Getting to Saint Jean Pied de Port

Chapter 5 – Planes, Trains & Automobiles (Buses & Taxis) to Saint Jean Pied de Port

Adventure is worthwhile – Amelia Earhart

Getting to St Jean PP (SJPP) is not easy – it’s a tiny town in the French border at the foot of the Pyrenees. When we did the research for SJPP – there were many forums that talked about how tricky it was to get there. Not a single time I found an easy or a consistant answer. Everyone had a different path and link to get there – but none I found easy. It involves many switches, combination of buses and trains. There were forums about a special schedule for the summer with more trains and buses – but again none I found fruitful.

San Sebastian station (Amara)

San Sebastian station (Amara)

Getting to Stockholm was easy (Zurich to Stockholme) but getting to our starting destination for my Camino was still a question mark. We knew the easiest way to approach this was by getting to Spain since we have been to Bilbao and San Sebastian in February so we are putting all our attempts with getting to SJPP from Spain.

We got to Bilbao airport from Stockholm then took an airport bus directly from to San Sebastian right away – ok not right away since the first bus from Bilbao was full not too many people from the plane were able to get on. So we had to wait for the next bus an hour later at 2:45pm so we waited an hour but we knew we would be first one to get in since were the first in line. Not bad we had to pay 16 euro one way to San Sebastian – being exhausted we slept the whole way since we were up at 5am in Stockholm to get to the airport for 6:30pm.

 

Spanish & French border (Blue & Pink train stations)

Spanish & French border (Blue & Pink train stations)

Bayonne Station

Bayonne Station

St. Jean Pied de Port station

St. Jean Pied de Port station

 

 

 

 

 

 

We tried to book a hotel by the main bus terminal at San Sebastian a month ago – where we would catch the bus to Bayonne, France but the hotel was full so we found a hotel 2 km away inside the city.

The hotel was right across from the river Urumea and it had WIFI so we took it. Getting to Bayonne was the mystery – a French border town where we would catch the train to SJPP – even though our Pension was next to the local train station we needed the commuter train station since we needed to go to France. Train seemed like a good option for us as the bus system is unreliable in Spain. You can’t buy tickets in advance, if your bus leaves at 9pm, you can only buy ticket at 8pm – its first come first served and no online purchasing. I also heard the ticket is only good for 2 hours and if you don’t use it then its voided so you have to be careful not to buy it advance, totally different from our system where you can buy tickets in advanced or online.

We asked the hotel by the bus terminal if they have seen lot of Camino travellers or backpackers and they couldn’t give an answer but the bus would leave San Sebastian at 9am and reach Bayonne at 10:30 am. Unfortunately that was not a good option since the train to SJPP leaves Bayonne at 10:48 am you could miss the train if the bus was late and you are stuck for 4 hrs until the next one at 2:30 pm. The train and bus station were not close to each other so you could miss the train to SJPP. So it was pota-to or pot-tato and since would need to line up at 8 am at the bus terminal or earlier to get a ticket given out at 8:45 to catch the 9am bus to Bayonne.

We didn’t think it was an option since we wanted to be in SJPP by 1pm so we could have a lunch and get our things together for the Camino the next day and to enjoy SJPP a little since we won’t have any time since we would be leaving for the Camino at 7 am. After talking to many people we found out that the commuter train station (not the station beside our hotel) but the one 2 km away goes to Handaia everyday every 30 minutes, the French border town where we could take a train to Bayonne.

No, this is not possible?? Fantastic to investigate it further we went to the train station from our hotel. Yup every 30 minutes in the morning it leaves for Handaia and we could reach Bayonne but if we took it early enough we could catch the train to SJPP at 10:48 from Bayonne, this would make all the connections possible. That seemed to be the perfect solution for us.  Instead of waiting for an hour by the bus station where it might be crowded with pilgrims going to Bayonne and possibly miss the connection in Bayonne (if the bus was late) didn’t seem like a solution for us.

Once we figured it out – we celebrated our victory in San Sebastian with a lovely around the beach and old town with various Pintoxs and got to our room to get an early rise.

