Happy dance! (and cheesecake)

April 23, 2016 by Shannon Fennell 1 Comment

I am heading into week two of all “normal” blood sugar readings!  Even my fasting sugars are in the normal range now – they took the longest to get down.

Took four months to get them there.  Four months of NO sugar and NO carbs – which is a permanent change in order to maintain and control the diabetes.

I see my doctor next week for my four month follow-up to the diagnosis in December. I know my A1C won’t reflect the last week’s success but it will definitely be better than the one in December.  But I can look forward to my next one being NORMAL in three to four months!

And the side effect of weight loss is also continuing.  I’m down 30 pounds since Christmas. I had to give in and buy MORE pants.  There were photos of me taken a few weeks ago … I looked like a bag lady – I was horrified.  The clothes were horribly baggy and just awful.  To force myself to stop wearing them I culled my closet, again, and took it all to Goodwill.  Every couple of weeks I try on everything and am bagging up things that are just too big.  I do have a fair selection of tops that do still fit –  so haven’t had to start buying replacements for them yet.  I just don’t want to spend much until I plateau.

I am still experimenting with making up my own recipes!  Yesterday I made a cheesecake – NO added sugar (and no sugar substitutes!)  It is really good – rich, and hits the spot.  It is no bake and really simple.

As I discovered that I can eat 85% cocoa chocolate without any effect on my blood sugar (ONE PIECE, not a whole bar!) I decided to make a base for the cheesecake with melted chocolate and chopped almonds – spread it in the bottom of the dish and put it in the fridge to set.  Then I whipped an 8 oz brick of cream cheese (it was at close to room temp), 1/2 cup of unsweetened peanut butter and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla with my electric handheld mixer until fluffy.

I spread the cheese mixture on top of the base, covered with plastic and put in the fridge for a few hours.   This recipe made a small cake – I made it in a 6″ ramekin – which is four small servings.  I lined the dish with plastic wrap and lifted it out once it was set and put it on a plate to cut.

I find, with the chocolate base, that it is sweet to my taste.  But… I haven’t eaten anything sweet for four months.  I will make another, this time without the peanut butter and have it with some berries.  I think I want to try baking one too – and use coconut, butter and ground almonds to make a crust (which may end up being more of a crumble but it’s worth a try!)  And maybe flavour the cheese with lemon or lime.