Low carb on a budget.

With the lousy economy and poor job market many of us are having trouble stretching the food dollar and stick with a low carb. Hey, let's face it, carbs are cheap!! You can buy a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter for less than $10 and make, what, 10-12 sandwiches? A couple of boxes of cheap pasta and some jarred sauce can feed a lot of people....again, for less than $10. But these foods are not good for you and you will end up spending more in the long run when you figure in the cost of medications and physician appointments for treating your high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes!

Here are some tips for low carbing on a limited budget.

1. Watch the sales. Almost every food store has weekly specials. Check them out. You may find your self buying meats you've never tried but you may find you link them! Fruits and vegetables go on sale too, so be sure to check them out!

On sale at Food Lion* this week:

• Boston Butt steaks - $1.99/lb
• Chicken breasts, frozen - buy 1 get 1 free
• Fresh Chicken Leg Quarters - 10 Lb. Bag/$.69 Lb.
• Whole fryer chickens - $0.57/lb (Whole, cut up are $0.87/lb)
• New York Strip Steaks:Value Pack, Boneless - $5.99 Lb.

2. Check out the in-store specials! You can often save 10% and more on meats that are marked down...either as an unadvertised special or ones that are reaching their expiration date (but still quite safe to eat!).

3. If possible buy in bulk! If you have the storage space, buy family packs or buy several meals worth of an on-sale meat/fish/fowl.

4. Try to invest in a stand-alone freezer. A brand new upright freezer at Sears goes for $149 (1.3cu ft) to over $1400 (21cu ft), but a quick search of Craig's list (for Raleigh, NC) shows a 13cu ft for $100 and another for just $50! Chest freezers tend to be a bit less expensive and actually save money on electricity. If possible try to get a manual defrost as they use less power and your foods will stay fresher. If money is really tight try to put aside $10 a month and in a few months you might be able to buy a used freezer. You will likely get your money back by being able to bulk shop within 6-12 months (less if you are feeding a large family).

5. Try to invest in a vacuum food sealer. These are not too expensive, but the bags can add up. Look on Craig's list and EBay for good buys. Vacuum sealing foods prevents freezer burn, so you will save money by not having to throw out food due to freezer burn.

6. Check out your local farmer's market. Many of the farmers at the markets have fantastic prices, but not all of them, so be sure to wander around and look for the best prices. You may also be able to "bargain" with the farmer if you are interested in buying large quantities, especially if it's close to the end of the day!

7. Switch to water for cold drinks. If your tap water doesn't taste good, or you're concerned about it's purity, invest in a filter. One that mounts on the faucet can be purchased for about $20 (replacement filters run about $10 each and they last 2-3 months, depending on your use). Water pitchers with the built in filters run about $10-20. If you can't or won't drink plain water, add a few drops of lemon or lime juice (the plastic lemon and lime juices in the produce sections are usually 100% juice, but do check the label!). Food stores also sell their brand of sugar free drink mixes for just a few cents for each serving.

8. Add bulky low carb salads with your meals. A small head of lettuce with a few slices feeds several....add cucumbers, tomatoes, or what you like for usually just a few cents per serving.

9. Don't forget about eggs!! A dozen eggs are inexpensive and can fill you up. Eggs can also be used with ground beef to stretch it a bit. In my opinion, eggs are pretty much the perfect food!! All that nutrition packaged in a tasty, versatile package! Having "breakfast for dinner" is a great choice.

10. Learn to cook! While convenience foods are often very convenient, you can usually save money if you make it yourself! If time is an issue try "batch cooking" on weekends or your days off. With batch cooking all you have to do is thaw and heat.

11. Make friends with a butcher! If you're lucky enough to have a local butcher, go in and ask about special deals you might be able to get. Soup bones add a lot of nutrition and can sometimes be had for low prices. See if you can get some of the fattier cuts of meat for lower prices....the time the butcher saves in trimming the meat might make it worth a few cents a pound!

12.If there is a "warehouse" store near enough, get a membership! These are especially good if you have a stand-alone freezer! Prices are low and the quality is usually excellent.

Low carb on a tight budget can be tough, but it can be done!! Look for sites online that cater to busy moms and check out the recipes. Sometimes you can make substitutions for the high carb ingredients. The main thing about sticking to your budget and your diet is to plan! Check the ads and make a list. Plan out what you need for the week....or the next few days and buy accordingly. If you're lucky enough to have a freezer it is easier, but you still have to plan!