Next morning we caught the train from San Sebastian (Donostia-Amara) to Hendaia at 7:15 am and that got us in Bayonne at 8:05am. This train station at Hendaia at the Spanish and French border is very famous. This is the train station Hitler and Franco had a meeting and Franco decided not to participate in the war but to be a sympathizer instead. The old station doesn’t exist as new one is built but it’s the same place – the Spanish and French train station are side by side at the same parking lot sharing the border so you just take you baggage and cross the parking lot to get to the French side.

We were so happy to get to Handaia early and bought tickets to Bayonne and SJPP ad were able to make the connection by 45 min apart where we had ample time in Bayonne to change platform to catch the train to SJPP.

St. Jean Pied de Port - Pyrenees view from my room

St. Jean Pied de Port – Pyrenees view from my room

We expected a lot of people in the train station but were surprised to see very little packers. When you get to Bayonne make sure you have all your papers (passport with you), if you are non-white chances are you are going to be asked for documentation as I was surprised to see the police asking only non-white passengers in the train station. If you need to use the washroom use the washroom from the café across the street as the washrooms are not clean at the train station or in the train.

St. Jean Pied de Port is a beautiful small town and as it deserves its own blog as our journey continues..

Buen Camino!

Camino Fitness Notes from Bodensee

Chapter 4 – Diabetes Blood-glucose planning from Germany

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – Lao Tzu

While I was describing the beauty of Singen Hohentwiel in chapter 2 I forgot to talk about my diabetes blood sugar prep work for my hike for the hilly 23 km walk. There is a lot of prep work involved before taking such task as walking for more than 4 hours since blood sugar really depends on the energy available, insulin taken and the difficulty of the path (hilly terrain).

Wild forest

Wild forest

I had a good German breakfast – muesli w/ low fat milk (complex carb) cold cuts, cheese and a boiled egg (protein, fat) and low fat yogurt – about 60 g CHO (carb) and I Bolused for 50% of CHO and set temp Basel for 8 hrs in case I run out as I have in the past. Average walk for me is about 5 km for an hour and 23 km shouldn’t take me long but then again we are talking about walking around Hohentwiel with steep hills and the beauty of the wild forest and the native animals that come to say hello, so it took longer.

We started at 10 am and we got back at 4pm – that’s 6 hrs and we took two long breaks each being over 30 min plus stopping to take pictures, just stopping to enjoy the beauty of the land. So 6 hours for as predicted.

Many snails crossing

Many snails crossing

Young Deer

Young Deer

Rabbit enjoying grass

Rabbit enjoying grass

 

 

 

 

 

 

My blood sugar was perfect the whole trip as I sipped mostly Gatorade and water every half hour as I was sweating a lot to replenish my salt (electrolytes) and hydration. I also found fruit bars in Singen as they didn’t have granola bars and they were good without too much sugar as each piece was about 6g CHO. Gatorade, fruit bars substituted as my fuel for every hour – since there were few parts of the path that were very steep and challenging. Bigger snack – here it goes pretzel broken into 4 pieces and I ate it throughout, couple of apples, and a sandwich filled with ham and cheese. So all in all it was a true Camino training walk – walking through the forest covered in mosquitos, ticks, snails, deers, rabbits and wild birds – beauty all around.

Frog crossing sign (during migration)

Frog crossing sign (during migration)

When I finished my walk my blood sugar was 7.2 mmol – perfect and my temp Basel was almost running out. I had to be careful that I wouldn’t have a low sugar within the next hour so it was important for me to have a protein, sugar drink after I got back to the room so had something similar to Boost. I had a lake pickerel with roast potatoes and a large salad and I Bolused only 90% and my blood sugar was perfect before bed as it was 7.6

Awesome day indeed and looking forward to the Camino doing this every day and hope my blood sugar will be okay as it was this day but testing is key for every hour if possible and not push but taking the time. Camino is not about how quick you can do the walk but the quality of the walk – indeed it’s the Camino after all.

Buen Camino!

Camino Training in Germany

Chapter 3 – My Camino continues in Bodensee …

I’ve been coming to Bodensee for almost 12 years as I started my chef training (practical) here in the Southern part of Germany at the border of Switzerland. The area is called Bodensee (in German) or Lake of Constance in English, where one of the largest lake in Europe is surrounded by Germany, Austria and Switzerland and one of the most picturesque places in the world – Grimm Brothers who lived in the next state (Essen) got lot of their inspiration from this enchanting lake and gingerbread homes that influenced his fairy tales.

