My Favourite Number

February Sun

Before we got too far into March, I wanted to share this photo of the Jack cat soaking up some early springtime sun.  Kinda makes you wish you were a cat, doesn’t it?

Smash. Crack. Dex.

I went to the store. I bought a big bottle of Organic Wheat Free Reduced Sodium Tamari Soy Sauce (try saying that ten times fast!).  When I got home, I put the big bottle of soy sauce in the fridge door.  When Daniel came home, he opened the fridge door.  But apparently, our fridge didn’t want its door opened.  It told us so by expelling the contents of said door all over our kitchen floor.  Smash.  Amongst these contents was — you guessed it — the big bottle of soy sauce.  Did I mention that the bottle was glass?  It was.  And, unfortunately, the big, glass bottle of soy sauce wasn’t structurally sound.  It hit the floor and cracked clean in two.  Clean in two, I tell you.  Crack.  Its dark contents spread across the linoleum and made our apartment smell like fermented legumes (not a popular home-selling smell).  But, all was not lost!  Daniel, channeling his inner major league shortstop, snatched the broken bottle by its neck and, as if to toast the occasion, raised his arm high, preserving the remaining soy sauce in its crude, shiv-like goblet.  But victory was not yet ours.  We had still to find a new vessel for our (now sorely depleted) supply of soy sauce.  And Daniel proved the hero again!  Quick on his feet in this time of need, he told me to grab the empty bottle of Dex 4 glucose tablets that sat on our pantry shelf.  I was swift to the task and returned to the tamari-drenched scene with Dex bottle and funnel in hand.  Within minutes, the surviving soy sauce was safely held within its ingenious receptacle.  Daniel and I swabbed the decks (as it were) and our soy-flooded adventure came to a close.

I’ll Do the Math

Remember back in the fall when Scott K. Johnson and George Simmons created “Lunch with George & Scott” for TuDiabetes’s Making Sense of Diabetes video contest?  (If you don’t remember, I suggest you follow the link above and take 1 minute and 27 seconds of your day to watch this cinematic masterpiece.  Go on.  I’ll wait.)  As Scott and George shared grilled cheese sandwiches across cyberspace, they drove home the point that, “when living with diabetes, taste never comes without stowaway math problems and questions.”

I couldn’t help but be reminded of this unavoidable truth of life with diabetes when I read over a recent instant messaging conversation between my husband and myself.  I was working on my laptop at the local library when a message popped up from Daniel, offering to bring me lunch (what a nice guy, eh?).  Instead of simply replying, “Yes! That would be lovely!” the following conversation is what ensued:

Funny thing is, it wasn’t until I retrospectively considered our conversation that I realized it reads a bit bizarre.  What kind of weirdo asks her husband to weigh her potato chips before packing her lunch?  Oh diabetes, you make me do some strange, strange things — like pile BBQ chips onto a kitchen scale and, calculator in hand, frantically pound out some basic equations before indulging in their smoky, sweet and spicy goodness.

Gluten-Free Detective Agency

This post has been in the works for quite some time.  Over the last few months, I’ve been on a serious “gluten-free detective spree,” calling the customer care departments at dozens of food companies to determine the likelihood of their products being cross-contaminated with gluten.  I was diagnosed with celiac disease almost exactly a year ago (I wrote a heartfelt account of my diagnosis last August) and, since that first day, I have learned A LOT about the gluten-free lifestyle.

For me, the biggest challenge (and annoyance) has had to do with the fact that products (yes, all products), unless they sport a gluten-free stamp of approval, can not be trusted without some legwork.  Before consuming any packaged or processed food, it is important that I personally speak with a customer care representative and receive a satisfactory response about the risk of cross-contamination in their facilities.  Of course, as much as I love grooving to telephone-hold music, it is a huge help when companies post this information online (isn’t that what web sites are for?!).

As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s easy to sometimes get lazy and not follow through on verifying the “gluten status” of each and every item that comes home with me from the grocery store.  “Plain yogurt? That has to be safe!”  “This oil should be fine, right?”  No and no!  After getting ‘inexplicably’ sick too many times, I’ve been making a concerted effort to 1) purchase as many certified gluten-free products as possible, and 2) personally contact food companies if their product is not labelled “gluten-free.”