If you're tempted to give in an buy some "filler" carbs (pasta, bread, rice), remember that fat and protein fills you up faster and keeps you full longer! That $100 worth of pasta may fill you up, but it's likely you'll be hungry sooner than if you ate $100 worth of meat or dairy!!

What are you budget savers? Post them in comments so others can benefit!

*In Raleigh NC, the week ending 8/4/2010.

Our poor children!

I don't even know what to say about this!

For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems.

Mind you, there is little if any evidence that cholesterol medications prevent heart disease!

It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines Monday. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing.

Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life.

It also stems from recent research showing that cholesterol-fighting drugs are generally safe for children, Daniels said.

Wow...."generally safe"? Really? Many adults that have been damaged (or died) from statins may disagree. Can we at least have a citation for the "recent research"??

Several of these drugs are approved for use in children and data show that increasing numbers are using them.

Oh well.....if more kids are using them, then I guess it's ok for most kids?

"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," Daniels said. He has worked as a consultant to Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co., but not on matters involving their cholesterol drugs.

Drug treatment would generally be targeted for kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, along with other risky conditions, including obesity and high blood pressure.

For overweight children with too little HDL, the "good" cholesterol, the first course of action should be weight loss, more physical activity and nutritional counseling, the academy says.

Pediatricians should routinely check the cholesterol of children with a family history of inherited cholesterol disease or with parents or grandparents who developed heart disease at an early age, the recommendations say. Screening also is advised for kids whose family history isn't known and those who are overweight, obese or have other heart disease risk factors.

Screening is recommended sometime after age 2 but no later than age 10, at routine checkups.

We've been SOOOOOO successful with adults, now we have to work on the kids!

Read more here and for the New york Times article click here. (Registration required for NYT article.

We have GOT to get some sensible people in charge!

Sunday, January 28, 2007

I love eggs!!! I eat a fair amount of them. Poached, fried, hard boiled, deviled, egg salad, and so forth. I usually buy large eggs. When I was a kid we only had medium eggs, but even mom switched to large many years ago. We bought our eggs from the local egg farm. The farm was just at the end of our street, and the old guy that owned it (just him and his wife) would sometimes let us watch the egg sorter in action!! What he sold us as "medium" were comparable to "large" in the food stores. When the egg farm closed (they retired), we started buying eggs at the local food store and I think always got large.

Well, I bought some jumbo eggs a few weeks ago because the "large" were tiny. These jumbos looked like large to me. Well, when those ran out I asked my son to pick up another dozen and he again got the jumbo. Boy were those things big!!! I almost choked when I saw the size of the eggs!! Of course I was thrilled! I have 1 or 2 eggs with 1 slice bread when I eat them for breakfast. More egg, more yummy!

I have never, until this current dozen, seen a double yolk egg. I know they exist, but I have never seen one. Out of the 10 eggs I've cracked so far, 4 of them were double yolk!

The last 3 eggs I've opened out of this dozen

The ones I cracked today I also broke one of the yolks, so those will go to the dogs. I was making poached/dropped eggs, and broken yolks aren't good. The one that's a single was a bit smaller than the others, but not by much!

Dropped eggs cooking

Ready to eat. That's whole grain oatmeal bread by Pepperidge Farm with butter.
A little bit of salt and freshly ground pepper. Yummy!

My sister had her procedure done and is doing well. There was some question as to whether there was plaque or not. They knew she had scar tissue, but we weren't sure whether they suspected plaque or not. Well, after the procedure it was confirmed that it was scar tissue only. They only opened one artery, the one that was partially blocked. The other one was 100% blocked, but had good collateral circulation, and they were afraid they'd do more harm than good in attempting to open the artery.

I guess this supports my theory about good genes along with bad ones. My mom's side of the family has rampant diabetes. As far back as my great grandmother and her siblings, right through to my current generation, of which I am the youngest, almost all were diagnosed with diabetes. I even have a niece, the next generation, that has been diagnosed.

My sister definitely takes after mom's side of the family as far as body build is concerned. My brother takes after my dad's side, but is also diabetic, so has apparently inherited the "weak" pancreas. But, so far none, including my generation, have developed coronary artery disease. NONE.