If you would know the road ahead, ask someone who has traveled it – Chinese Proverb

 

Hohentwiel

Hohentwiel

 

History of Singen Hohentwiel

When I visit Bodensee every year I usually stay in a small city called Singen (in the sate of Baden-Wuerttemberg) where most of my friends live including my godchild. It’s an industrial town surrounded by many pretty villages, the Lake of Constance and unique volcanic mountains that were formed 70 million years ago and one of them is called Hohentwiel.

Hohentwiel is unique as it has a large castle on top which was built in 10th century by Duke of Swabia (Stuttgart) Burchard III and in the middle ages many royal families lived here including the family of Von Singen-Tweil and also invaded by Napoleon where he kept his army. Today Hohentwiel is the largest castle ruin in Germany.

Whether you arrive by car or train you won’t miss the sight of Hohentwiel as its huge presence will dominate as it will greet you. There is a restaurant and a winery on the mountain as grape varieties Weissburgunder (White Burgundy) Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Grauburgunder (Gray Burgundy) and Müller-Thurgau grows on the mountain. The wines are outstanding and made in small quantity as they are rare and sell out quickly.

3 of the 5 volcanic mountains behind me

3 of the 5 volcanic mountains behind me

Hegau Cross

Hegau Cross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It made only sense that I also train for my Camino here (my 2nd home) before I set sail to Spain. So I found a great hiking path that would combine all 5 volcanic mountains near Singen on a long hike including trekking to the Hegau Cross – large stone cross near one of the volcanic mountain Maegdeberg.

Over looking at wheat fields

Over looking at wheat fields

My friend and I hiked by all 5 mountains (Hoehntwiel, Hohenkraehen, Hohenhwen, Maegdeberg, and Hohenstoffeln) as it was enchanting going through many farms, apple orchards, wild forest sighing deer, rabbits and hawks. I will never forget this day as we sat over the ridge of one of the mountain eating our lunch and looking at the land formed by volcanos and glacier millions of years ago.

 

Next day I got my first Camino stamp – I am not kidding, I will talk in detail about the Camino stamp, passport and certificate on my next post. Coincidently I was in Konstanz (head of Baden-Wuerttemberg) Cathedral listing to the choir practice and as I walked past the pews I saw a sign that said Camino Stamps – it was a unique rubber stamp printed paper from Konstanz Cathedral that was for the pilgrims to take for the Camino.

Konstanz Camino Stamp

Konstanz Camino Stamp

This looks like a good luck sign to me – not only I did the Camino training walk in Singen for 22 km but I also earned a Camino stamp for my walk the next day in Konstanz all in serendipity for my big trip.

Buen Camino!

The Camino Training with Type1 Diabetes

Chapter 2 – My Camino started 3 months ago

In my previous post I had talked about the history of the Camino de Santiago and why I decided to take the challenge and in this post I will discuss how I got my training started.

“It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide on what to do” – Elbert Hubbard

It’s easier to make a decision to do anything but where it gets challenging is the execution of it. I had no idea how to start the training. Having type1 diabetes (T1D) I have insulin sensitivity, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) these are all common symptoms in my body on a regular basis. My biggest fear is low blood sugar. My legs become like noodle and unable to do anything until my body is recovered with glucose. I carry glucose tablets everywhere I go along with juice and snacks. Walking 30+ km a day is about 6 to 7 hours (5 km per 1 hr. estimating on flat surface, no hills) plus lunch and breaks. It’s a long day for the body to be put through that type of fitness regime if you haven’t done it before.

IMG_9832

How do Athletes train?

I asked my friend Michael who does marathons and Ironman and how he trains for it, his answer was “you don’t think about the whole race, you think about the next km and the next and so on and let the training guide you”. Motivational speaker, super athlete Sebastian Sasseville with T1D (climbed Mr. Everest summit and ran 250 km Sahara race) and Endocrinologist Dr. Perkins and the team from Mt. Sinai Diabetes Education Centre have been a huge help providing their insight and telling me to figure out “my numbers” before I get to Spain.

Sasseville said “figure out all your numbers before you get to Spain including plan A, plan B and plan C so that you are prepared for every kind of emergency and you go on autopilot when you get there”. Great advise because that’s exactly what I have to do, figure out my basel insulin setting (slow acting insulin intake) for the entire day including hourly intake during the walk.

