Low carb Protein Balls (recipe time!)

I don't hold myself up to be a chef of any kind; however I have been spending a fortune buying high protein, low carb foods for my 4 year old with type 1 diabetes. I have started to research cheaper (and less processed to some degree) options for snacks and have been struggling to find many online. I also like things to be simple... so anything I post will be EASY and quick!

If you aren't familiar with the taste of protein bars/ snacks, these may be a little unusual as they really do have a specific taste/ texture that is not for everyone.

Let me know what you think of this one:

 Low carb Choc-peanut biscuits (or balls)

Ingredients:

50g protein powder (chocolate)

30 – 35g Peanut butter (no added sugar)

5 teaspoons of water
(NB: see botom of article for slightly reduced fat/ kj option)

Method:

Melt peanut butter in microwave for 20 sec in microwave safe bowl (I used Kraft’s new No added sugar or salt crunchy – adds texture)

This is the batter with 3 tsp water

Add protein powder and mix. Add water slowly to allow powder to absorb all water before more is added. 

Depending on the brand of protein powder used you may need more or less water. (I used Body Science Shaping Protein for Women in chocolate flavour).

Once a very thick and fairly dry consistency has been formed, mould into a tube shape (as per image right). 

Slice tube into 8 small pieces (to be consistent with nutritional information panel (NIP) shown below).

For balls, roll each piece into a small ball (NB: You can also choose not to cook the balls at all and roll in a small amount of shredded coconut for variety – coconut is not included in NIP)

For biscuits, flatten and shape into a small biscuit (as per left image)

Place on a microwave safe plate (you may want to lightly spray with oil).

Microwave for 45 secs (may vary depending on your microwave – longer will make them drier, if you make larger size biscuits or balls you will need more time). 

Biscuits/ balls will rise slightly and batter will start to dry.

Allow to cool (biscuits will crisp slightly, but not much, as they cool)

Each biscuit or ball contains approx. 212kj and 0.8g carbs. See Nutritional Information Panel (NIP) for more information (below). 

Option B: reduce peanut butter to 20g and increase water to 6 - 7 tsp. This cuts the kj to 153, fat to 1.5 and carbs to 0.6. It doesn't change the flavour or consistency too much either.
 

What's love got to do with it?

“Mummy, will I get a Valentine’s Day card?”

That was the question posed by my 6 year old son yesterday. “Probably not, sweetie” was my reply.

What followed was a long discussion about what Valentine’s Day meant; who got cards, why, why not, and why it all started (I had no idea).

My 4 year old daughter popped the odd question in here and there, but mostly the questions were from my son. The kids in her kindy class make cards for their parents – which is sweet and appreciated.

My son’s concerns were that the kids at school were already talking about who they were giving cards to and who they thought they would get them from. Did I say that he is 6? When he asked if he and his male mates could give each other cards so they weren’t left out, I was a little stumped. Of course they could, however that was not necessarily in the spirit of the day, which was about girlfriends/ boyfriends (and I am making no judgement here on same-sex relationships – simply that a 6 year old does not have a romantic relationship). 

But I wondered, why couldn’t the day be about friends? The main reason I felt uncomfortable with the whole concept is that Valentine’s Day is just so much about marketing. In my job, I have received endless press releases telling me about why I should be telling our magazine readers they should be giving “sugar-free chocolate this Valentine’s Day” or giving a cute stuffed bunny/ teddy/ dog to show they really care.

I have enjoyed receiving something on Valentine’s Day and when we have time, my husband and I have made a special effort to have a quiet meal together. That said I enjoy a thoughtful card or quiet meal even more when it is spontaneous and not part of a set marketing calendar that tells us to share our feelings on this date.

So in the end, I told my son that he should make his friends a card telling them why they are special to him. It didn’t need to be a Valentine’s Day thing, but that was up to him.

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? What does it mean to you?

Baby, no more

Baby, no more

Tonight while I was cooking dinner I realised that I am done. With babies that is. No more for me. I have always said I would like another; however as I stood there at the stove, with my husband driving my two kids home from their swimming lessons, I realised that my life is pretty good just the way it is. Of course if there was an accident, I am sure I would welcome a baby. But right now, I can live without ever having to breastfeed for 6 – 24mths, change nappies, clean poo/wee of EVERYTHING, wake throughout the night constantly (other than every 2 – 3 hours for my type 1 daughter), and generally have a screaming baby be MY responsibility.

I have never been fond of babies. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mum. And I have always wanted to be a mum. I loved my own babies and thought they were beautiful. But for the most part, other people’s babies are pretty ugly and boring. My sisters haven’t had kids yet, so maybe that will be different. I am fairly maternal in my behaviour, so people seem to insist on handing me their babies, which I generally try to resist. Once they are over 12 months I am great; but before that, not so much.

