As I started to browse through the book I soon realized that you could probably get the gist of the book by only reading the headings. That would reduce the number of pages of the book from about 190+ to perhaps 27 – 29 pp and you would still know all that you needed to know. And on a really positive side, I only paid 25¢ at the Friends of the Cumberland County Library today. *Maybe it was one of the books that cost $1.

Chapter 1: The Basics

• 10 The Many Faces of Diabetes
  • LIFESTYLE CHANGES REALLY WORK
    • WEIGHT LOSS + EXERCISE = 58% FEWER CASES OF DIABETES
    • SOME COUNTRIES HAVE IT WORSE
      • China #1 Today 114 Million Cases
      • India #1 2045 134 Million Cases
  • 9 OUT OF 10 Cases of Diabetes Could Be Prevented By
    • Keeping weight under control
    • Exercising more
    • Eating a healthy diet
    • Not smoking
  • SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE AT RISK
    • Native American/Alaskan Native
    • Black, non-Hispanic
    • Hispanic
    • White, non-Hispanic
  • WALKING CAN DO WONDERS
    • A brisk 30 minutes walk each day can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 30%
• 12 Diabetes 101
• 20 How to Talk to Your Doctor
• 24 Don’t Do It Alone
• 28 The Secret to Dropping Pounds
  • STEP 1 Think About What’s in Your Way
    • What time of day do I usually go off my plan?
    • What is the biggest time-drain in eating heathfully?
    • How would you family and friends describe you?
    • Do emotions drive you to eat?
  • STEP 2 Pick One Thing to Work On
  • STEP 3 Outline Three Things You Can Do
  • STEP 4 Figure Out When You’ll Do Each
    • The simple act of planning can be a game changer for your success.

Chapter 2: Eating Strategies

• 36 “I Reversed My Diabetes With Diet”
• 40 Change Your Meal Mindset
• 44 Your Sweet Stuff Playbook
• 52 Your Body on Sugar
• 54 Tasty Food: No Sweets Needed
• 56 The Final Drinking Issue
  • How much sugar are you sipping?
• 58 A Better Breakfast
• 64 Make Over Your Snacks
• 68 Fall in Love With Vegetables
• 74 Make Your Meals Mindful
• 80 Pills to Pop
• 86 Your Easy Guide to Food Tracking

Chapter 3: How to Play

• 94 Why (You Think) You Don’t Like to Be Active
• 100 Getting a Workout Habit to Stick
• 106 Your Body on Exercise
• 108 Your No-Weights Strength Routine
• 114 Make Any Walk More Interesting
• 120 The Importance of Physical Activity

Chapter 4: Learn to Thrive

• 128 5 Things Diabetes Pros Wish You Knew
• 132 Improve Your Sleep
• 138 Your No-Burnout, Manage-it-All Plan
• 146 The Upside of a Diabetes Diagnosis

Chapter 5: Diabetes-Friendly re

• 152 Breakfast
  • Green Avocado Smoothie
  • Almond Pancakes with Raspberries and Cream
  • Egg Avocado Nest
  • Broccoli and Cheddar Mini Frittatas
  • Chocolate Coconut Smoothie Bowl
  • Shredded Eggs with Smoked Salmon
  • Blueberry Basil Smoothie
  • Egg Avocado Nest
• 160 Lunch
  • Chicken Caesar Salad with Arugula
  • Tuna Nicoise Salad
  • Shrimp Salad Stuffed Avocados
  • Beef and Cabbage Cups
  • Turkey Tostito Bowl
  • Spicy Chicken with Seared Avocados
  • Pao Thai Noodles
  • Grilled Salmon and Romaine Caesar Salad
• 170 Dinner
  • Mediterranean Lamb Chops
  • Garlic and Caper Pan-Seared Tilapia
  • Oven BBQ Shrimp
  • Southwestern Skillet Chicken with Seared Avocados
  • Cauliflower Mash with Toppings
  • Chicken Curry with Green Cauliflower Rice
  • Italian Wedding Soup
  • Beef Pho
• 180 Dessert
  • Vanilla Pudding with Cream and Mixed Berries
  • Chocolate Mousse
  • Easy Chocolate Truffles
  • Individual Strawberry Shortcake Triffles
  • Mini Brownie Bites
  • Coconut Custard with Toasted Coconut

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I have used an AI to modify the below graph. The book generated it’s graph for a 1.5 Cup serving size.

