Hey friends,
Happy Monday! I hope your November is going smoothly! Mine’s been a bit hectic with school and getting sick and all that jazz but I’m making it through. I’m just trying to remind myself that I’m going to get through all this work no matter what! There’s no point in completely stressing over things that I know I have to get done anyway, right? Easier said than done sometimes.. 😂
Anywho, if you follow me on Instagram you know that I’ve recently been trying to follow a more “plant based diet.” Keyword there, trying. Over the past few months or so, probably since about after my wedding, I feel like food has really consumed my thoughts. Unfortunately, that is a really common thing that happens to us Type One Diabetics. It’s no wonder because we are constantly being forced to think about food. How many carbs are in this? How much insulin do I need for this? Will this affect my blood sugar? How much insulin should I take for this pizza if my blood sugar is 108 but I know pizza makes my blood sugar go up but I’m also know I’m going to be walking a lot soon and that makes my blood sugar drop? Will I need to bring some candy with me? Do you see how that can be confusing, overwhelming, and down right hard? It never stops. Really, it doesn’t and I think lately I’ve let that get the best of me. I’ve been jumping ship on doing new “diets” every few weeks or so now and I finally realized I’ve got to stop. What works best for one person may not be what works best for me, and that’s what I need to remember. My entire life I’ve always been a pretty healthy eater, thanks mom, and so I just need to get back to those roots and remember to just make good choices! This can be very hard as a type one because food that is considered “healthy” by most, may actually be super hard for us type ones because it might spike our blood sugars, or just be very hard to bolus for (take insulin) or a million other reasons.
That being said, I also need to remember that it’s okay to have a “slip up” or even a treat every now and then. It doesn’t make me a bad diabetic, a bad person, or even an unhealthy person! I’ve decided from here on out that I am going to stop labeling myself as what kind of diet I’m on – keto, low carb, vegan, fruititarian, carnivore, herbivore….whatever suits your fancy. I’m going to start practicing what I’ve learned is called intuitive eating. Therefore probably what I used to always do anyway! Eating what I feel my body needs and nursing it to the best of my abilities. It’s crazy how much food can affect us and I’m realizing that none of us are immune to that. I’m going to keep continuing to eat healthy, and I am going to put more effort into eating more of a plant based diet, but I’m not limiting myself to that at all. I’m going to eat healthy, enjoy the finer foods in life, and do my best to keep those shoogies down and in range. I’m not saying “manage my diabetes” because can you ever really manage this disease? No, not really. I’m learning that the language I use surrounding how I chose to eat is truly what has messed with my head lately. I’m done with all that jargon and I’m back to basics – who’s with me?!
Part of the reason I’m having this ah-ha moment is because I did have Chinese food on Saturday night whilst with my hubby visiting with some of our closest friends in my hometown. We honestly all felt immediately sick after eating it – does anyone not feel sick after eating Chinese food? – and I instantly felt so much shame and regret. The next morning I woke up and decided I wasn’t going to let myself feel that way. I decided right then and there I was going to make a big cabbage/detox-ish soup for dinner to have throughout the week and let go of those guilty feelings! Clean slate beginning this week with something fresh, full of vitamins and nutrients, and I knew it was going to make me feel good. Cabbage is so good for you and this soup is full of veggies and spices that will help you feel your best!
If you came here for the Cabbage soup recipe, sorry for all the mushy personal stuff, here you go, here’s the recipe…😅 I sort of just made it up myself with a little Pinterest research and some knowledge of soups my mom has made for me in the past. Mixed it all together and this is what I came up with!
Detox Cabbage Soup
This is my version of a recipe – it’s not exact at all and it honestly doesn’t need to be. It’s basically just a list of the ingredients and how I did it haha (P.S. don’t mind the soup splatters all over the stove 🙄).
- Onions
- Garlic
- Celery
- Carrots
- Chicken bouillon (or you can use vegetable broth if you want this to be truly vegan)
- Summer Squash
- Zucchini
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Turmeric
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Curry powder
- Cayenne Pepper
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3 Chicken breasts – on the side
- Heat up a large soup pot with olive oil. Add about 2 Tbsp of chopped garlic. I use the Trader Joe’s minced garlic because it’s super easy!
- Add chopped onions, celery, and carrots – again I didn’t measure this I just added how much I thought I’d want in the soup.
- Add in roughly chopped up broccoli, squash and zucchini with 4 cups of chicken broth. Also added about 1 Tbsp of turmeric, 1 Tbsp of curry powder, and 1 Tbsp of cayenne pepper (all rough measurements). Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few.
- Add in cabbage. Bring to a boil again and then simmer for 15-20 more minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the softer the cabbage will become (ideally I should have added the cabbage a bit earlier than I did). Add in some of the Himalayan Pink Salt. I also use the Trader Joe’s brand of this.
- My hubby also cooked up 3 chicken breasts in the Hot Pot to have shredded on the side if we want to add in some more protein!
- Squeeze in fresh lemon juice, give everything a good stir, pour up a few bowls and enjoy!
the beauty in type one 