Its all Numbers

I started my walk with 6km around my neighbourhood using an iPhone app called “MapMyWalk” which is great for walking (training) – and will keep track of your steps, km and calories burned plus the map of your path so you can save it for future use, tweet it/ facebook it for bragging rights. I started my walk every other day in early March, it was so cold and raining and I got sick. It took me 4 weeks to recover – recovering from cold/fever with diabetes takes longer. Then started training again in April – every other day and slowly increasing to 10, 12 14 km  … and eventually walking every day. By mid June I was walking 30 km with no problems. Hiking training few weekends with my husband was a huge payoff –  including going to Rattlesnake Point and Bruce Trail really helped with me the rough terrain, uneven surface plus it mimicked some parts of the Camino.

Its been tricky and hard to walk a full day of training with a major renovation going on in my house for the last 3 months and ignoring my personal life –  but I had to put my training as priority as I had committed to the Camino and booked the ticket. In some ways it was good to have a target and train for it and sticking to my commitment as it helped me to focus. Part of it was due to being just scared as I didn’t want to get into trouble in during my climb if I ran into trouble.

 “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide” Napoleon Bonaparte

As I said on my earlier post about the first day of Camino is to trek from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles 20 km straight up the Pyrenees and decent 5 km to Roncesvalles. The ancient Napoleon path goes through the middle of the mountain as there are other options of taking gravel roads with less strain. But the whole idea to train was to see the summit on top and to find out about my body.

Climbing straight up for 20 km on a tough terrain to maintain healthy blood sugar without having too high or too low sugar (chances are low sugar) as it’s a tough exercise is a challenge. So my training had to be 99.9% figuring out numbers (how much insulin to take for the day and during meals).

During my trainings I reduced my insulin to 40% to 50% during exercise and during rough terrain even reduced more and no insulin during meals which kept my blood sugar perfect. Of course I had many low sugars but it was all part of the training to tweak the numbers.

Here is a video from my hike at Rattlesnake point

The Plan, the plan

Well I think I have my numbers figured as I will post them later. In terms of snacks and energy Dr. Perkins, my dietitian and nurse at the hospital agree that I should be having a good snack and replenishing my fluids every hour.

Snack = .5 g of Carb (CHO) x total body weight in km for every hour

During my training I ate trail mix and drank coconut water (carb, salt – great electrolytes) but my dietitian indicated that nuts are great for day hikes but not for everyday 30 km hike, so I need to skip the nuts and go straight for the sugar and carb combo since it will give me more energy like Fig Newtons . And it would be difficult to find coconut water in Spain so I will settle for Gatorade (as I plan to carry Gatorade crystals and make them as I need them).

I am so eager to put all my training and things that I just learned the last few months into production as the days are getting closer to our trek, like my friend Melinda said “my training started 3 months ago here in Toronto”.

I am so excited to be sharing this with you and I hope you’ll join me on my journey as I will try to post our progress (internet permitting) of course!

Buen Camino!

Fiddleheads Barley Risotto

Spring in the Epicurean world

Spring is one of my favourite seasons for amazing ingredients like wild leeks (ramps), fiddleheads and morals. Due to long cool spring this year, we had abundant supply of fiddleheads. One of my favourite dishes to make in the spring is fiddleheads risotto.

Risotto is like a kryptonite for me – as much as I love it, it doesn’t love me back.  Risotto is generally made with Italian Arborio rice (white short grain rice with a hard kernel) which is quite high in starch and its high GI – which really doesn’t agree with my type1 diabetes (T1D) where it elevates my blood glucose high.  At restaurants I usually get it as a side dish or take a lot of insulin for it.

Barley is a great substitute for Arborio rice even if you don’t have diabetes – as it gives it a rich firm texture without being so being high GI.  It’s making appearance in many high end restaurants in North America as it’s very popular in Italy. So here I am sharing my favourite Barley Risotto recipe and it’s not rich as it doesn’t need lot of butter, cream or cheese. It’s very light and perfect as a main dish or as a side dish.

IMG_9707IMG_9708IMG_9709

 

 

 

 

 

Chefs Note: Pot barley has more fibre than pearl barley as they remove some of the bran.