The following information is by no means comprehensive.  It is, however, a way for me to keep straight all the bits and pieces of information I’ve been spending my time gathering.  In posting this list here, I hope it will help somebody else.  And, if any of you have any suggestions about great gluten-free products I’d love to hear them!

One last thing: Please always keep in mind that ingredients, as well as processing and packaging facilities, can easily change.  That being said, the following information was true as of December 2009-February 2010.

SAFE PRODUCTS (GLUTEN-FREE)

Boursin cheeses? Gluten-free. Huzzah! (If you haven’t tried it, Boursin with Mary’s Crackers is absolutely heavenly.)

Canada Corn Starch is gluten-free.  It is made a dedicated area of the facility and the representative with whom I spoke assured me that there is no risk of cross-contamination with gluten-containing grains.

Crosby’s Fancy Molasses is gluten-free.  This is a good thing because I was loving these ginger cookies over the holidays.

E.D. Smith 100% Pure Pumpkin is gluten-free (not to be confused with E.D. Smith Pumpkin Pie Filling which contains wheat flour).  An E.D. Smith representative informed me over the phone that these two products are made in separate facilities and, therefore, the 100% Pure Pumpkin is trustworthy.

Most Island Farms products are gluten-free.  Despite this, the company “can not 100% guarantee that no cross-contamination occurs during ingredient storage.”  From my personal experience however, I have never gotten sick from Island Farms milk, sour cream, whipped cream or cottage cheese.  I have provided the Island Farms gluten-containing product list (various flavours of ice cream) below…on the subject of ice cream, I stick to Chapman’s since it’s got that lovely gluten-free symbol on its box.

I called Kraft Canada to ask about Baker’s Chocolate and was told that Kraft does not “hide” any ingredients in labelling.  Therefore, if a product contains (or may contain) wheat, barley, rye or oats, it will be listed on the label.

I was assured that all Olympic yogurt products are made in a gluten-free facility and are, therefore, safe.

Saugeen Country yogurt is also safe.

All Sun Rype products are gluten-free (which is great since I can’t travel without a plentiful supply of Fruit to Go).

Yoplait Source Stirred yogurt is gluten-free (and fat-free and sugar-free and aspartame-free).  Despite the fact that Yoplait also makes Yoplait Source Muesli (which is not gluten-free), a Yoplait representative informed me that there is no risk of cross-contamination.  They make their yogurt in a safe environment and, then, some of it is shipped to a different facility to be topped with its muesli dome.

NOT SAFE PRODUCTS (CONTAINING GLUTEN)

Astro Balkan Style Natural Yogurt is not safe.  I called the company and, while I wasn’t given a definitive answer about the presence of gluten in their facility, I was told that they recommend, “all persons with gluten allergies should avoid their products at the present time.”  Astro, Lactantia, Beatrice and Black Diamond are all owned by Parmalat.  Until I get around to calling Parmalat directly, I’m avoiding all four of these companies.

The following Island Farms Ice Cream flavours contain gluten:
-Bear Foot Brownie
-Brownies On The Moon
-Bubble Gum Burst
-Butter Pecan *(Country Cream brand)
-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
-Cookies ‘n’ Cream
-Mixed Berry Trifle
-Nanaimo Bar
-Vanilla Plus Lemon Meringue
-Vanilla Plus Butter Tarte
-Gingerbread Cookie Dough

Liberté Créme Fraiche is not gluten-free (I found this out the hard way).  It is packaged on the same line as Liberté Six Grains yogurt (which contains oats, wheat, barely and rye).  I’m not sure about other Liberté products but I’ve avoided them all since learning about the créme fraiche.

Spectrum culinary and essential oils share common filler equipment with their wheat germ oil. (I could not, for the life of me, figure out why rice and veggies were making me sick every time we’d eat stir fry.  It was a major revelation when I realized it was the peanut oil we were using!)

Disconnected!

