After being told off for eating too much Steak I decided to follow my brothers advice and use my culinary skills to cook food more suited to a Diabetic. My dietician in Bahrain identified I was borderline diabetic around 2010 and told me to get checked regularly. I was then diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic by Brett Garrett in 2018 and prescribed medication which I took daily. In my first few months in the Philippines I lost weight, but then sadly I put it back on.
I moved to Palawan at the start of April 2022 and was 115kg. Then as I had no cooker and could not transfer any money from UK to buy food my weight fell to about 108 kg until September then crept back up to nearly 115 kg.
The problem is I hate exercise and I love good food. I Googled information for Diabetics in the Philippines and came up with this:
"What are the Filipino foods for diabetic person?
Pick regular or brown rice; oatmeal; pan de sal; whole-grain bread; noodles such as bihon, misuwa or rice; and starchy vegetables like taro, cassava, gabi or potatoes. Avoid instant noodles, sweetened dishes like sweet rice, fried breads, baked goods like ensaymada and sugary desserts."
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/487326-the-pinoy-diet-for-diabetics/ ( accessed 11.2.23)
My research also revealed that:
"People with diabetes are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders. Controlling blood sugar and lowering blood cholesterol levels can reduce the risk. A healthy lifestyle, including physical activity and healthy diet choices, can help improve both blood sugar and cholesterol levels. A low-cholesterol diabetic diet controls carbohydrate and limits saturated fat intake."
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/269779-menu-ideas-for-low-cholesterol-diabetic-diets/ ( accessed 11.2.23)
The website gives suggested breakfasts, lunches and dinners which I printed and will try.
I started off on Saturday with the Carrot soup in the Lakeland Recipe book. It was easy to make and very pleasant to eat.
You will see that the last times I used this recipe book was 2016 and 2019! The problem is I have so many recipe books each one only gets used every few years.
My spiced carrot soup with spiced almonds ( I have about 5 portions in the fridge)
I was still hungry after the soup so decided to make Sourdough toast with avocado and sumac tomatoes. I had seen Sour dough advertised on Puerto Deli Facebook page so went there and Jhoanna got me some small tomatoes and an avocado. I must have been having a bad day as the sourdough was stale ( PD offered to exchange it for a fresh loaf- thank you) and the avocado was hard. I searched Deli Mart and More and Puerto Deli but could not find any sumac so used Rosemary instead.
This recipe I had not made before- and it tasted ok
My Sourdough toast with avocado and tomatoes.
Another bad habit I have developed here in Palawan is excessive consumption of Coca Cola, Royal and Sprite. We probably drink 6 litres a week ( we includes my houseboys when they are here). It is hot and humid and the fizzy drinks are refreshing but I read that:
"Sugary beverages and sodas contribute to diabetes risk, as well as issues controlling blood sugar in people who already have diabetes. The body digests the sugars from soda quickly. This contributes to insulin resistance and causes rapid spikes in blood sugar."
Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/259604#:~:text=Sugary%20beverages%20and%20sodas%20contribute,rapid%20spikes%20in%20blood%20sugar. (accessed 11.2.23)
So , now they have it back in stock, I got 12 x 1 litre bottles of Summit Sparkling water from Puerto Deli instead of my usual 6 x 1.5 bottles of Fizzy drinks from the Sari Sari store. My apologies to the Sari Sari store and my houseboys for the lack of Fizzy drinks for the next month!
I had boiled eggs with Pandesal on Sunday for breakfast. You will see above that Pandesal is good for you and I also read that Malunggay (moringa) pandesal is particularly heathy:
"Soft and airy pandesal infused with all the goodness of malunggay (moringa) leaves for a healthier and yummier breakfast! A great way to start your day with nutrient-packed bread to go with a hot cup of tea or coffee."
Source: https://www.foxyfolksy.com/malunggay-pandesal/ ( accessed 12.2.23)
"What's that Mr G?"
"Stop quoting from the web and tell us a Malunggay Pandesal story"
"Ok- I have 3- which do you want?"
