This recipe makes four bombs and they each have 4g of carbohydrate. We have meatball recipes separately on this site.
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Low carb store: Meatball bombs
Author: kaitiscotland
I am a Scottish doctor who is working to improve the outcomes for people who have diabetes using a low carb diet, and advanced insulin techniques when necessary. Professionally I provide expert witness reports in the clinical forensic and family medicine areas and I also provide complementary therapies. I enjoy cooking, cinema, reading, travel and cats.
Jovina cooks Italian: Fresh tomato sauce
Summer Tomatoes | jovinacooksitalian
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes, quartered and seeded retaining as much pulp as possible
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 2 large cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
- 1-2 teaspoons honey, if needed
Herbs
Place the following herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth closed.
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 sprig of fresh oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of parsley
Directions
Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add the onions, celery, garlic and carrots.
Saute for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the tomatoes and sea salt.
Simmer on low heat, covered, for about an hour until the tomatoes cook down.
Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, process the mixture until smooth.
Return the pot to the heat and add the herb cheesecloth package.
Taste the sauce to see if the tomatoes were too bitter. Add the honey, if needed.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until reduced and thick, an hour to an hour and a half more. Remove the cheesecloth package and discard.
Pour the sauce into a refrigerator container and store the sauce up to 1 week, or freeze in batches.
This sauce can be used with courgette or squash spiralised “spaghetti” or with chicken and pork.
Book Review: Are you looking forward to Christmas… or just wanting to survive it?
Rick Phillips, one of our fellow bloggers, has enjoyed reading Lene Anderson’s book Chronic Christmas, which gives some tips for the less enthusiastic among us on how to make the best of Christmas.
I was so excited to hear about Chronic Christmas Surviving the Holidays with a Chronic Illness. It came to me at exactly the right time of year, and I was in the mood for some fun and practical advice about the holiday season. When this book arrived in the mail, I was excited to see what Lene might share to help me find that contentment and excitement about the holiday season. As a person with choric conditions, I sometimes have difficulty getting into the season. Lene’s words helped me discover some reasons I feel out of step with the rest of the world and gave me practical advice about how to overcome some of my barriers.
Lene shares such wonderful tips for slowing down and basking in the goodness of the holiday season. Her writing style is easy; her essays are well conceived, and the result is a partial guide to managing the Christmas season with a good touch of fun. She manages to capture the season in short bursts of narrative that can make even the grumpiest old man find his inner goodness. Here are a few chapters that especially spoke to me.
December 2, Pace Yourself When Eating.
As a person with diabetes, I often feel left out of the annual celebrations because I see others enjoying food while I enjoy the Television. In this chapter, Lene reinforces the well know notion that the holidays are not about the food. Rather they are about who is eating the food. Her chapter gives me permission to enjoy those who are at the gathering instead of the food at the gathering. I think it is sometimes difficult for people with diabetes to know this and Lene approached the subject in a way that offers constructive tips. For instance:
“Moderation is key, Instead of five pieces of Candy stick to one (okay, two).” (Andersen, 2016, p. 7).
“Instead of four glasses of eggnog, have one per occasion and drink sparkling water or tea for the rest of the evening. And so on. You won’t feel deprived. And you won’t stand out as that one person who’s nibbling on a lettuce leaf, making the other guests feel bad for scarfing down everything in sight.” (Andersen, 2016, pp. 7-8)
December 8, Say Hello
Lene reminds us that we need not remain isolated because we have a chronic condition. She suggests we try an experiment to break out of our shell. She suggests that on December 8 we leave the book or earphones at home and practice looking up and out at the world. She suggests we should look at and marvel in the crowds as they pass by. She reminds me that people watching is both entertaining and a great way to connect to the world at large. (Andersen, 2016). This is great advice for the many times we feel isolated or somewhat alone in the world. After all, connection is what the holiday season is all about.
For the person who cares about the person with a chronic condition Lene suggests that they offer a drive or a trip to a coffee shop to help people get out in the world. She suggests:
“Chat with each other, but reach out to others as well. The people at the next table, the clerk, a security guard. Slow down, take the time, exchange a few words. You could very well make someone’s day and you might meet someone really interesting” (Andersen, 2016, p. 35).
These are terrific ideas for helping both ourselves and others. In fact, opening up during the holidays might make everything brighter. Lene’s advice gives us the reminder that we need not be isolated while others are engaged in the business of the season.
December 21 – Celebrate Disasters
For me, this was the best advice of the book. When we celebrate disasters, we have a built in mechanism to make sure things go right. I love how Lene starts this chapter:
“What do you remember from past Christmases — the times everything went according to plan or the moments when imperfection snuck into the celebrations? We work so hard to make the holidays perfect, but that’s not what makes for enduring family legends. You know the type — the ones that get told and retold, with everyone talking over each other, adding details, and laughing together. Those stories always originate in disasters” (Andersen, 2016, p. 93)
I totally agree with her observation. The real stories of the season are the ones that revolve around disasters. So I took this chapter as the best advice I received from Lene’s’ book. This year, I vow to celebrate the many disasters in my life past, present and future. I will take time to celebrate this year: the time the lock was frozen on the storage barn where I stored the Christmas presents or the time the cat climbed/knocked over the Christmas tree because doing so can prolong the celebration of the season.