While the title of this post could easily refer to the fact that I have been AWOL from the blogoshpere for longer than I’d care to calculate, surprisingly enough, it has nothing to do with my lack of prolificacy.  Instead, it has to do with a matter of troubling mystery — the scary truth of the fact that, when it comes to diabetes, “I’ve been doing it so long, I could do it in my sleep!”

Being of a “hang loose” mentality, I don’t usually think too much about my pump when I sleep.  I don’t place it under my pillow or clip it to my pajamas or have a special pocket in which it can snuggle up safely.  Sometimes, I wake to find my waist lassoed by tubing and I need to carry out the awkward “shift and roll” maneuver to free myself from its boa-esque grip.  A few mornings, I have woken up to a tugging sensation at my infusion site and found my pump dangling helplessly off the side of the bed (as if it thought getting away would be that easy! ha!).  But, all in all, sleeping with the pump is extremely uneventful.  I sleep.  It lays beside me on the mattress.  I wake.  It gets clipped to my waistband or stored in my pocket.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.

However, a few nights ago, I awoke to a situation I hadn’t yet experienced since I started pumping back in April.  It was four in the morning, my skin was hot to the touch, my blankets were in disarray and I had that telltale feeling of unquenchable thirst.  I propped myself up on one arm as I reached for the glass of water that sat on my bedside table.  Within seconds, I had downed a full pint of water.  Even without testing, I knew my blood sugar was far higher than it should be.

In the dark, half-asleep, I clumsily grasped for my pump on the mattress beside me before I got up to go to the bathroom.  (Middle of the night bathroom visits? Another telltale sign of high blood glucose).  I ran my hands around my waist, fumbling for the familiar feel of tubing.  Not having any luck, I searched my stomach for my infusion site, figuring I would follow the tubing from its source to my seemingly vanished pump.  When my fingers finally found the infusion set on the right side of my abdomen, I immediately knew something was wrong.  I was disconnected.  My pump was not attached.

Instantly awake, panic rose within me about the state of my blood sugar.  How long had I been disconnected?  And how could it have possibly happened?  In a flash, I turned on my bedside light and there, on my nightstand, sitting nicely with its tubing carefully wrapped around its green casing, was my pump — completely unaffected by this 4am fiasco.  I grabbed it.  I clipped it to my belly.  And then, I grabbed my meter.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

High, as expected.  But, not as high as I had been preparing to see.  Six hours earlier, I had gone to bed with a reading of 6.5mmol/L.  Now, at 4am, my sugar clocked in at 14.5.  As my tired brain tried to process what had happened, I realized that I must have disconnected myself while I was sleeping, probably only two or three hours before my thirst and elevated body temperature had awakened me.  If I had been disconnected since getting into bed, my blood sugar would have skyrocketed far beyond the 14.5 mark.

What frightens me is that I have absolutely no recollection of disconnecting my pump.  Was I dreaming that I was preparing to have a shower?  Or that there was an air bubble in my tubing that needed to be primed out?  I have no idea.  Absolutely no idea.

And that scares me.

What about you, my PWD friends?  Has anything similar ever happened to you?

Why I Blog.

If there’s one thing National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) has taught me, it’s that I’m not a seven day a week blogger.  While I am still embracing the assignment to write each and every day, not all of the fruits of my keyboard are, in my opinion, post-worthy.  My goal with this blog is to disseminate meaningful information.  This may come in the form of news bits, interviews, the sharing of healthful, gluten-free recipes or honest accounts of my day-to-day struggles to achieve good blood sugar control.  Two weeks into National Blog Posting Month, I discovered that this goal did not coincide with the the ultimate goal of NaBloPoMo: 30 posts in 30 days.

At the beginning of National Blog Posting Month, I was inspired by the challenge.  I had things to say and ideas to share.  I felt accountable and was finally able to write some posts that I’d been mulling over (yet failing to pen) for weeks.

But then, I got badly glutenized and felt sick and exhausted and dejected for a week.  In addition to this, after World Diabetes Day I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by my diabetes life.  While I do enjoy educating people about my chronic conditions, I also enjoy, no, need a break every once in a while.

