Mmmm Breakfast

The most important meal of the day! For my "extra sweet" Nicolas, it is also a chance to show off his culinary carb-counting skills. He likes eggs... especially scrambled, because he can make them himself!

And, Nicolas has a secret ingredient... Soy bacon! Yup... the stuff you sprinkle on your salad.

He loves to cook, and we have been encouraging his master chef status since he was diagnosed at age five. He will know, when he goes off to college, how to cook for himself. And, it's a great way to impress dates without spending a whole lot of money...important in college!!

So, today, we share one of his favorite kid recipes... You'll need a grown-up to kind of supervise, so they don't... ugh... I can't even think about it. !

Scrambles.... Yeah, eggs, water and bacon bits. Scramble (Nico likes to use my Pampered Chef whisk instead of a fork, and we use water instead of milk, but you do what's best for you)

Grease your pan... we use Pam or an Olive Oil spritzer, some people swear by real butter... "The secret," Nicolas says, "is to push everything to the middle all the time. When they look like egg-clouds, you're done". Brilliant, isn't he???

They love these "Nick" eggs. They eat them for dinner, sometimes with cheese, sometimes without, sometimes with biscuits, sometimes in a breakfast burrito!

Next up... block parties, carnivals and the like (acck!! We'll tackle Disney, too, just not until after we've been...)

Thanks for reading! Stay Sweet!

Red Lobster

Nicolas wanted to go to Red Lobster for his eighth birthday. Turns out, it was a pretty good choice for our diabetic boy!!

He had a great time. Red Lobster wanted to make us happy, wanted to make HIM happy. He had SOOOO much food, and almost ALL of it was carb free. He did have one of those AMAZING Cheddar Bay Biscuits, but we calculated that at about 17 carbs.

They brought out a slice of cheesecake with five plates (we explained, of course, that he was diabetic, so each of us got a sliver of the cake). Absolutely, positively one of THE best dining experiences we have had since we were diagnosed.

In case you're wondering... here are some quickie carbs from the menu:

• Shrimp Cocktail- 2 carbs
• Wild Rice Pilaf - 36 carbs
• Talapia in a bag- 30 carbs
• Baked potato - 36 carbs...

Thanks for reading this!

I don't know what tomorrow has in store!!!

Stay SWEET!!

PopPop Stan's Amazing Italian Stuff

PopPop Stan is my dad. Someday, I will write a book on all the crazy stories my dad told us as kids, and all the wacked out things he did...like stabbing a box of corn flakes with a kitchen knife and saying, "I am a Cereal Killer" when I was like, 6. That, though, may be for another blog entirely... called "Why I am NUTS".

This, however, is a wonderful, carb-free treat for those with insulin issues (or if you are a South Bach dieter, this is awesome).

You will need

Ricotta Cheese ( you can do whichever kind you prefer)
Vanilla Extract (this can be substituted for almond or any other flavor)

Mix some of the extract into the ricotta cheese (to taste). Seriously, this is like the inside of a cannoli. Sometimes, my husband will shave some dark chocolate on top of it. Soooo decadent, but totally carb-friendly.

Give it a try... Nicolas LOVES it.

Next up... Red Lobster and Birthdays!!

Stay Sweet!

Diabetic Kid Cuisine

Summer Yummies...

It's hard, when all the other kids are slamming ice-cream cones and sodas, for our little ones. I don't know about anyone else, but I look at what kids are eating at carnivals and firework celebrations, and now I think, "Ack!! Instant Death!!"

This is a recipe my mother-in-law and Nicolas (who is 8... and cooking... PROUD) made for us over the holiday weekend. You'll be amazed at how SIMPLE and DELICIOUS it is.

Sugar Free Lemon Jello
Sugar Free Lemon Pudding
Whipped cream
Blueberries
Grahm Cracker (optional)

1. make the jello according to package directions... you know, boil water and all that.
2. pour jello in a cake pan (where you would make lasagna is fine)
3. let it sit until it is jello.
4. make pudding according to PIE FILLING directions on package (less milk)
5. layer whipped cream over jello
6. layer blueberries over whipped cream
7. layer pudding over bluberries
8. layer whipped cream over pudding
9. layer blueberries
10. crush and sprinkle grahm cracker.

It's awesome... light, yummy, and we are guessing that you can do it with all different flavors of jello and pudding. It's very summery, eases the guilt factor, and I think we ended up with less than 10 carbs.

Next, I'll talk about my Daddy's funky recipe...it turns out fantastic... just sounds weird.

Stay SWEET!!

OmniPod

I am a huge advocate of this sticky little plastic thing. With it, Nicolas can swim. We live at the beach, so this was HUGE. We take his PDM (Personal Diabetes Manager) in the cooler, lower his insulin dosage for the duration, and it's almost like having a kid without diabetes.

Some Savvy Sweet Beach Tips:

• Make sure your sweetie wears a hat. Get a cool one that they'll wear, and wear one yourself.
• Frozen grapes are AWESOME. They bring low sugars up quickly, they feel good because they're COLD... and they're yummy.
• Regular soda brings sugars up quickly and helps to settle tummies! We keep two 20 oz bottles of Coca-Cola on hand after his low-blood-sugar-siezure.
• Bring lots of cold water in case sugars go up... we mix a little Crystal Light in to give it some flavor.
• SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN. Sunburn is no fun, less so if you're diabetic (I think).

Next up... yummy summer recipes!

Stay SWEET!!

Fun with Diabetic Kids

When my son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, my reaction was probably pretty typical. I cried. I thought they were wrong. I asked everyone who came in the same questions, hoping this time for a better answer. "He'll outgrow it, right?" "Could it be something else?" "Are you SURE it's diabetes?"

It was a rough few days. If you're reading this, it was probably a rough few days for you, too.

My Nicolas, though, was unfazed. He played with the buttons on the bed. He ate in bed, he watched cartoons, with his hands interlocked behind his head, and said, "Ahhh... this is the life". He went to the game room in the hospital. He met the dogs that come in to play with the kids. Unless he was actually getting a shot or having his blood sugar tested, he was in little kid heaven.

He was five. For a while, we didn't go anywhere. We ate at home, we played at home, if he had a cough I kept him home from school.

After a while, we started going places again. This past Thanksgiving, we went to Florida. Nicolas went to Sea World with my mom. He can do anything and go anywhere any other kid can go, and we'll talk about great places for kids with diabetes and less dLife friendly places.

He's eight now, and we have learned... OH, have we learned. My hope is to share what we've learned and how we've learned it, to create a place where parents and kids can share their stories, recipes, jokes, fears, triumphs and hope for a cure.

I will try to post daily, I look forward to your comments to make this a better journey for all of us.