diabetic cooking

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I posted earlier that it has been a difficult week, actually year, but this week in particular had a lot happening. My husband spent a week in the hospital, with a couple of those days being in the ICU. My husband is diabetic, and his diabetes got out of control. He has some other stuff too, but his diabetes was the worst of everything going on. He is terrible at taking care of himself, and I've been trying for a while to get him to get him in to take care of things. He is someone who has to always be moving and doing stuff, and he doesn't take care of himself like he should because he is always working and doing something, and doesn't take the time. He learned the hard way that he needs to take the time. He was always so stubborn about eating healthy and doing what he needed to do. He's a grown man, and he's stuck in his ways, so I think he needed this to remind him of why he needs to follow directions and do what he needs to. He's terrified, and I would think it would be insane if he wasn't. Right now, I'm focused on healthy eating. He is so used to getting up and snacking when he wants and eating what he wants, and now he knows he can't do that. My mom is diabetic, so this isn't new for me. The struggle with healthy eating is the price tag that comes along with it. Some things are cheaper than others, but without being able to have as many carbs, it limits a lot of cheaper and easier dinners. No more pasta and rice all the time. He can still do some whole wheat stuff in moderation, but no more flour-heavy anything. I've been looking at ways to make dinners he'll like that are healthier and more balanced. Tonight I made something that actually went really well. I didn't really know what I was doing at first; I just knew what I could and couldn't use. The issue with being diabetic is that a lot of substitutions have a lot of sodium, and he has to watch out for that as well. We make some exceptions here and there for sodium. Sometimes I'll allow a dinner that has higher sodium content, but it isn't all the time and is more of a once-in-a-while thing. Last night, we had brats, which are high in sodium but low in carbs, because we needed something quick and easy for dinner, since we had a late dinner. He had kraut and mustard on his brat and used his zero-carb bread. We have been buying carb smart bread for him and regular bread for my son and me. Carb Smart bread is more expensive, and you get less, so we save that for my husband. I also buy him zero-carb tortilla shells. Saturday night, I made pork fajitas. I've been a bit paranoid about fresh produce since that bug has been going around. I know you can wash your vegetables, but even then, it sounds like it may not always work. I did read it's safest to cook your vegetables, so that has been what I've been doing. I have been heavy on making frozen green beans as a side and seasoning them with lemon juice, garlic powder, and onion powder. Normally, I'm big on making salads, but until they figure out what is causing this bug, I'm not chancing it. Tonight, I had some chicken breast tenderloins I had to use. I decided I wanted a chicken sandwich. I can't fry anything, so I decided to skillet cook the tenderloins. I really had no clue what I was doing when I was going in. I seasoned the chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, a tiny bit of lemon pepper, and some lemon juice. I then took out the chicken and cut it into chunks (I debated if I was keeping it whole or cutting it; I decided to cut it), and then I threw some jarred garlic, jarred sundried tomatoes, and lemon juice in the pan to cook. I added the chicken back in with the sauce and cooked it together. I then put it on buns for my son and me. I put just a little bit of mayo on our buns, and it ended up being very flavorful. My husband has his carb smart bread for his sandwiches, and he can still use some mayo. Lemon juice and lime juice seem to be my favorite way to add flavor lately. Diabetics can use most seasonings, but still need to be careful with salt/sodium intake, which a lot of seasonings still have in them. I told my husband I was going to do everything I could to make it so he eats healthier, and that means my son and I will be eating healthier too, which isn't a bad thing. This makes it more expensive, but it's one of those things where we are doing the best we can with what we have. Meats and fresh produce are the best options for diabetics. I haven't been doing fresh produce, though, because of that bug that's going around, so I've been doing frozen instead, which has a lot less sodium and preservatives than canned foods. If you have any good diabetic friendly/low sodium recipes that are quick and easy, send them my way. I won't be able to do anything too insane with how hot my house gets when cooking and with my schedule, but I'm always looking for something good. A lot of the time, I take recipes and change them to suit my family.