Fiddlehead Barley Risotto

Fiddlehead Barley Risotto

Barley Risotto with Fiddleheads

Prep time 10 min              Cooking time 30 min                       Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra light olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup pot parley (soaked 1 hr and washed, drained)

2 ½ cups vegetable stock (low sodium)

1 cup fiddleheads, whole (trimmed and washed)

1 tbsp chopped mint

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp low-fat parmesan

Salt and pepper for taste

Method

Warm the oil in medium sauce pan over medium heat and sauté the onion and add bay leaf and cinnamon stick.

Add pot parley and sauté well until all ingredients are incorporated well and add vegetable stock and bring it boil. Add fiddleheads and reduce heat to low and cook 25 minutes or until almost all the water is absorbed.

Add butter and parmesan to arrest the cooking as the risotto will thicken once you add the parmesan, adjust taste with salt and pepper as you will need no salt at all (due to parmesan and stock) and fold in gently chopped mint and cover for 5 minutes.

Serve warm with a spinach or arugula salad as the combination is great!

Nutritional Analysis per 1 serving: 1/2 cup = 125 ml: Calories 238; Carbohydrate 32g; Fibre 3g; Fat 9g; Saturated fat 3g; Sodium 245 mg; Protein 8g

My Camino Way

camino2Chapter 1 – Brief History of Camino de Santiago

For some time I’ve been thinking about doing the Camino de Santiago  (long walking trek over 800 km)  – an ancient pathway to pilgrims, even Napoleon took this path to visit the large cathedral of Saint James in the ancient city of Santiago in Galicia, Spain. Ancient time they thought Finisterre (Atlantic coast of Galicia) was ‘end of the world’ (costa de morte) – where there was no landmass, leaving civilization at the edge of Atlantic Ocean until the new world was discovered in 1492.

“People tend to forget the word “history” contains the word “story” – Ken Burns

There are many routes to get there within Europe. I’ve always been fascinated by the sheer faith and spirituality people have in achieving this massive goal by walking approximately 25+ km each day – walking through tough terrains, mountains, foot hills and valleys and sleeping in albergues, monasteries and eating what is available along way.

Why the Camino for me?

Not being an athlete or a religious person I wanted to undertake the Camino to learn about myself and my body as I haven’t pushed myself to do anything challenging after being diagnosed with type1 diabetes (November 14, 2005 – ironically its World Diabetes Day). Having type1 diabetes (T1D) has its challenges, to maintain healthy blood glucose (blood sugar) throughout this trip, eating what is available and walking 25+ km a day (exercise and tons of it) is an enormous challenge without proper planning and training.

camino5March of this year I decided to take this challenge and to train for it. Walking is something I can do as I’ve tried running many times but it didn’t click for me, neither did biking. But walking 25+ km each and every day for 32+ (approximate days to walk 800 km) days? – Well it has a good ring to it. It’s like training for anything, all I had to do was to step out of my house (my comfort zone) and walk on the sidewalk and viola I could do 6 km for an hour, wow I can do this Camino!

Well not so fast – I will talk about my training on my next entry but just wanted to talk a bit more about the Camino.  My first day’s journey at the Camino would start at St. Jean Pied de Port (SJPP), France at the foothills of Pyrenees where you climb 1500 meters straight up the mountain for about 20 km and descend to 900 meters, 5 km to Roncesvalles, Spain. After 10 km from SJPP on the mountain there is no stopping as there are no hostels or huts to stay as its a rough terrain, only the mountain.  So this is the challenge that really pushed my training to figure out how to get ready for this challenging climb and descend and keeping up energy for 25+ km for each day.

Did I mention that I will be doing the 1st segment of the Camino with my husband John – he will be my coach to remind me to take my snacks, test my blood sugar every hour and cheering me on as he has done many challenging climbs in his earlier days including the Kilimanjaro.

We will start our journey from SJPP (France) to Logrono (Rioja, Spain) approximately 200 km to be completed in 8 days. I am also thinking of starting my 2nd journey from where I leave off at Logrono, Rioja to Finisterre, Galicia about 700 km across northern Spain over a month later this summer.

Talk about exciting, I am thrilled. Not only it will be a huge challenge but being a cook exposed to this amazing culinary journey across northern Spain, eating, walking, doing a fitness holiday, meeting travelers from all over the world along the way and breathtaking scenery and history to boot? Why not? This is sounding amazing already and I can’t wait to get there!

