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This post is dedicated to my husband who frequently jokes complains when I take photos of food and post them online. Every time I pull out my phone to take a photo he asks if it is for my (non-existent) food blog, which he thinks should be called ‘The art of mastication’. So that is the name of this post and it also marks the start and the end to my food blog. (Amen.)
So, my sister bought me a Veggetti. (Say it out loud – soft g – and get over your laughing. Actually, that might take a little longer; I still snigger every time I say or hear the word. Because: 12 year old humour.)
Anyway, the idea of the Veggetti (snort) is to turn vegetables into ‘noodles’ with just a twist of the wrist (chortle). Simply, you shove the vegetable in one end and out comes long spirals of zucchini or carrot or cucumber or whatever you have on hand in the veggie crisper that needs to be used. It takes no effort and is a tiny device, so you don’t need to clear bench space or cupboard space. (This is important if, like me, you have at one time or another found your cupboards overflowing with a popcorn maker/waffle iron/milkshake maker/ice cream maker/yoghurt maker/pie maker etc. etc. that was used once and then never again.)
I think that a lot of people using a Veggetti are trying to limit their carb intake and replacing regular spaghetti and noodles with vegetable noodles. This sounds ridiculous, because I love spaghetti and noodles, so my reason for using the Veggetti is more to make food look pretty.
This was the result of the Veggetti’s first spin:
What we have here is zucchini ‘spaghetti’, chorizo, flaked almonds cooked in a basil-infused buttery-olive-oil sauce. I then threw in some al dente tagliatelle, because it’s not a pasta dish unless there are carbs in it!
Next night, I made rosemary and sea salt potato hash and dumped some aioli and smoked salmon on top. On the side was a salad made of cucumber ‘noodles’, snow peas and white nectarine, with a balsamic dressing tossed through it. Looked like this:
Overall, I have to say it is definitely a healthy way of eating. I’ve certainly not cut out carbs, but I have found that overall I’m not eating as many (even when using potatoes) which has resulted in a more stable line on my CGM. Plus, I am using more vegetables in each meal I’m making.
Will I use it forever and ever? Probably not. I will most likely get tired of it and the novelty of spiral vegetables will get old. As will the Veggetti jokes (actually, maybe not). But for now, it is a nice way to be using lots of fresh vegetables,and throwing together fun and delicious meals that photograph beautifully. And that, my friends, is the aim of the game. Pretty photos.
It’s no secret that I have had some problems with my local licensing authority (VicRoads). It’s also no secret that I have been annoyed and rather vocal about the Austroads 2012 Assessing Fitness to Drive Guidelines – specifically, the introduction in 2012 of the ridiculous section defining ‘satisfactory control of diabetes’ as an A1c of 9% (and the ensuing problems it caused!)
Austroads and the advisory group involved in putting together the guidelines a couple of years ago claim that this value was never meant to disadvantage people with diabetes; that it was there to simply trigger further, specialist treatment. And that it was never intended as an automatic suspension of a driver’s licence.
That may have been the theory. The reality was quite different. Many people with diabetes reported that their treating doctor did in fact interpret the guidelines as meaning that a 9% or above A1c was grounds for licences to be suspended. And that is what happened.
But here is some good news. The new draft guidelines – currently open to consumer consultation, and due for release later this year, have removed the A1c value defining satisfactory control of diabetes. It’s been a long process, but thanks to a lot of advocacy by Diabetes Australia, this is an excellent result for people living with diabetes in Australia.
One of the most enjoyable things about my job is the policy work in which I am involved, and I was pleased earlier this year when I was asked to join the working group reviewing and revising the diabetes chapter in the Guidelines. (Disclaimer: this is part of my work at Diabetes Australia and I was asked to represent the organisation on the working group. Diabetes Australia has received a significant number of complaints from people with diabetes who had been negatively impacted when the 2012 Guidelines were introduced and I have been involved in this work since then.)
The outcome of the review has been that some parts of the diabetes chapter have been completely rewritten. The advocacy efforts led by Diabetes Australia and involving the ADS and the ADEA, resulted in the removal of the 9% (arbitrary) value being eliminated. This is an outstanding outcome.
So, now it is your turn to do a little advocacy.
If you have some spare time over the next couple of days, and you feel really strongly about this issue, now is the time to get on board and participate. The point of public consultation is that people who are directly affected can have their say. If you have diabetes, you are directly affected. If you are the parent of a child with diabetes who, at some point, will want a driver’s licence, you are directly affected.
All the details of the consultation can be found here, including how you can make a submission. I urge you to comment – even if that is to simply say that you support the changes which should ensure that people with diabetes are not losing their licence because for a reason without an evidence base. And you might like to also add that you support the Guidelines’ focus on hypoglycaemia which absolutely can and does affect safe driving. Quick sticks – the consultation closes tomorrow.
At the beginning of 2015 I wrote a post saying that while I don’t do resolutions, I would be focusing on three things: health, peace and happiness. I started off the year feeling that I had all three, and I ended the year feeling the same way.
Eschewing the plethora of ridiculous inspirational and motivational quotes filling all my SoMe feeds as 2015 drew to a close and 2016 started, I decided that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and that I would be going with the same three things throughout the new year.
A few things that have been occupying my wonderfully-blank holiday mind over the last couple of weeks:
Said inspirational quotes don’t work. It says so here.
American Girl, previously a place of fear and terror for our credit cards, has redeemed itself with the launch of the diabetes kit. Excited? Doesn’t even touch the sides!
There is a cure for diabetes and it is, of course, juice. Here you go! (Send cupcakes as gratitude.)
Woolies, it’s January. Put away the Hot Cross Buns!
My sister has been talking non-stop about her Veggeti. And she bought me one (yet to use it). Just me, or could the marketing people come up with a slightly better name? Anyway, Veggetti recipes to come.
I decided that I needed a mermaid. Isn’t she beautiful?
(Click on image for details.)
I am doing the #30DaysofDexcom (or any CGM) challenge because: a/ saw a bandwagon, so I jumped on it, and b/ my BGLs are better when I use CGM. It’s just an undeniable fact that for me when I am sensing, I pay more attention to my blood glucose and am more in tune with ‘doing diabetes’.
If you don’t wear CGM, but are looking to do something similar, the good folk at MySugr have a #30DLogging challenge. My mate, the wonderful Scott Johnson is one of the poster boys! Check it out here.
And that’s about it. I am still on holidays for the remainder of the week and continuing to do very little other than hang out around the house, occasionally venturing to a local café and working on eliminating my sleep debt. It has been what I would consider a very successful ‘nothing’ break!
Diabetogenic 