1 teaspoon of granulated sugar is approximately 4 grams

The above chart caused me to rethink “Bill’s Drink Mix” which is something I have drank each day for perhaps a year. I have a 35 oz. glass carafe and I combine the following four drinks or drink flavors into one beverage: Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, GV Flavor Packet: Pomegranate Lemon Aid, GV Flavor Packet Iced Tea.

When making this mixture I normally fill a tall glass carafe (maybe 32 oz.) about 2/3rds full of water and then add the contents of the two Walmart GV Flavor Packets. I then “eyeball” the orange and cranberry juice (sometimes adding more of one of them). In my review, I see that each flavor packet is supposed to be added to 16 oz. of water, so I’m probably adding both packets to less water than I should, and then adding the other juices. But if I added 4 oz. each of the cranberry & orange juices (which is not possible in this size carafe) I would still be adding a bunch of sugar.

AI – Gemini:

“Combining a cup of cranberry juice and a cup of orange juice would result in a total of:

52.7 grams of sugar, which is equal to about 13.2 teaspoons of sugar”

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When I finally realized that I was using far less water for the two GV flavor packets, I started to look for an alternative container to mix everything up. I honestly can’t recall what the 52 oz. plastic jug had in it, and I just peeled off the front and back labels today at lunch time. My thought was that I needed 16 oz. of water for each flavor packet. That would be 32 oz. of water. That would leave me with 20 oz., maybe a little less, for the two fruit juices, cranberry and orange. If a cup is 8 oz. then I could add one cup each of orange and cranberry (low sugar) juice and still have about 4 oz. of space left.

I peeled the label off, and used a permanent marker to mark the 1 Cup and 2 Cup lines. I pour one juice up to the 1 Cup marker, and then the other juice up to the 2 Cup marker, and then fill the rest with water, and add my two flavor packets, shake and it’s ready.

• Pyridoxal 5-Phosphate
• Chromium Picolinate
• Zinc picolinate

I am taking a daily supplement, Centrum Silver MEN 50+, which includes both Zinc and Chromium.

Nuts 2 U

• Almonds
  • Low GI = 0 – 15
  • Magnesium
  • Manganese
  • Copper
  • Phosphorus
  • Calcium
  • Iron
  • Zinc
  • Potassium
• Brazil Nuts
  • Low GI = 10 – 20
• Macadamia Nuts
  • Low GI = 10
• Peanuts
  • Low GI = 12 -14
  • Manganese
  • Magnesium
  • Phosphorus
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Potassium
  • Calcium
  • Selenium
• Pecans
  • Low GI = 10
  • Copper
  • Manganese
  • Zinc
  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Phosphorus
  • Iron
• Pistachios
  • Low GI = 15 – 28
  • Potassium
  • Magnesium
  • Phosphorus
  • Copper
  • Manganese
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Calcium
  • Selenium
• Walnuts
  • Low GI = 15
  • Copper
  • Manganese
  • Magnesium
  • Phosphorus
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Calcium
  • Potassium
  • Selenium

Nuts Against U

• Cashews
• Chestnuts
• Pine Nuts
• Flavored or Coated Nuts

---

My two latest purchases from Dollar Tree were a purple foam noodle and a Jot Magnetic Locker Box Pocket. I used the noodle (cut down to a shorter length) to store my Ball Jar bands (the part that holds the lid on). They stack snuggly on the tube and then go into a plastic storage shoebox.

When I saw the Jot I immediately realized, if the magnet was strong enough to hold the holder, and some of the things you put in the holder, that I could put it on my fridge and store some of the small kitchen tools that I often reach for in a drawer. I’ve put a small pair of scissors, a pen-type box cutter, vegetable peeler, a zester and a shredding tool to make shredding (chicken or veggies) easier in it. I stuck the magnet on the side of the fridge and it makes it easier to get these often used tools. *Unfortunately, the glue holding the magnet on the back of this holder, didn’t hold. After it fell off of the fridge twice, I took it off.