Check out the film The Way directed by Emilio Estevez starring Martin Sheen (plays on screen father too) – a powerful story that takes place in the Camino trail where life’s questions, quests are questioned or answered as you’ll meet interesting characters along the path of the movie. Very uplifting and moving film which I really enjoy myself at TIFF few years ago and had the opportunity to talk to both Estevez and Sheen about their journey in the Camino and how it was to play onscreen father and son about life’s existential crisis. They were so happy to share their stories.

I plan to blog about my trip while on the Camino – hopefully the internet connection will cooperate so that I can share my experiences and the culinary journey with you guys and I hope you’ll join me along the way to cheer me on send me positive vibes with your feedback.

Buen Camino!

Flavours of Tuscany

Tuscan Kale Lentil Soup

When I was in Tuscany, Italy in the fall of 2007 kale was sold in many colours (black or purple) in the markets. Many restaurants served kale soup with lentils which was hardy and delicious with unsalted Tuscan bread. Many households make variations of this recipe with cooked ham or pancetta or low salt bacon as you want more flavour and less salt. I was able to acquire this recipe from a local restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a delicious soup that you can enjoy in the cold months of fall and winter and it’s healthy. It makes use of kale which is high in vitamin A and C and also makes good use of lentils which has a good balance of low GI carbohydrate, vegetable protein and fibre and its gluten free. This soup is suitable for people with diabetes, celiac and CVD (cardiovascular disease). It’s a perfect meal in a bowl since it has all the food groups and great for cold days.*For Vegetarian or vegan diet you can skip the pancetta

Tuscan Kale Lentil Soup

Tuscan Kale Lentil Soup

Tuscan Kale Lentil Soup

Prep time 10 min                       cooking time 50 min                       Serves 8 people (1 cup)

Ingredients

1 tbsp (15 ml) canola oil

4 slices (100 g) pancetta (or low salt bacon or cooked ham)

1 cup (250 ml) chopped onion

1 cup (250 ml) chopped celery

1 cup (250 ml) chopped carrots

1 cup (250 ml) chopped fennel (optional)*

1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped garlic

2 large bay leafs

1 large cinnamon stick

1 cup (250 ml) dry lentils, washed and soaked over night

4 cups (1 L) low salt vegetable stock

2 large bunch kale, washed and chopped into ribbons

1 can of salt reduced canned tomatoes chopped with its liquid

2 tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste (low salt)

2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tbsp (15 ml) dried rosemary)

½ tsp (2.5 ml) chilli flakes (desired amount, optional)*

½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground black pepper

2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tbsp (15 ml) dried thyme)

1 tbsp (15 ml) balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh Italian parsley

Salt to taste (may not need it since we have tomato paste and vegetable stock)

Low fat parmesan – for sprinkling on top

Method

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot and add pancetta (bacon or ham) and sweat them; add onions and sauté then add carrots, celery and fennel,  garlic and sauté then add bay leafs and cinnamon

2. Add washed lentils, kale and add stock and bring to a boil

3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, chilli flakes, ground pepper and cook in low heat for 45 minutes or until the lentils are cooked (don’t overcook the lentils)

4. Add vinegar, parsley and cook for another 10 min and adjust taste.

5. Serve soup in bowls and sprinkle with parmesan

Nutritional Value for 1 cup (250 ml): Calories 147g; Carbohydrates 21g; Fibre 6g; Sugar 4g; Protein 9g; Fat 4g; Cholesterol 4g; Sodium 320mg; Vitamin A 80%, Vitamin C 130%; Calcium 15%; Iron 15%

 

South Indian Spicy Legume Snack

“Everday can be Navarathri”

When I was a young girl growing up in South India, Sundal (various kinds of boiled legumes with spice) would be given as a healthy snack after school. During the month of October a big festival called Navarathri would be celebrated for 9 days. All 9 days, 9 different kinds of legumes will be made into Sundal with various spices and finishes. Kids sing songs and visit neighbours and collect Sundal for snack.

