“Did you just swig a big Dr. Pepper right before you came in here?” the nurse asked, looking up from her computer screen.
“Me?” I asked, looking around for someone else, some other patient with terrible eating habits, to come forward right there in the exam room and take the blame. No one appeared. “No. I ate lunch a few hours before I got here. I’ve only had water since then.”
“Hmm. Well, your blood sugar is 250 right now,” she replied, turning back to the screen.
It took a few more weeks of trying medications and testing sugars to get an official diagnosis, but I knew right then that I had developed diabetes.
Of course, I’d known for years I was at risk, not only because of a family history of the illness but also because of the gestational diabetes I developed early in both of my pregnancies. Those pregnancies were difficult: you cannot even imagine how badly I wanted to bake and eat a pan of brownies. Yes, the pan. Not just “some,” but The. Whole. Pan.
The difference, though, is that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I planned my post-birth meal carefully: it would need to involve waffles and Duck Butter from the Starkville Cafe, of course. And probably some candy — chocolate, of course, because is there any other kind?
My friend Rowan made my dreams into a reality the day she came into my room at OCH bearing all the sweets a girl could eat. I loved it.
These days, though, I need to take my joy in the things I am allowed to eat and avoid the things that will make me sick. To that end, I am learning how to prepare vegetables in ways that make me actually want to eat them.
One of our household favorites is roasted brussels sprouts. Even my children will eat them willingly when I roast them, so that’s just what I do. My personal favorite is roasted cauliflower, but it takes so long that I don’t do it very frequently. Try both, though. I bet you’ll love them.
Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].
ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS OR CAULIFLOWER
Brussels sprouts (about 12 ounces feeds my family of 5; adjust for your family)
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
Salt, preferably pink Himalayan sea salt
(Source: Amelia Plair)
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