I tried making jam again today. This time I made it with Splenda and Sure-Jell's no/low sugar pectin. The process was easy, almost easier than regular jam.
Since we had both strawberries and cherries left over from the weekend, I mixed the two together. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a recipe so I improvised using a recipe for Strawberry and a recipe for Cherry and kind of mashed them together.
It occured to me while I was making the jam that if I'm going to get a handle on the diabetes, I need to master the art of cooking with Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. I don't like it. I don't really want to do it. But I think I need to. Does that make sense?
When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I tried making a cheesecake with Splenda for Thanksgiving. It was OK, I guess, but it wasn't a really good cheesecake. It was grainy and flat. It din't rise very well and as it cooled it kind of flattened. So I've never tried again. That was four years ago. The diabetes is getting worse and I can't seem to give up sweets all together.
I guess its time to get a handle on this. Wish me luck! And I'll let you know how that jam came out after it cools and we taste it. If its any good (or when I get it right), I'll let you know.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Change is Not a Dirty Word--I think...
So, I made jam yesterday. Only 2 batches: 1 raspberry, 1 strawberry. The thing is: I'm diabetic. Why would I do this to myself? I can't eat it. Sure I have a teenager in the house still, who would be happy to finish it off for me. But is that really healthy for her? Why am I doing this?
A friend asked me the other day if I was afraid to like myself. It took me back. What a question! But its also caused me to think all weekend. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm so comfortable in my rut of feeling like I'm not capable, worthy, or whatever to be a likeable person, that I can't or won't change. I mean really, change can be scary. What would happen if I really learned to love myself? Oh, no! I might enjoy myself! I might even enjoy doing housework and all those other things that I generally avoid! We can't be having that! People enjoying life; whoever heard of such a thing?
Now, how to change? There's the 64,000 dollar question. For some reason, I always want changes to be sudden. Cold turkey. Today, I'm a fat lazy slob and tomorrow I'm supermom. I've never really beleived that small changes can make a big difference. The same friend has been trying to convince me that it is not so. She did get me to change my breakfast from whatever I could get out of the vending machine at work to fruit and yogurt. And, its made a difference. I feel full in the morning. I can put it in a container at night and take it to work with me. Now, I'm getting a good breakfast every morning. So maybe she's right about the rest of it too. What little changes can I make to start me down the healthy path?
When I get home from work, I generally change into my pajamas, fix dinner, and relax the rest of the evening. It occurs to me that this might be part of the problem. Once I'm in my pajamas, I'm not going anywhere, or doing anything, except perhaps reading or computing. So, here's change number one: change into sweats and t-shirt instead and PUT ON YOUR SNEAKERS! This will put me in comfortable clothes, but ones I can go out in if necessary. And the shoes, since they are Sketchers Shape-Ups, will keep my feet from hurting and help me keep the energy up through the night. That may be a little bit of a challenge because I hate wearing shoes in the house--my feet get so hot and sweaty and uncomfortable. But maybe I can learn to live with it. Maybe a little Odor-Eaters powder will help? Well, we'll try it.
And the other change I think I need to make: Make the next batch of jam with Splenda. I got carried away when I was shopping for fresh berries at Costco yesterday. After making my two batches of jam, I still had enough berries for the following:
1 batch of Strawberry-Cherry Jam
2 batches of Triple Berry Jam
1 Batch of Strawberry Vanilla Jam (a recipe I found on the internet that I'm dying to try)
and at least 1 more batch of Strawberry jam, that I may turn into Strawberry Pineapple; another recipe we found on the internet. After we made the two batches, I was so exhausted and my back hurt so much, I knew we had to find a better way. So we sat down and prepared all of the fruit (mashing, pitting, etc.) and put them in freezer bags. I plan to take at least one bag out each week until I get them all bottled. Only THIS time, I'm going to do it with the no-added-sugar pectin and Splenda. I'l let you know how it turns out!
A friend asked me the other day if I was afraid to like myself. It took me back. What a question! But its also caused me to think all weekend. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm so comfortable in my rut of feeling like I'm not capable, worthy, or whatever to be a likeable person, that I can't or won't change. I mean really, change can be scary. What would happen if I really learned to love myself? Oh, no! I might enjoy myself! I might even enjoy doing housework and all those other things that I generally avoid! We can't be having that! People enjoying life; whoever heard of such a thing?
Now, how to change? There's the 64,000 dollar question. For some reason, I always want changes to be sudden. Cold turkey. Today, I'm a fat lazy slob and tomorrow I'm supermom. I've never really beleived that small changes can make a big difference. The same friend has been trying to convince me that it is not so. She did get me to change my breakfast from whatever I could get out of the vending machine at work to fruit and yogurt. And, its made a difference. I feel full in the morning. I can put it in a container at night and take it to work with me. Now, I'm getting a good breakfast every morning. So maybe she's right about the rest of it too. What little changes can I make to start me down the healthy path?
When I get home from work, I generally change into my pajamas, fix dinner, and relax the rest of the evening. It occurs to me that this might be part of the problem. Once I'm in my pajamas, I'm not going anywhere, or doing anything, except perhaps reading or computing. So, here's change number one: change into sweats and t-shirt instead and PUT ON YOUR SNEAKERS! This will put me in comfortable clothes, but ones I can go out in if necessary. And the shoes, since they are Sketchers Shape-Ups, will keep my feet from hurting and help me keep the energy up through the night. That may be a little bit of a challenge because I hate wearing shoes in the house--my feet get so hot and sweaty and uncomfortable. But maybe I can learn to live with it. Maybe a little Odor-Eaters powder will help? Well, we'll try it.
And the other change I think I need to make: Make the next batch of jam with Splenda. I got carried away when I was shopping for fresh berries at Costco yesterday. After making my two batches of jam, I still had enough berries for the following:
1 batch of Strawberry-Cherry Jam
2 batches of Triple Berry Jam
1 Batch of Strawberry Vanilla Jam (a recipe I found on the internet that I'm dying to try)
and at least 1 more batch of Strawberry jam, that I may turn into Strawberry Pineapple; another recipe we found on the internet. After we made the two batches, I was so exhausted and my back hurt so much, I knew we had to find a better way. So we sat down and prepared all of the fruit (mashing, pitting, etc.) and put them in freezer bags. I plan to take at least one bag out each week until I get them all bottled. Only THIS time, I'm going to do it with the no-added-sugar pectin and Splenda. I'l let you know how it turns out!
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