Recall that when I decided that I wanted to try sprouting beans, and saw a grease splatter guard in Ollie’s, I immediately realized that I could buy one at Dollar Tree for $1.25. So, I went to $T and bought one, and for “a then unknown reason” I also bought a pair of kitchen shears. I had no conscious reason for the scissors, but next day when all the scissors/shears I had would not cut the metal mesh of the splash guard, I looked down into the shopping bag and saw the new shears I had bought. I tried them and they had just enough teeth on their blade to catch the metal mesh and cut it easily. That really is one of those “God provides” moments. I had no reason to buy them the day before. *Ha! So I wanted to make some more of these sprouting top filters, but couldn’t find my McCormick shears, so I bought another pair. Just got to get a more organized approach to where I store things… not that I don’t already put many things in plastic shoe box storage boxes.

I think I managed to cut eight round mesh screens out of the one splash guard, and because I used the Ball Jar lid to trace the outline on the mesh, they fit snuggly in the band without being glued. I’ve made several sprouting jar lids and all have worked repeatedly, and successfully, and I saved about $3 per lid.

$T sells various food products and one of them is Libby’s Pineapple for $1.25.

---

I buy milk at LIDL and Half-n-Half somewhere else too. The Peperoncini has gone up in price and I haven’t made a Greek Salad in some time. *I was making them quite often for a while.

A Food Lion is the nearest grocery to where I live. I buy some vegetables there such as Gala apples, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans (fresh), sweet bell peppers, Campari tomatoes, and berries. I normally buy roasted pumpkin seeds and cashews (although I’ve stopped buy these at least for now.).

They have Greek Gods Yogurt, but not the Plain flavor. I have emailed them requesting that they carry the Plain flavor, but I haven’t checked to see if they have.

• Skillet Chickpeas with Spinach and Tomatoes
• Zucchini Frittata

1. Hydrate First Thing in the Morning
   • 1-2 cups of water when you first wake up
     • Drink 1 cup, and then drink another cup with morning meds
2. Eat a Protein and Fiber-Rich Breakfast
   • Low in carbs but high in protein
     • Frittata
     • Yogurt & Fruit
     • Avocado &
3. Keep Caffeine in Check
   • Include protein with coffee
4. Get Moving
   • A brisk walk
   • Tai Chi
5. Have an Earlier Dinner
   • Before 7 pm
   • Early dinners encourage less late night snacking.

---

DIABETICS MUST DO THIS EVERY MORNING

1. Wake up at the same time every day
2. Test you blood sugar
3. Eat a healthy breakfast
4. Take your medication
   • Try to drink 1 cup of water with the morning meds
5. Stay hydrated
6. Exercise
7. Plan your day
8. Stay consistent

Ginger

Cinnamon

Turmeric

Fenugreek

---

I bought a 12 pak of 32 oz. plastic storage jars with metal lids & bands from Amazon.

[08/09/25]: I fixed a thick cut pork chop under the broiler for dinner. I microwaved an ear of corn and I fried some brussels sprouts first on the stove top, then for a couple of minutes with just a smidge of water to create steam in the microwave, and then back in the pan with a little Spicy Chili Crisp and Toasted Sesame Oil and they turned out great. Shiny green with browned bottoms and flavorful. [end]

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I bought a jar of GV Brand Stuffed Manzanilla Olives at Walmart yesterday.

While at Compare Foods, in Fayetteville, I saw some pretty Thai Chilis, but didn’t buy any. I did buy a few tomatillos and a couple of Chilaca Peppers, which I don’t recall ever trying. I don’t know yet if it is mild or hot. *I just read that they are mildly hot, less than a jalapeno but more than an Anaheim.

While in the checkout line, I was behind a young Hispanic couple, which I would term as young newly weds who were definitely Americanized. He might have been military, Army, but he wasn’t in uniform. They had what appeared to be a coconut that had it’s shell removed with just the white flesh remaining as a container, for coconut water. Namzen is the company, and I see it is well known on the Internet. I asked the young woman, while looking at her husband (I suppose they were married.) if that was a coconut and she/they replied to the affirmative. Seems they were trying this “for the first time” and it was refreshingly obvious that their inquisitive nature had taken over. They didn’t know if it was going to be good or not. *And, I am now thinking of going back to Compare to buy one for myself. I think it might be about $6, which includes the water inside, but I suppose the white flesh is also edible. I shall see. **I did go back the next day, today, and bought perhaps the last Namzen Coconut Water that I saw. It was only $4.99 which appears to be a really good deal. It was simple to open and drink. Instructions on the side of the package. Take the straw and straw holder off of the package, turn the thing upside down and press down, forcing the plunger into the coconut. Peel off the protective label from the top of the plunger and insert straw and drink. I kept the protective label to put back on until I wanted to drink some more. I googled again and the flesh of the container is supposed to be edible also. What will Trump tariffs do to this product?