So how do I feel about Lene’s book? I loved it. You can pick it up on Amazon or Barnes and Noble along with some other retailers. It is a great gift for those who love people with chronic conditions or those of us who live with chronic conditions. I am glad I treated myself to this book, and I hope you will as well. Reading it is way too much fun to miss.
References
Andersen, L. (2016). Chronic Christmas Surviving the Holidays with a Chronic Illness. Toronto Two North Books
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About The Author
Rick Phillips
Rick Phillips has Type 1 diabetes (since 1974) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (since 2000), he resides in Indiana with his wife Sheryl. In addition to RADiabetes his blogs can be found at http://www.CreakyJoints.org and http://www.TUDiabetes.org
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Over 60 with high LDL? : So what?
If you are over the age of 60 it’s time to stop fretting about your total cholesterol and low density cholesterol levels. Unless perhaps the levels are on the low side. Indeed total mortality rates are at least the same and usually better if your cholesterol levels are high. Many doctors now believe it is the PATTERN of different lipid levels that is much more important, particularly high triglycerides and low HDL.
This systematic review tells the story:
Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review — Ravnskov et al. 6 (6) — BMJ Open
BMJ Open 2016;6:e010401 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010401
Orthopaedic surgeon who wants to reduce amputations silenced by regulatory body
It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. Gary Fettke, a Tasmanian orthopaedic surgeon has been banned from talking to patients about the nutritional changes they can make to prevent amputations.
His wife, a nurse, tells his story here:
http://www.nofructose.com/gary-fettke/
Gary’s presentation on you tube is here:
Low carb store: Steak au poivre
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How does mental distress show physically?
Almost every patient with stress related mental health problems reports at least one somatic symptom and 45 per cent report six symptoms or more, according to a Swedish study of 228 patients suffering from what is termed as exhaustion disorder.
Here is the chart run down of the most common symptoms:
Almost all: Tiredness and low energy
67% Nausea, gas and indigestion
65% Headaches
57% Dizziness
Men and women reported the same number of symptoms.
Chest pain and sexual problems and pain during sex were more reported in men.
Pain in the arms, legs, joints, knees, hips reported more in the over 40s.
The more severe the mental health problem the higher the number of somatic symptoms.
From Human Givens Volume 21 No 1 2014
(BMC Psychiatry, 2014, 14, 118)
Although the causes of fibromyalgia are insufficiently understood at present and there is dubiety over whether the condition is due to stress or physical factors I have reproduced a chart which does show many psychosomatic symptoms in its presentation.
Health anxiety for diabetics is as bad as for neurological patients
A quarter of Canadian diabetics, with either type one or two diabetes suffer from a tendency to worry about their health and thus misinterpret bodily sensations as more serious and threatening than they actually are.
Neurological patients have the same degree of anxiety, judged the highest for all patient groups.
Health anxiety was worse in younger patients, females, those recently diagnosed and those who were unmarried.
They had anxiety, a fear of diabetes complications, poorer adherence to dietary and self care activities and a lower physical quality of life.
The researches add, “The cognitive behavioural theory of health anxiety suggests than health anxiety increases when patients feel more vulnerable, perceive the medical condition to be more distressing, feel they are unable to cope with the medical condition, and believe that resources for coping with the medical condition are inadequate.”
From Human Givens Volume 21. No 1 2014
(Janzen Claude JA Hadjistavropoulos, HD and Friesen, L (2014) Exploration of health anxiety among individuals with diabetes: prevalence and implications, Journal of Health Psychology, 19,2 312-22)
Low carb store: Moussaka
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A meaningful life will help you live longer and be happier
Having a sense of purpose in life helps us live longer, and the earlier we discover it, the sooner the protective effects occur. 
Researchers looked at data from over 6,000 participants, focusing on their self reported purpose in life. Over the 14 year follow up period 569 people died and all of those who died had reported less purpose in life and fewer positive relationships with others than did survivors.
Greater purpose in life consistently predicted lower mortality risk right across the lifespan, even when taking into account other markers for psychological and emotional well being.
(Reported in Human Givens Magazine Volume 21, No 1 2014 from a report in Psychological Science, 2014, doi:10.1177/09567976145311799)
Eric Barker blogs weekly about what will improve your health, happiness and productivity. Click on this blog post for further information on the same topic:
Really helpful & timely post Rick. I’ve shared on a couple of support group. Thank you & I hope you & your family have a happy & blessed Christmas
Sam xx
It is a great book. I hope Lene sells a bunch of them.