I am able to easily grab spices now as I begin to cook. I currently like to add a little vinegar with some Agave Nectar and some sweetener. But also, I added some Amchur (mango powder), some Tamarind powder, garlic powder, freshly ground Long Pepper & S, and a little ground mustard.

I had bought two good sized pork chops at Publix. The two chops weighed a little over a pound so I cut one in two so that I would have a single portion of about 4 ounces. I baked a small Russet potato (for 4 minutes) in the microwave and I also cut up some lettuce, tomato, onion and sweet bell pepper and added a little Ranch dressing to it.

I like the mango powder because it is a little tart and then the vinegar & sweetener add to that sweet/tart flavor.

I enjoyed my meals yesterday and two of the things I measure, my weight and my resting blood sugar level were very positive this morning. My resting bgl was 123 (excellent for me), and my weight was 253 lbs. My weight has fluctuated over the last week and yesterday I was 255.2.

I used my last Rybelsus pill this morning so tomorrow I guess I can start my Ozempic shot. This is a once a week shot like Trulicity was for me. I don’t think that the Rybelsus was working as well as Trulicity had been, both for keeping my bgl down and reducing my weight. And at my last doctor’s appointment with Dr. Norem she admitted that Rybelsus was not as effective as Trulicity.

I see online that alternatives to Trulicity are Jardiance, Metformin and Glipizide. I am currently taking all three of those and have been for several years.

Not sure which level of Ozempic I am starting out with. Probably their lowest dosage, so I may have to ask Dr. Norem to increase the dosage level.

I had proved that I could control my A1C effectively at my appointment before the last one I had, but at the last appointment my A1C was almost back to the previous high level, somewhere over 7. But before I had gotten it down to 6.7. There is no way that I want to start taking insulin shots on a regular basis, although I would imagine that they have migrated to the way you take Trulicity or Ozempic. The shots are kept in the fridge, and you turn the knob at the top and place the shot on your stomach and then press the button. You hear the spring release the needle and there is a slight discomfort and then in about 5 seconds you hear the spring pull the syringe back into the holder. Then, you just throw away the used needle.

I have to pay attention to what I eat and how I fix it. I can’t add “Cream of…” Celery or Mushroom soup to create a gravy because this throws off my bgl. I can’t eat a bunch of bread, although I can eat perhaps one slice of bread at a meal, and some rice crackers at another, and polenta at another. That satisfies my hunger for bread. I can have a small baked potato, just not every day. I can have an ear of corn once a week (in season) or maybe some garden peas but not a whole can in a day. I like garden peas in my tuna salad, and I did “cheat” the other day and made some garden peas with country ham and added a few slices of Anne’s pastry. The pastry is not something I can have every day, or in great quantity, but this turned out very well.

I liked steamed asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. I also like squash, brussels sprouts and zucchini. I almost always add onion to my cooking. I like tasty tomatoes and okra (in soups or fried). And I like carrots in my stir fry, or glazed with some Cary’s Sugar Free Syrup. I like various beans but they affect my bgl also. However, I can fix lentil soup (andouille), or I have a shrimp/kielbasa/zucchini dish that is consistently good. I like salad and went through a Greek Salad period at home a few months ago. I bought Romaine lettuce, feta cheese and kalamata olives and with a little onion & tomatoes, and enjoyed homemade Italian dressing (red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and sweetener).

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere the bag of Russet potatoes I bought were all about the same size. Small, and small is what I currently like. I don’t need a lot of potato and if the potato I am cooking is too big I just cut it in half. These Russets also had an extremely dark brown skin, but it wasn’t tough and I ate the whole potato with some margarine and sour cream. The four minutes cooking time might have been almost too long, because the skin of the potato had begun to wrinkle, but the potato wasn’t dry or tough.

[NOTE 09/27/24]: Hurricane Helene came through quickly mostly west of here, but I see there was quite a bit of damage in Rocky Mount. I think they may have said that there were 15 people injured by the high winds that came through.

I had a pork chop (with the Tamarind and Amchur (Mango) powder, Agave Nectar, Equal, lime juice, vinegar and S&P. It was good again. I like those flavors together. I also steamed some cauliflower (added a little Toasted Sesame Oil after it was cooked) and a few asparagus stalks and a little polenta. [end NOTE]