Typical South Indian Temple

Navarathri in Tamil Nadu

Diabetes meal at Dr. Mohan's clinic

Diabetes meal at Dr. Mohan’s clinic in Chennai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “My childhood favourite healthy snack”

I’ve made this Sundal recipe with canned chickpea since it’s quick and easy to prepare. You can also make it with any kind of legumes by soaking the dry beans and boiling it. It’s healthy and suitable for people with diabetes, celiac and CVD (cardiovascular disease). It’s a nutritious snack packed with vegetable protein, high fibre and low GI carbohydrates, keeps in the refrigerator up to 5 days. If you don’t have all the ingredients you can still make it with minimum key ingredients. Perfect for take away snack and picnics!

Sundal - Spicy chickpea snack

Sundal – Spicy chickpea snack

Sundal – South Indian Spicy Legume Snack

Prep time: 3 min        Cook time:  5 min            Serves:  4

Chefs Notes: I am using canned chickpeas since I want to exhibit how quick and easy it is to prepare. If you are going to use canned beans, wash it under cold water 2 to 3 times to remove as much as salt as possible.

Ingredients

1 tsp (15 ml) canola oil

½ tsp (2.5 ml) mustard seeds (optional)*

½ tsp (2.5 ml) split mung bean (aka green gram, urad dhal) (optional)*

1 dried red chili (broken into few pieces)

1/8 tsp (.63 ml) asafetida (optional)*

1 can of chickpea – 540 ml (washed couple of times and drained)

¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt

2 tbsp. (30 ml)  lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. (15 ml) chopped fresh coriander or curry leaves*

1 tbsp. (15 ml) grated coconut (optional)

*You can get these ingredients in South Asian grocery stores

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan; temper the mustard seeds and wait for it to pop (put a cover so the seeds don’t escape) then add urad dhal and sauté few seconds

2. Add red chili and sauté well and add asafetida and mix well

3. Add the chickpea and sauté well

5. Add salt and lemon juice and mix well until all the ingredients are mixed

6. Adjust taste and add grated coconuts & fresh coriander (or curry leaves) and toss well

7. Serve warm or cold

Nutritional Information per serving: 1 serving = ½ cup (125ml): Calories 170; Carbohydrate 29g; Fibre 8g; Protein 10g; Fat 2.7g; Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 455 mg

Pump me up!

IMG_2031April 15, today I went from MDI (Multiple Daily insulin injection) to an insulin pump. I was really scared of insulin pump for many reasons… but before we get started I would like to share my story with you.

I was diagnosed with type1 diabetes November 14, 2005. November 14th is world diabetes day and it was quite dramatic to find out about this chronic disease in my adult life on this particular day. Is it really possible to get type1 diabetes (T1D) at adult life? Yes it is possible. So the last 4.5 years I have been taking multiple insulin injections 5 times a day (3 rapid insulin (bolus) injections before meals and 2 slow acting insulin (basel), one at bed time and one at breakfast). I will tell you about my symptoms and being diagnosed on one of my future blogs.

Anyways I have been taking good care of myself but my H1a1c results weren’t always good and I got lazy with my carbohydrate (carb) counting and insulin ratio was never accurate. I am a chef and I know about food and this should be easy right?

No! Why? Too many variables, if you are a person with T1D you know about them. Everyday stress of life, activities, hormones  and many other factors have always brought my blood glucose (BG) up and down and my Endo (Endocrinologist) was stressing me out because my numbers were not good enough.

Insulin Pumps have come long way baby!

Two years ago I tested myself using a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) for 3 days to figure out what was going on my BG. It was an archaic machine with a big fat needle that hurt like crazy and of course wearing the CGM my BG was perfect for 3 days. So they really couldn’t figure what was going on but my BG continue to go up and down.

Government of Ontario two years ago approved Adults with type-1 diabetes for EDP program and can have a pump at no cost. Well I didn’t jump at that chance, since I know how much work it is to get the pump working the way you want it to work for you. I belong to a insulin support group and everyone but me was on the pump and hearing their stories wasn’t easy. For some people it clicked right away and for some people it didn’t. It has nothing to do with whether you are doing right or not, but everybody is unique and getting the pump to understand your body is much harder than you think. I will explain all of that in my future blogs.

Ready to cook and learn?

Anyways renovation in my cooking studio is over and I have no more excuses so I signed up for a pump. I am cooking up diabetes recipes and will be logging them here too. Here is my journey. If you are a person with type-1 or type-2 diabetes and want to exchange ideas, information and learn to cook some lovely food that is suitable for people diabetes come join me here. I look forward to hearing your stories and ideas because with diabetes, there is so much to learn and everyday is a new day.