People always ask if you have finished having babies. I don’t think you can answer that question without getting the opposite response from the asker.  Of my two closest friends, one is done and one wants another. And yet when someone asks “Are you going to have another?” The friend who replies, “Oh, no I have 4, I am done”, seems to always get, “You should never rule it out” and the friend who says, “Yes, I would like another at some stage”, hears “You are so lucky to have 3 wonderful kids”. Okay then.

Of course the most interesting responses I have had when discussing the possibility of a new baby have come from my two kids. My 6 year old son and 4 year old daughter love the idea of a baby. But it is when we get down to logistics that things become interesting. Both of my kids co-sleep (still) from time to time (the “time” being almost every night from around midnight, plus when my husband is away for work). So when we discussed where the baby would sleep this caused great concern and agreement that is was probably best that we stayed at just two kids, as mummy only had two armpits for cuddles!

I am not sure what I will say when asked if I am having any more kids. It is still too new for me. I only shared my newfound knowledge with my husband over dinner. He looked quite amused really, as he was already in the “done” camp.

All of that said, I do reserve the right to change my mind.

Respecting allergies

Sometimes your kids are so much smarter than you give them credit for.

In my job, I am lucky enough to receive hundreds of books (mainly kids’ books) to review. This means that I am fairly picky when it comes to children’s books and I thought I could have a pretty good guess at which ones my kids would like, love and which they would want to read over and over again. 

Recently I have been stumped by my daughter’s choice of regular reader. She has chosen a nicely illustrated book about food allergies. The story is simple and the message is clear. It is the story of a 2 year old boy with severe food allergies who goes to a party. For those of you who read my posts regularly you will know my daughter has type 1 diabetes, but this does not stop her from being able to eat any foods. After reading the book for about the 25^th time, I asked her why she liked it. She explained to me that she loves how Thai (the boy in the book) doesn’t have to miss out on anything at the party (his mum has pre-prepared everything that is needed) and that because everyone looks out for him he can be normal too. My daughter is only 3 years old. 

This had me reflecting on how poor I can be about respecting food allergies. On a recent visit to our hospital for my daughter’s quarterly review I asked her if she wanted a peanut butter sandwich that day (as I always take a complete day of meals to save any issues with carb counting or lack of healthy choices at the hospital). She didn’t want peanut butter, but it didn’t occur to me until I got home that night and was on the internet that I could have put children’s lives at risk. Another mother who had been at the hospital that day complained on Facebook about the types of foods parents had with their kids, and only then did I realise that I could have been endangering any number of kids.

Since then I have been making more of an effort to try and understand more about intolerances and allergies, but boy it is confusing and there is so much conflicting (and frankly, in some cases patronising for those with allergies) information.

So for those parents out there with kids with food allergies, I would love to hear your story. How can I and other parents help to make the lives of your kids easier? What would you like us to do or not do? And what would you like us not to say to you or your kids?

There is no shame: know the symptoms

Tonight I am sitting at my computer waiting for news about the life of a little 7 year old Australian girl I have never met. This little girl was diagnosed yesterday with type 1 diabetes. What makes this story so heartbreaking is that she was not diagnosed until it was possibly too late. It appears that she visited her doctor four times over the past few weeks and her mother was told she had a virus and a UTI. All that needed to be done was for her GP to give her a blood glucose test. Whilst this is not a conclusive diagnosis, it would have shown her levels were high and she could have been treated before her blood essentially turned to acid and her body started to shut down. 

The diabetes community is always rocked when we hear stories like this. We now know what to look out for and know how easy the symptoms are to miss. We also know how little money is available to promote the symptoms of this chronic illness and how much confusion there is in the community between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Tonight I am asking you to please try and remember the symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Because of the common confusion between type 1 and type 2, I believe that parents may be loath to push with the doctor.  There is a degree of shame which is rained down on parents post diagnosis by those that do not understand that there is nothing – NOTHING that can be done to prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes. No diet, no exercise, no God (and certainly no herbs). Nothing will change the diagnosis.

Type 1 diabetes symptoms can include: extreme thirst;  constant hunger; sudden weight loss; frequent urination; blurred vision; nausea; vomiting; extreme tiredness; infections. If you think you or someone you know has these type 1 diabetes symptoms, call a doctor immediately, and drink fluids WITHOUT SUGAR to prevent dehydration and DO NOT be afraid to ask for a blood glucose test. It will only take a few seconds and could save a life.

I was very lucky with my daughter. She was diagnosed at 11 months of age. As she was still being breastfed and was so young, it took three emergency doctors to diagnose her, and while her life was in the balance for a few hours, she pulled through and is now a happy and healthy 3 (almost 4 as she will tell you) year old. With type 1 diabetes you never truly know the road ahead. Any night could be an all-nighter, with blood tests every hour. But at least you know. 

For more information about type 1 diabetes visit www.jdrf.org.au  or about type 1 and type 2 diabetes visit www.diabetesaustralia.com.au

 

For more information on our diagnosis click here or here.