Eating healthy

So, lately I've been trying to eat healthier.  Partly because my body still isn't back to normal since having baby #3.  And by normal, I don't mean back to pre-pregnancy weight or pre-pregnancy sized clothes, but I mean health wise.  My last A1C (the average blood glucose level for about 90 days) was over 8.  To give perspective, the goal is less than 7 and a normal person without diabetes usually is between 4-6.  An A1C of 8 or higher means your average glucose levels were around 205...yikes!  The problem with this is that the longer your body stays at the higher level is the higher risk you have of developing complications.

Another medical condition that I've had since I was diagnosed as Type 1 diabetic in 2004 is high cholesterol.  I tried changing my diet (although my diet has never really been that high in cholesterol to begin with), but that had no effect on my cholesterol levels and I was put on Lipitor.  I didn't have any adverse reactions to the drug (that I know of), but was taken off of it when we started trying to have a family (it causes birth defects so you can't be on it if you are pregnant).  My doctor mentioned to me at my last checkup about going back on it since we are finished having kids.  However, I'm still nursing so I can't be put back on it until Molly is weaned.  Anyway, my bad cholesterol is 132.  Which isn't super-high, but again with being diabetic, they want it less than 80.

Anyway, all that to say, I've been trying to change my diet and adding some supplements to 1) get my blood sugar back into a normal range, 2) hopefully get my cholesterol under 100, with a goal of not ever going on Lipitor again, and 3) become more healthy to lose a little weight and maintain a healthy weight for the rest of my life.

So, this is what I had for breakfast:

And it was good!  This was my first time buying soy milk and I must say that I tried to drink a glass of it and it was disgusting.  But, when I put it on the cereal, it was really good.  I also put it in some organic Annie's mac-n-cheese for the boys the other day and they didn't even notice.  In fact, they had thirds.  We haven't made all the changes to eating as healthy as I would like, but we are making progress!

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Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I've been trying to catch up on pinterest the last couple days because I've been so busy that I haven't been on there much.  There are a couple spring/summer projects that I want to do, so I was searching for some inspiration and instructions on how to do these projects.  First, I want to buy, re-build or build a new swingset from scratch.  Not sure which way I'm going on this project yet, but I was able to find some ideas on what I want with a limited budget, limited space and limited time.  Another project that i want to do is to replace our door to the basement with a sliding barn door.  You know, like a pocket door, but on the outside of the wall.  When our door is open now, it swings out into the hallway and is just in the way.

Anyway, whenever I'm on pinterest, I tend to find a lot of YUMMY looking recipes.  I also found this quote...which is totally true for me!  

I'm Type 1 diabetic, but I love my sweets and baked goods.  That's probably the reason I started my at-home bakery. :) And also the reason why I love my insulin pump so much!

Anyway, back to the whole purpose for this post...to share a "healthy" cookie recipe I found on there.  it's Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  These were good!  They don't have any refined sugar in them and they also don't have any flour.  It's still a "dessert" so you have to eat them in moderation (I've only eaten 4 today, haha!), but it's much healthier than eating one of those frosted cookies that are so yummy but so fattening!

cookie dough

baked!

Here's the recipe.  I need to note that I used green coconut.  Not because it's any better or anything, but I made some cupcakes and dyed coconut for those.  I way over-estimated and had a lot leftover, so I bagged it up and put it in the freezer to keep.  Since I was just making the cookies for us to eat at home, I figured it couldn't hurt!  The interesting thing was that just the coconut stayed green...it didn't make the whole cookie green like I thought it would.  Also, my cookies weren't vegan because I used regular chocolate chips (but I did use bittersweet ones).  I think if I make it again I will use less coconut and more oats...just because I don't really care so much for coconut.  For better pictures of the cookies (and with regular, un-dyed coconut), click on the recipe link below!

Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Recipe adapted from http://fooddoodles.com, originally from Kitchen Karate

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen small cookies

• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1/2 C peanut butter
• 3 tbsp coconut oil(or substitute any flavorless oil like canola)...I used 2 T canola oil plus 1 T applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 C old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 C shredded coconut
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C chocolate chips
• up to 1/2 C other add ins(dried fruit, nuts, or more chocolate chips) Optional...I used 1/2 c dried cherries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mash the bananas in a large bowl using a fork and combine with peanut butter, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients and then combine with the wet ingredients and mix well.  Add in the chocolate chips and dried fruit and mix just to combine.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop cookies by spoonfuls 1″ apart.  I used a smaller size ice-cream style scoop and then slightly flattened the tops. The cookies do not spread much and tend to keep their uncooked shape.  Bake for 12-14 minutes just till set.

Make sure they’re completely cool before putting them in an airtight container.  I’d even recommend leaving them on the counter for a couple hours because the bananas in them will make them soft if they’re covered too soon.  But don't leave them out too long, or you'll end up not having any left to put away!  

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