Friday, November 14, 2008

Substitutions

I'm not a big fan of substituting things. I would rather not eat something, than to eat a sugar-free substitute. Crazy, huh?
But, there is a good reason.
Splenda, Nutrasweet, the pink stuff, the blue stuff, it doesn't matter--I can taste it and I don't like it. Diet soda just has an aftertaste that I really find, for lack of a better word, nasty.

But, one good thing is that the substitutes are not particularly healthy anyway. I don't know the specifics, but our body treats substitutes like sugar, even firing the synapses as if it were sugar.

So, where am I going with all this?

General Tso chicken. This is one of my favorite meals, but it is high in fat, carbs, and everything that is unhealthy for anyone, let alone a diabetic, particularly a type 2 who needs to lose some pounds.

What to do when I really, really, really want something? Usually I would limit portion size, but that works with chocolate or treats. I will have a tiny piece of good dark chocolate instead of a bag of milk chocolate. That works. But it just won't work with dinner.

I have found a way to have pizza. No, I can't have regular, but I do get thin crust, which gives me a pizza-like experience. Back to the General.

Fried and breaded and served over rice with a sauce. It looks like I'm going to have to really limit the times I have it.

But when shopping, the Mrs. found General Tso's sauce on the grocery shelf. Hmm.

Ok, so last night, she sauted some chicken breast, mixed in a little of the sauce, and served it over brown rice. It wasn't exactly like my favorite Chinese restaurant makes it, but it was pretty good. Hot and spicy, with a hint of sweetness. And it was healthy. Low fat, and limited carbs.

So now, we have a new dinner that both of us like-- a healthy version of General Tso's chicken. This is going to become a regular meal for us.

How do you substitute to meet your needs as a diabetic?

1 comment:

eve cleveland said...

Joe,
That sound pretty good with some bell peppers and onions, maybe a lil sesame oil. Sesame seeds, if you want to get nutty!
I heart splenda.
Eve