Photo Credit: 123rf
Do you have Type 2 Diabetes and looking for something to eat that will not blow your blood sugar to the stratosphere?
Having Type 2 diabetes, it is always a challenge to find good things to eat. That is especially true if, like me, one takes the path not to use medication to control blood sugar.
I had the choice to medicate or not. After a few months of popping a pill, I decided, with the support of my doctor, to control my blood sugar with my diet. No more pills; now, almost two years in, my blood sugar (A1C) is holding steady at 6.3.
Has it Been Easy?
The process of change took work. And that led us to start Damndiabetes. The goal of Damndiabetes is to help those with Type 2 diabetes to have a better quality of life living with diabetes. We want to help folks like you gain the experiences we have gained without going through the pain. If we can help, or if you have any questions, please give us a shout.
Our focus
Our focus, you may have guessed, is what we eat to control our Type 2 diabetes. We developed a process to experiment with what we can or cannot eat. And the recipe for Kale and Bean Soup is one of our favourites.
Kale and White Bean Soup
Three conditions must be met to continue as one of our favourite recipes.
It must satisfy my food desires, including taste and variability
It must be easy to make, and,
It must not have a negative impact on my blood sugar.
This Kale and White Bean Soup recipe satisfies all three of our requirements. Be advised, though, that each person may have individual requirements and results. We ask all to check with their healthcare professionals before making any significant Type 2 Diabetes treatment changes and to feel free to give us a shout if you have questions or want some help.
Ingredients
Most of these ingredients you should already have in your pantry, especially if you eat lots of salad like me.
One medium onion (white, yellow or red) – whatever you have
One carrot
One stalk of celery
Three garlic cloves
Two hundred fifty grams (8 ounces) of kale.
Three cans of white beans (15 ounces each)
Two tablespoons of olive oil
One teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 3/4 teaspoons or salted to taste. Go slow and low on the salt to start, as you can always add more later.
Four cups of low-sodium vegetable broth – one carton should give you what you need.
One teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
Note, in a pinch, I swap out kale for fresh spinach. As well, instead of vegetable broth, one can use chicken or beef broth. Mix and match, add or subtract, to suit what you have and what you want.
Instructions
Prep the onion by dicing. Peel and dice the carrot and celery stock, and finely slice the three garlic cloves. Coarsely chop the kale or spinach if you have switched. Keep all separate. Some suggest cooking them all together, but I am a proponent of cooking them separately. In my view and that of Chef Juan-Pierre, that allows the individual flavours to develop – You can catch his excellent show on YouTube, too, and along with his 1.47 million followers, I often heed his advice.
Drain and rinse the three cans of white beans. In a pinch, I have even used red beans. Keep in a separate bowl.
Now comes the cooking, putting it all together. Begin by heating the two tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Do I ever measure – Nope.
Start by adding the onion and cooking until softened. Stir occasionally, and that should take about 5 minutes. Don’t have the heat too high; you do not want to burn the onion. Add the salt, as that will help draw off the water in the onion.
Next, add the carrot and cook for a further 5 minutes. The goal is to have the carrots begin to soften.
Add the celery and cook for about 3 minutes – Again, the goal is to have the celery begin to soften.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, sufficient time to release the garlic aromatic.
Add the beans and stir the whole mix to combine. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the 4 cups of broth. Turn up the heat and bring the mix to a slow boil. Turn the heat down to let the mix simmer for 10 minutes to help all the flavours come together. And here are two options: - Put ½ the soup mixture into a blender. Begin slowly and gradually increase the speed until you have a smooth mixture. This will give your soup a creamy texture. - Forget the blender and get ready to serve the soup as it is.
Add the kale (or spinach) and cook under medium heat until tender and bright green. This should take 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook as it will turn to mush.
Remove from the soup from the heat and add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine, and as all good chefs do, taste to test if the soup needs more salt.
Serve and enjoy and make the meal even better by serving along with my easily made Sunflower Seed Flour Bread.
The End
From Damndiabetes.ca, our goal is to help those with Type 2 diabetes have a better quality of life living with diabetes. We have done this by getting rid of the medication many use to lower their blood sugar levels. We do it by watching what we eat and with a bit of exercise. If you want all the benefits a non-medicated Type 2 diabetes can bring, give us a shout. We are here to help you.
Best wishes from all of us ...
Vancouver, BC
Medical Disclaimer. We are not professional medical practitioners, and nothing on this website is to be considered medical advice. For that, we ask all to check with their healthcare professionals before making any significant Type 2 Diabetes treatment changes and to feel free to give us a shout if you have questions or want some help to having a better life living with Diabetes, controlling your diabetes with what you eat, and some exercise.
Comments