I’m not suggesting a break from my diabetes management — I will always do blood tests and take my insulin and measure my food and correct for high blood sugars and record this ever-changing assortment of numbers in my log book.  By this point, these basic elements of my personal diabetes management are routine.  Using a measuring cup instead of a proper serving spoon to dole out soup or rice or refried beans is just how we serve food in our house.  Bleeding a little and doing some math before each meal or snack is just how it’s done.  If I need to, I can sail through the day — and still take proper care of myself — without having to put much thought into it.

However, after 17 days of relentless blogging, I found that I was putting too much thought into this disease.  I felt inundated.  Diabetes and celiac are huge parts of my life but they aren’t the only parts of my life.  (And they definitely aren’t the most fun parts!)  I needed a break.  I needed a few days of: “Test, bolus and move on.  Minimal thought required.”  And I realized that I did not want to be blogging simply for the sake of blogging.

As I said, I want to disseminate meaningful information.  I want to talk because I have something to say, not because I feel obligated.  I want to inform and inspire by adding my thoughts and opinions to the diabetes and gluten-free online communities at large.  This may mean one post a week or five posts a week or three posts a week.  I don’t always have things to share.  But, when I do, I will share them.

This is why I blog.

And this is why I’ll proudly accept my failing grade in National Blog Posting Month.

Down and Out.

I’m under the weather (I think some gluten was hiding in last night’s supper) and have decided to spend the rest of this dark and dreary day doing something like this:

Or this:

See you tomorrow!

World Diabetes Day ‘09 In Photographs

I wonder if, back in 1898, Mr. J.B. Brooks knew that the bag loops on his revolutionary saddle would be sporting WDD advocacy signage?

Dressing up the Long Haul Trucker on a chilly WDD morning.

You mean hula hooping in a cycling cap isn’t cool?

Blue circles, represent!

Our trusty steeds, ready to roll.

Riding over Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge (a.k.a. The Blue Bridge).  This well-known, civic structure was lit in blue during the 2008 WDD Blue Monument Challenge.

Your friendly, neighbourhood World Diabetes Day Ride organizers.  The Olympic Mountains behind us were absolutely stunning (this photo does not do them justice, even a little bit).

Some of the bicycles pose for a shot at the Legislative Buildings, Victoria, British Columbia.

To see more photos from World Diabetes Day in Victoria, check out the My Favourite Number Facebook fan page.

World Diabetes Day – It’s Here!

Hello blogosphere and the D-OC (diabetes online community)!  I hope you’re all having a wonderful World Diabetes Day, spreading awareness and educating others about this disease.  Our ride this morning was successful (and we kicked it off by showcasing our mad blue hula hooping skills — more on that to come, including photos!).  The WDD signs and flags on our bikes definitely turned some heads and the ride is going to be featured on tonight’s 6 o’clock news on Victoria’s local A channel!  I’m not sure if the segment will be made available online but I will definitely try to get my hands on it for your viewing pleasure.

That’s about all I’ve got for today.  I’m off to read some Big Blue Test results!

The From Scratch Era v.2: Minted Mushy Pea & Braised Leek Risotto

After my diagnosis with celiac disease, Daniel and I made a decision to dive headfirst into celebrating all the beautiful, healthful and delicious foods that I could eat, instead of focusing on the negative and dwelling on the foods that were now off limits. We made a concerted effort to expand our culinary horizons and began researching “new” dishes that were celiac friendly but that we had never tried before. Forcing myself to step outside the confines of our gluten-centric, North American cuisine, I discovered a whole world of choices and flavours that I had never even imagined existed.

As a team, Daniel and I started experimenting with new grains, new spices and new cooking techniques. We started making Thai-style rice dishes, whizzing up spicy, green curry pastes from scratch. We started mixing together corn flour, water, milk and salt for homemade arepa (the recipe brought to us straight from Cali by our dear Colombian friends). We started creating our own pizza doughs, with garfava and tapioca flours, to create gorgeous crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside crusts perfect for piling high with hand-torn chunks of fresh mozzarella, black olives and local basil, spinach, onions and tomatoes.