Pretzel Story!

Pretzel1To Pretzel or not to Pretzel

I went to a type1 Diabetes (T1D) symposium two nights ago and there was a topic on type 1 diabetes: the creative, adventurous and active life. Diabetes and food go hand and hand and I should know this since being diagnosed with type-1 diabetes over two years ago. I pay attention to what I eat. Taking it further, I teach healthy diabetic cooking class at the hospital, at my cooking school and provide education and awareness about diabetes and advocacy for the South Asian Diabetes Chapter of the Canadian Diabetes Association. I put my brain and my thinking where my mouth is so to speak and conscious of what I eat all the time, it’s a 24/7 numbers game since it affects my blood sugar and my well being.

Most people with diabetes (type1 or type2) have to think about their carbohydrate intake to balance their blood sugar level. People with T1D diabetes have to count the carbohydrates to consume in order to take insulin. I won’t go into too much detail and save it for another post, but you really have to get good at counting the total carbohydrates of what you eat, most of the times eyeballing an estimate (you do get good at it) so you can take the proper insulin dosage.

It’s an art, it’s science and its critical and its survival. I have been counting carbs since I started my insulin regiment over two years ago. The hardest part is not knowing new food items, choices are millions. Especially when the item is freshly cooked or it doesn’t have the nutritional value label on it.

For example, take the simple warm soft pretzel with sprinkles of sea salt on them – they sell them at many events these days, New York streets (it brings back memories) –  how harmful can it be?

Well at the talk, one of the doctors talked about carb intake and asked us to guess carb amount for  few items. Every T1D person knows a slice of bread (white or brown) is approximately 15g of carb, its the fibre that makes the glycemic load (absorption different), that’s another post in the future. Next item was a soft pretzel and asked people to guess. People guessed 30g, 40g even 60g. The innocent looking soft pretzel that I loved eating with mustard in balls parks, New York streets and on my last visit to Germany for a snack… I couldn’t even guess. They are harmless looking – soft, light and I thought it could be as much as a half bagel which is about whopping 35g of carb (this is why I can’t eat a bagel). I can have two slices of bread and be still under half a bagel’s carb rate due to fibre.

Well the good doctor said the soft pretzel was 200g of carbohydrate. The audience jaws just dropped. I could easily eat two of them for a snack and it’s one of the national snacks in Germany. Everybody eats them and they are great.

I went home heavy hearted and sad. I go to Germany at least once a year and for me not to be tempted for a snack, how can this be? Sure I can take insulin for 200g of carbs, but it’s like blowing all your carb in one item for the whole day (more or less). I didn’t sleep well – I kept tossing and turning and pondering about “to pretzel or not to pretzel”, the question kept plaguing me all night.

Well the next morning I was tired but I did some research and was happy to find that the good doctor didn’t do his research well or he just wanted us to be aware of the high carb snack with slight exaggeration. I still can’t eat it everyday but it can be done.

One soft pretzel is approximately about (143g in weigh approx.) and 99g of carbohydrate, 483 calories and 2008mg of sodium (one full day’s worth of salt supply almost) *facts provided by Nutrition data

I haveT1D and have strong insulin resistance. Most people take 1 unit of Insulin for 15g of carb, but I will still need 11 units of rapid insulin to battle this soft tasty pretzel, so I guess Pizza, Bagel and now soft Pretzel are off my list and only allowed for special occasions when I feel like taking 12 units of insulin before consuming it.

Some interesting facts to think about before eating this tasty soft pretzel for people with diabetes or not:

Exercise required (Based on a 35 year old female that’s 5.74′ ft. tall and weighs 144 lbs.) * facts provided by Calorieking.com

To burn the calories of this soft tasty pretzel you could do any of the following:

94 minutes of walking OR 39 minutes of jogging OR 28 minutes of swimming OR 52 minutes of cycling

At the end of the day, I am relieved that the soft pretzel is not 200g of carb but 99g of carb – but I am still not convinced to take 12 units of rapid insulin but will reach for a cookie instead (mare 15g of carb) and save the soft pretzel for my next trip to Germany or New York instead.