, and I keep my insulin pump on. I reduce the rate of my pump usually before exercise, sometimes more during, and remove it if I know I can after much trial and error. I check my patterns using the Dexcom and check my blood sugar at least once during a long workout or if I feel low. During the race I ate a fruit strip, piece of banana, and drank one of the cups of gatorade they hand you to keep blood sugars stable.