Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Sugar free along zabaglione

My biggest fear about being diabetic (apart from losing a limb or going blind) was having to eat sugar substitutes. As someone who believes in healthy eating and not eating chemicals, that kind of bugged me to the core. It took about a week to get over that because I like sweets and I like my eyesight and my limbs. So Splenda it is!

I wouldn't recommend sugar substitutes for everything. Basically because a lot of desserts have so much flour in them that they end up being crazy high in carbs even with a sugar substitute. So that leaves things that don't require much flour. I've had massive success with pavlovas and now I've made a pretty kicking zabaglione.

For those of you know familiar with them, a zabaglione is the base for a tiramisu - egg yolks beaten with sugar until they are pale yellow and the consistency of cake batter. I think the traditional zabaglione is made with marsala wine but you can change up the liquor. The zabaglione is then given more structure with mascarpone and lightened with whipped cream. Splenda is a great substitute and the tang of the mascarpone really covers up the icky aftertaste. I will say though, with egg yolks and whipped cream, this is not diet food.

Sugar Free Almond Zabaglione

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of almond liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup of baking Splenda (this is lightened to be a 1 to 1 substitute for sugar)

8 oz mascarpone (or cream cheese if you are in a pinch) at room temp
1 cup of heavy cream, whipped

With the paddle attachment on your stand mixer (or use your regular handheld), mix the first four ingredients until it's a pale yellow and looks like cake batter. Add the cheese and mix until perfectly blended. Add 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cheese mixture to lighten and then fold in the rest. Serve with flaked almonds on top.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

A great blog entry on Fat Hatred

This is so my story:

"She was convinced, absolutely convinced, I was in terrible health because of my weight. EVERYTHING was brought back to my weight. She blamed my hay fever on my weight. When she told me — not asked me, told me — that I was short of breath while climbing stairs and I responded that I was a runner, so no, she told me running was bad for me at my weight."

Just read it.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Why Fat Acceptance Needs to Happen Now

A friend of mine recently got diagnoses with pre-diabetes. Looking at her numbers, they are actually better numbers what a lot of diabetes counselors would want their clients to achieve. She admitted she went to her doctor to talk about weight loss earlier so the doctor was on high alert for signs of "weight related" complications. As someone living with diabetes, I responded that it's always better to get into shape BUT her numbers were actually decent. Not great and not something to blow off but decent.

The big part of the conversation was about unpacking the fat hatred and fear she was experiencing. My friend is a big woman. She doesn't exercise regularly. And i don't know what she eats on a regular basis. My response was - it's always good to make healthy changes in your lifestyle no matter what you weigh. Your health will improve if you exercise more, eat more fruits and veggies and less starches and fats. But NONE of that guarantees you will lose weight.

Right now, I am about 12 pounds heavier than I was at my lowest weight. My blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels are what you see in athletes. And guess what, I am an athlete. My BMI stays in the obese range and I'm an athlete. I run 18 miles a week. I am preparing for my first half marathon after running a 12k and a 10 mile at an 8:30 minute/mile pace. And I'm fat. And that's not just my story. "STEVEN N. Blair, one of the nation's leading experts on the health benefits of exercise, is short and fat. Those are his words. The president and chief executive officer of the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit organization in Dallas dedicated to research on the relationship between living habits and health, Dr. Blair, 65, is 5-feet-5 and weighs 195 pounds. He's also a dedicated runner who habitually takes off for an hourlong jog. 'I'm a short, fat guy who runs every day,' Dr. Blair said in a recent phone interview. 'I've run tens of thousands of miles over the past 40 years, and in that time I've gained 30 pounds.'"

I asked my friend, "how would you feel if you could run 10 miles easily and regularly ran 18 miles a week and you were exactly the same weight?" Her response was - "pretty pissed."