Every morning around 6 am the kids walk up the road ( uphill) past my house clutching some coins or a 20 peso note ( 30 p in British currency) and then maybe 10 minutes later you see them running home ( downhill) clutching a little brown paper bag. I always wondered what was in it until one day a little boy stopped outside my house. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, took a hot bread roll out, ate it and then closed the bag and ran home munching the bread with a smile on his face.
I always wondered if his mum counted the pandesal when he got home!
Another day I was chatting to my Pinay friend Rachelle in Bahrain online and she asked if I had tried Malunggay pandesal. I said I had not and asked my landlady and a Chef friend of they knew where I could get it. No one knew. Then one day I went to buy Pandesal for some guests and read the sign above the little store:
Malunggay pandesal
So now twice a week I have Malunggay pandesal with my boiled eggs ( Itlog).
"So what IS Malunggay Mr P?"
" Well Mr G, according to my friend Panlasang Pinoy:
" Moringa, also known as malunggay in the Philippines, is intriguingly one of the healthiest parts of your favorite Filipino soup dishes (Tinola) . Dubbed the “miracle vegetable”, the Moringa has antiviral, antidepressant, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s been hailed by the World Health Organization for being an affordable health enhancer."
Source: https://panlasangpinoy.com/moringa-malunggay/ ( accessed 12.02.23)
" Sounds just what you need, Mr P?"
" How so Mr G?"
" Well its antiviral, antidepressant, antifungal and anti-inflammatory and gay!"
Watch it , Greggers!
If you have not seen it before this is what Malunggay looks like
Changing the subject quickly...... after I had breakfast I decided exercise was needed and called my friend Alvin to see if he wanted to go to Tagkawayan beach with Chester and I and asked if he had tried Salmon before. He said yes to the first question and no to the second so I made a Salmon Salad picnic using another recipe from the "Eating Well" recipe book.
I last cooked this in 2016 in Bahrain. Here in Palawan it's a lot more expensive as the 600 g of Salmon ( serves 4) costs 1,500 peso ( about £22) . Some of the other ingredients are not available here like Bulgar wheat and Sumac, but I did my best with what I had and Alvin tried a mouthful, but did not like it!)
We took the one on the left, together with some sparkling water, apples, banana and yogurt popsicles for Chester and had a great day out ( see our vlog, Chester goes to Tagkawayan beach:
TBK and Chester getting some much needed exercise at Tagkawayan
The great news is we exceeded our 5,000 steps target ( I know, less than half of the 11,000 steps a day Mark is doing in March- Mark Marches March)
I was particularly pleased as this is the first time I have exceeded 5000 steps since I was on Vacation at Nacpan on 19th January. So if anyone else wants to come to the beach or come walking with me just email me at thebritishkabayan@gmail.com
On Sunday evening I cooked Coconut, Chicken and Vegetable curry from the "Eating Well" Recipe book. It tasted delicious and was very healthy with Cauliflower, Sweet Potato ( Camote in Tagalog) , Spinach, yogurt, coconut milk. I had one portion for dinner and put 5 portions in the fridge. I asked Jhoanna to get 1 kg of chicken thigh ( as it says in the recipe) but this yielded only 350 g chicken meat after a lot of chopping ( I used the rest to make the chicken stock for the curry and the cats will eat the cooked chicken bones and skin) . It took over an hour to make and it was gone 10 pm by the time I went to bed, although Chester fell asleep long before that!
My coconut , chicken and vegetable curry
The next morning, Monday, was weigh in day- and the good news was I have already lost one kilogram:
However - still a long way to go until I reach my target of 92 kg. That is classified as Moderately obese , instead of the current Severely Obese with a BMI of 38.5
I also checked my blood sugar which, while below the target of 100 is still higher than it has been at 82, and I have had lower this year 72. My doctor wants me to get it down to about 50 through diet, exercise and medication. No more fizzy drinks.