We also started making risotto.

Oh, risotto! Decadently flavourful and creamy. Hearty and comforting. A seemingly fancy-pants dish that, in reality, is extraordinarily easy — and fairly pocketbook friendly. If you can ladle and you can stir, you can risotto. (And, you can also, apparently, turn nouns into verbs).

When we first began making risotto, we relied solely on other people’s recipes, following their instructions step by meticulous step as we honed our skills. Now, nine months since our initial foray into the wide world of Arborio rice, stock, butter and parmesan, we are, more and more often, leaving our cook books on the shelf and trying out our own recipes.

We have come to realize that a well-made risotto bianco is the perfect blank canvas for experimenting with new flavour combinations. From a basic risotto recipe, I can be as imaginative and creative as I desire, adding fresh herbs, dried herbs, seafood, bacon or roasted, boiled or puréed veggies. When it comes to risotto, the world is truly my oyster. (Mmm, oyster risotto. I’ve never tried it but I’m willing to bet it’s great. Oysters with butter, garlic, pepper, white wine…it’s perfect! Ooh, smoked oysters! And maybe some fresh parsley. I can definitely do something with this…but I digress).

It was with this sense of freedom and creativity that Daniel and I approached the dinner party we hosted last Wednesday night. Surrounded by good friends, good wine and good music, we chopped up farm-fresh leeks, picked fresh mint leaves from their stalks and mashed up the last peas of the season (we’d shelled and frozen them a few weeks prior). This was our first time trying this combination of flavours.  This was our first time inventing our very own risotto recipe. And it was a success.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Minted Mushy Pea & Braised Leek Risotto

For the Braised Leeks

3 cups good quality chicken stock (we like to use Pacific Foods)
good pinch of salt
4 leeks, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise

For the Minted Mushy Peas

4 or 5 handfuls of peas (fresh or frozen)
1 handful of fresh mint leaves, stalks removed
3 good knobs of butter
salt & pepper

For the Risotto

the 3 cups of braising liquid plus 1 cup more chicken stock
olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 oz Arborio rice
1 glass white wine (we always buy the largest and cheapest bottle available)
small handful grated Parmesan cheese
1 knob of butter
salt & pepper

Braising the Leeks

Bring stock and good pinch of salt to a simmer on stovetop. Once simmering, add leeks. Let simmer for 15 minutes, covered. Carefully remove your leeks from stock, drain off excess liquid, and set aside on a plate. Remove stock from heat and set aside for making the risotto.

Minting & Mushing the Peas

Toss your peas into boiling water and let them boil for approximately two minutes. Tear any large mint leaves into smaller pieces, add all the mint to the pot and let boil for about one minute more. Once your peas are tender with a slight pop, drain the peas and mint into a colander. Put your peas and mint back into your pot. Add butter, salt and a good crack of pepper and mash everything up with a potato masher. The peas don’t need to be mashed to a purée; we mashed until our peas were mostly mushed with some whole pea bits. Cover pot to keep the minted mushy peas warm while you make your risotto.

Making the Risotto

Add one more cup of chicken stock to your braising liquid and place over low heat on the stovetop. In another (large) pot, heat up a good glug of olive oil over medium heat. Add your chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until soft. Turn up heat and add rice. Keep stirring so your rice doesn’t stick. When your rice is toasted (it will turn somewhat translucent and become more fragrant), add the glass of white wine. Once the wine is fully absorbed into the rice, turn down the heat to a high simmer and begin adding your stock, one ladleful at a time. Be sure that each ladleful of stock is fully absorbed before adding the next. Continue adding stock, and gently stirring the rice, until your rice is almost fully cooked (it should have a bit of an “al dante bite”). This takes about 15 minutes. At this point, chop your braised leeks and add them to the pot with the minted, mushy peas. Gently stir until well combined. Remove from heat and add your butter, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Stir gently, cover and let sit for five minutes. The risotto will become wonderfully creamy and decadent.

Serve with extra Parmesan for grating a sprig of fresh mint for garnish.

Serves 6.