One aunt had CHF (congestive heart failure) as a result of a viral infection when she was young. This aunt eventually died of CHF. But she'd never had a heart attack or stroke, and was well into her 80's by the time it got her.

What's the one thing they worry about most with diabetics? Yep, heart disease. So, there's no heart disease in my mom's family, despite most being diagnosed with diabetes, and most of those prior to age 50 (some under 40!).

Is it because they are well controlled???? I don't know, but I suspect not. My sister's latest A1c was 6.2 or 6.3. This means her average blood sugar was in excess of 135. That's average. She doesn't take her blood sugar readings very often, on the advice of her doc, but the ones she does record are usually 140-150. The last time we talked she had one that was over 180! (and of course had no idea what may have caused the spike!) She's also on 2 medications. One med she's at max dose, the second one she's very close to max.

Average daily blood sugars
relation to A1c levels

I don't call that well controlled.

My brother is currently 55. He was diagnosed less than 10 yrs ago when they discovered he had severe peripheral neuropathy (PN). He is disabled from the damage. He presented to the doc when he started having trouble walking due to the PN. I have no idea what his numbers are, but he went on insulin immediately and is still taking it. He's thin, but has always eaten a very high carb diet, including frequent large portions of spaghetti.

I don't call that well controlled.

The rest of the family I don't really know about, at least as far as how well controlled they are, but some are overweight and some aren't. One cousin, a few years older than me, has been slim all her life, loves to exercise, and has been diagnosed for a few years. She's in her early 60's.

So....apparently my family has a "bad" gene related to pancreas function. I've long believed that we are each born with a pancreas that has a certain limit. Eventually we will hit that limit and diabetes will develop. If we abuse our bodies with high carbohydrate intake, we will hit that limit sooner. The limit for one person following a reasonably healthy lower carb diet (few or no sweets, portion control, limited processed foods) may be 50 or 60 years. For another it may be 90 or 100 or even higher!!! And for some, it may be as young as 8 or 10.

Whatever your genetic background, limiting carbohydrate intake will help prolong the "life" of your pancreas. If you have "good" genes, you may never develop diabetes, if you have "bad" genes, you may already have diabetes or be on the road to developing it.

I think my family, or at least my mom's side, has "bad" genes as related to pancreas function.

But, apparently we have "good" genes in the heart disease area! Since none of my grandparents, and none of my aunts and uncles, and none of my cousins have developed heart disease, despite a common diagnosis of diabetes, I'd say we inherited some pretty good heart health genes!

My dad's side I don't know as much about, but they too lived mostly into their 80s and 90s, none that I know of having heart disease or diabetes. There is high BP and hemorrhagic stoke on that side, as well as complications of alcohol abuse. Several died of cancer, including at least half of my dad's siblings.

I am 52 and have no evidence of heart disease. I have had several chest scans that showed no calcifications, and have no symptoms of heart disease, artery disease or high blood pressure. I don't have diabetes, but I am insulin resistant and have had symptoms of hypoglycemia.

I know I inherited at least some of the body type from my dad's side. I think a lot as I'm built more like the aunts on that side of the family. I'm actually shorter tho, so I guess I got a smidge of height from mom too. I'm 5'8", most of my aunts were 5'10 and above. My mom was fairly tall at 5'7", but she was the odd one in her family, where most of the men were under 5'8" tall!

I have the build from my dad's side. Larger frame, good size hips and shoulders. I also, I believe, get my bad back from dad's side. My stomach issues, I believe are from mom.

Who knows. Maybe some day we'll be able to have our blood tested and know exactly which disease we are at higher risk for. Until then all we can do is do our best to take care of the bodies we were given. In my case I know that limiting carbs, without eliminating them, is the thing I must do to keep my body healthy.

I'll watch my carbohydrate intake because I don't want to develop diabetes.

I'll watch that my BP doesn't get elevated and also that my cholesterol levels don't get too low because I don't want weakened arteries or high BP that may lead to stroke.

I'll watch my alcohol intake as I seem to be at a higher risk of alcoholism due to family history.



Barbaro has another setback. This is sad. They haven't given up yet, but poor Barbaro isn't doing well. He's had another procedure done in an attempt to save his leg and his life.


A Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways

A Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways went overboard by treating their crying 3-year-old daughter in much the same way.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza and daughter Elly were removed from the flight in Fort Myers, Fla., when the girl refused to take her seat before takeoff, airline officials said yesterday. But her parents said they just needed a little more time to calm her down.

The Kuleszas, of Worcester, Mass., planned to fly to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, Fla., after a four-day visit with the girl's paternal grandparents. She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

Of course the parents are outraged! The airline has not only reimbursed the parents, but also given them free flights!!! What about the other people on the plane? Were they compensated too?


Mama dog. This is a great story posted on Gather.com about an amazing dog!

I first met Mama Dog two days before Christmas 2005. She showed up at my friend Brenda's house, cold, starving, badly beaten, and very very pregnant. Brenda immediately went and bought a bale of hay, and made a nice warm place for her in the garage. Brenda is very good with animals, and she was determined to nurse Mama Dog back to health.....

Update on my son. Went to the doc again last week, still no definite answers. It appears that the fracture is still unstable, so the doc has ordered another MRI. Depending on what that shows will be the deciding factor in whether the doc recommends surgery or not.

Weigh in day is tomorrow. I think I'll do well. If I haven't lost, I doubt I've gained. We shall see!!!

As of last week:

Week 3 weigh in

Another pound gone!!! Yippee!!!

I've been following plan all week, didn't have any falls or mis-steps. I am now very comfortable in my size 18 jeans. I'd love to buy a few more pairs, but I refuse to until I get down 1 more size.

Went back to the doctor's with Brian today. It was very busy and we ended up being there for about 3hrs. Once again they took XRays, and once again there's no sign of this stabilizing. He has to have another MRI to see if there's any spinal cord or nerve root damage going on.

Brian has weakness in both hands. One of the tests the doc does is to have him gram his fingers (2 fingers) and squeeze as hard as he can. Without a lot of effort the doc can remove his fingers from Brian's grip. The doc thinks the weakness might be one of the effects of the initial injury, but it's not getting any better. He stated that if anything, Brian should have some shoulder pain, but he doesn't. He's ordered another MRI to compare with the first and see if there is anything new or worse. He also stated that if he had seen the first MRI himself he would have said Brian needed surgery!!!

This is a bit disconcerting, as we were told in the ER that the "attending orthopedic" saw the MRI and declared everything fine....pristine is actually the word they used, "his spinal cord is pristine". Now we find that it was, in fact, the radiologist that read the films.

So....once again we wait. This time to see what, if anything, the MRI shows.

The President is giving his State of the Union speech right now. I'm half listening as I write this. To me it doesn't sound as much like a SOTU speech as it does a campaign speech!!! I'm going to bed soon and will listen to the commentary on MSNBC.

Some interesting news online lately!!!

The company I work for has a web-site for Case Managers. Canopy Central is a page that's available to all, and is where the user's log in browser is redirected to when they sign into our product (Canopy). One of the things we have on that page is news articles related to medicine. I have a bit of an influence here and have been able to get a few of these articles posted there. All I do is send an email to our Marketing Director (who happens to be the woman I car pool with) and she puts the articles I send on our Canopy Central page. (Actually a link with a short description of the article).

Here's some of what's on Canopy Central today:

Carbs may explain ethnic variations in cholesterol. Ethnic differences in levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol, may be due, at least in part, to diet, a new study from Canada suggests. 01/22/2007
This is an excellent article in that it, for once, takes other things into consideration when determining how cholesterol levels are related to heart disease. Surprise surprise, it looks like carbohydrate intake is the important factor!!!

U.S. Cancer Deaths Drop Again. Cancer Deaths Down Second Straight Year, Though Still No. 2 Killer 01/18/2007
The numbers are dropping and the cures are increasing. Always good news.

The Cure for Diabetes. What if the American Heart Association endorsed the trans-fat diet? Problem, right? 01/11/2007
This is a repost of the article about Dr Mary Vernon and how she treats diabetics.

This is another article I've sent to be put on our Canopy Central page:

An Old Cholesterol Remedy Is New Again.
An interesting article about using Niacin to improve blood lipid levels.

Let's see....anything else?

Oh yea!!! My latest order of ChocoPerfection dark arrived today!!


So, I'm going to stick with what I've been doing. Following my plan and taking my supplements and weighing myself once a week.