The new week started with more Pandesal and Itlog ( egg) which Chester and I walked to get and then after doing yesterdays washing up we made Seared Tuna and Quinoa Nicoise salad for lunch. Again a little fiddly as you cook the quinoa in one pan, boil the eggs in another, fry the Tuna in another, Boil the green beans in another ( I could not find the beans Jhe bought for me so missed these out and the chives which you cannot get here). Then you have to let them all cool and then combine the vinaigrette with the Quinoa and Halved tomatoes , and on top of this put the sliced tuna ( which had lots of bones and was very thin , not as nice as at Punta Playa in Lio!. Finally you add the hard boiled eggs covered in oil and then covered in chopped parsley ( nice colour touch but the oil is not very healthy!). My former colleague Richard Atkinson always complains that Salad Nicoise should have anchovies so I added the anchovies.
My Seared Tuna and Quinoa Nicoise salad, sarap!
Monday is he day my houseboys Noel and Frythy come after school so they can do the washing up and clean the fridge! I sent them the menu and they opted for the Tuna salad - their first experience of Quinoa. I had some of the Thai beef curry which was very spicy but tasty. You can see me make this on our YouTube channel:
Before the beef curry I had some prawns after our walk at Baywalk.
The next day, Tuesday, was Valentines day so I decided to spoil myself with bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast for breakfast while uploading my blogs and vlogs.
My brother, Andrew, gets very annoyed when I write all over my recipe books
The fifth recipe I choose from the “Eating Well” recipe book was Prawn Pea Frittata with lemon and capers. I had this for lunch on Valentine’s Day (just Chester (the dawg) and I! First Chester went for a walk to Badjao Seafront at 8 am (a local seafood restaurant by the sea) and clocked up 4,218 steps.
It’s a very peaceful and pretty walk with plenty of birds singing in the trees and pretty flowers.
Chester on the way to Badjao Seafront
When we got back Chester had a sleep and I cooked lunch. First you steam the prawns (Hipon), then mix the eggs and breadcrumbs, fry the courgettes ( Zucchini), spring onion, garlic and peas.
My Prawn Pea Frittata with lemon and capers
Finally, you pour over the egg mix and top with Prawns and Ricotta cheese and cook in the oven. It was very tasty, and healthy, but I burnt the bottom! My kitchen was gleaming when I started ( as Frythy and Noel washed up and cleaned the house last night) but now looks like a disaster area again. Luckily, they will be back tomorrow.
After updating this blog off line and starting another I went to the ATM as my electricity bill ( usually 5000 peso or £76) should have been here ( bit once again it disappeared!). On Wednesday I had to pay Frythy and Noel and get some more food. Due to the weather here ( hot and humid) most of the fresh food Jhoanna buys from the market on Friday is off by Tuesday! So now she shops on a Friday for me and I shop on a Tuesday. On Tuesday we had a night off cooking and had Chicken Kiev at Rustic Café with my valentines date – Chester.
The Valentines dinner was amazing. Chilled service water, Chicken Kiev with fresh asparagus and creamy mashed potato ( I can just see people going fried chicken and potato is not healthy) and then the restaurant gave me their home made apple pie with ice cream ( so tasty and they did not charge me!) . Chester and I walked on the beach and achieved a total of 5,927 steps for the day! Thats our greatest number of steps for nearly a month.
My Chickpea Shakshuka- easy to make in my wok
On Wednesday 15 February Chester ( the Hooman) emailed to say he had uploaded the February recipes and I had Muesli and coffee for breakfast, Beef Goulash for lunch and made Chicken Shakshuka from the "Eating Well" recipe book in case Frythy and Noel wanted it for dinner! However they choose the Fritata and I finished the Salmon and took Chester for a walk at Baywalk while the boys cleaned.
I last made Shakshuka in Bahrain in 2017- over 5 years ago. Its a simple one pot dish with chick peas, eggs, onion, chilli tomatoes and Harissa paste ( I actually found that more easily here than in Bahrain which surprised me!)
I learnt lots of things making this again - hence all the notes!
The visibility was so good we could see the mountains at the end of the road behind us
On Thursday 16 February Chester woke up at 5 am and after a Granola and Banana breakfast we went for a walk to Banco Banco and did some shopping. It was a beautiful summery day, the country lane was quiet and pretty, and when we got to the sea Chester had a little paddle and a bottle of cold water before we walked back. I am pleased to announce we broke a new walking record with 10,282 steps! The last time we walked that far was in Nacpan in January.
When we got home , after some water and Cassava pie I cooked another of the "Eating well " dishes. This time I opted for Cauliflower "Couscous" with roasted Carrot Hummus. Back in Bahrain I would make or buy and eat Hummus most days . The local supermarket , Allosra, had a variety of different flavours like Beetroot, Tomato and Coriander and Lemon but I only had Carrot Hummus once before in 2016 ( yes I am my Father's son- keeping a note of everything. It tasted delicious- a real mix of flavours from the Pomegranate, Orange segments, Lemon peel, Carrots, Tahini and Cauliflower.
On Thursday afternoon Jhoanna, Jullymar and Elay delivered my weeks shopping ready for next weeks healthy eating. Even without Steak and Salmon ( next week its all vegetarian apart from some Belly Ribs, some chicken and 100g of prawns) my weekly shopping bill came to 15,000 pesos ( about £230). I really do not see where the many articles I read before I moved here saying you could live cheaply in the Philippines got their figures from. On Thursday night I had some more of the Coconut, Chicken and Vegetable curry . The good thing about the "Eating Well" recipe book is that most of the recipes serve 4- 6 people so each dish can be refrigerated and microwaved as required. My fridge is now so full I will be eating healthily for several weeks!
My Kickstart Kebabs with Pomelo, Orange, Pear and Banana with Yogurt
Friday breakfast was Kickstart Kebabs ( which will be in next weeks Blog- they are skewers of fruit grilled with honey and served with yogurt). For lunch I had the last of the Thai Beef Curry and for dinner I made Pork Belly Ribs with Oregano and Paprika- delicious! Sadly Chester and I did not go out for a walk as I was busy working on several new blogs that will appear over the coming weeks.
On Saturday I had another portion of the Kickstart Kebabs and then I went and got Joven as Saturday is the day he does my ironing and cleans the car . Then , after I made him coffee I went to buy some of the items that Jhoanna could not find at Puerto Deli- another 15,000 Peso. This included another 12 bottles of Summit Sparkling water. For lunch I had the last of the Cauliflower "Couscous" with carrot Hummus and Joven ate the ribs with rice ( and Chester ate the bones!) . In the evening Joven helped me get more shopping from SM supermarket ( worse than Robinsons!) and then I took Chester for a walk at Baywalk and had my favourite Nachos and Lemon drink.
My Tupa wraps with Lamb, mint jelly, lettuce, chick peas, tomatoes, Greek yogurt and harissa paste- super sarap
On Saturday afternoon I got ready for Frythy and Noel's day out on Sunday- when we went to Surya beach. We agreed we would leave at 8 am, have breakfast there at 10 am and I would make a picnic lunch with their favourite Lamb ( Tupa in Tagalog) . I found a lovely looking recipe in my "Eating Well " recipe book.........Tupa Wraps ( see above) .
You can read all about our day at the beach by clicking the links below
Surya Blog :
https://thebritishkabayan.blogspot.com/2023/02/tbk-gives-frythy-and-noel-day-out-at.html
Surya Vlog:
Sunday was the day I check my blood sugar and it was 85 mmol/L ( that's 8.5 on your scale Mr Atkinson)- Thats the highest since Mid January after a week without fizzy drinks. I had some fruit salad just before I went to sleep so maybe that affected it.
I lost one more KG this week from 119 to 118 kg- or graphically:
We will be back next week when we will be working our way through Joe Wickes ( the Body coach) Reduced carb meals recipes as Chef Poochie said I should try a Low carb diet. Let s hope we can get the weight down to 117 kg and the blood sugar to 80 by the end of the month.
I hope this blog was of use to those of you suffering with Diabetes and if you have any questions, comments or feedback , as usual, we would love to hear from you.
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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