---

An Ancho is a dried Poblano.

---

While in Sun Asian Market yesterday, I noted that the Mung Beans that I had bought for a dollar were now $1.99. That’s a pretty good jump in the wrong direction. But, I also found some Job’s Tears and some Soybeans. I bought all three and have now started a sprouting test on the soybeans and the Job’s Tears. Not sure if these are the sproutable variety. The soybeans were only $1.25 and as I ate a couple of the seeds it reminded me of how they tasted many, many years ago when I may have eaten them out in the field on our farm.

Frank Howell, “the Fat Farmer,” as I called him (not to his face) leased out our farm for $3,000 a year. I think that figure was the annual tobacco allotment, and he leased multiple farms to make it profitable. Not too long ago I met his daughter at one of the Swansboro High School Alumni luncheons (at El Catrin, that day) and when I found who she was, I mentioned my nickname for her father. She laughed. Apparently she had moved to South Carolina and for many years was involved as a Home Economist (or maybe a teacher), in the Clemson area, but had now returned to the Swansboro area.

Here is the updated order of grocers and their locations:

1. Food Lion at 150 Andrews Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28311
2. Walmart at 4601 Ramsey St, Fayetteville, NC 28311
3. Dollar Tree at 3646 Ramsey St, Fayetteville, NC 28311
4. Compare Foods at 155 Bonanza Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28303
5. Pate’s Farm Market at 6411 Raeford Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28304
6. Return home via I-295

The route starts and ends at your apartment at 323 Foothill Ln, Fayetteville, NC 28311.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/323+Foothill+Lane,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/150+Andrews+Road,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/4601+Ramsey+Street,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/River+Landing+Shopping+Center,+3646+Ramsey+Street,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/155+Bonanza+Drive,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/6411+Raeford+Road,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/Interstate+295,+North+Carolina,+USA/323+Foothill+Lane,+Fayetteville,+NC,+USA/data=!4m50!4m49!1m5!1m1!19sChIJuXFaCERuq4kRg5IaazwQ-_E!2m2!1d-78.8674125!2d35.1666756!1m5!1m1!19sChIJZYdWYWhuq4kRqRP9P_i6Rsc!2m2!1d-78.871438099999992!2d35.1590194!1m5!1m1!19sChIJv0xVTsttq4kR1wyDS5__yjI!2m2!1d-78.8830211!2d35.123654!1m5!1m1!19sChIJl5H3krFtq4kRnbXM9-Bro6A!2m2!1d-78.8771429!2d35.109428199999996!1m5!1m1!19sChIJ61rC-sNqq4kRu-0DpXntsnA!2m2!1d-78.990499599999993!2d35.0805358!1m5!1m1!19sChIJGXzcchYVq4kR0u6BpIk9XWg!2m2!1d-78.9904602!2d35.040587599999995!1m5!1m1!19sChIJN1vdpoxxq4kRt_86qQ-jzSA!2m2!1d-78.9501193!2d35.116637!1m5!1m1!19sChIJuXFaCERuq4kRg5IaazwQ-_E!2m2!1d-78.8674125!2d35.1666756!3e0

I drove up to the IGA in Erwin, North Carolina yesterday to buy my lunch. They have a good little salad bar, a BBQ Chicken Wings bar and sometimes they have perfectly ripe avocados. *I didn’t need an avocado yesterday because I brought half of one with me from home. But I did see that they appeared to have several ripe avocados for 99 cents each. **This is the salad bar & wings bar & ripe avocados “that launched a thousand ships.”

Actually, about 3 weeks ago or so, I stopped in here for the first time and bought 3 BBQ chicken wings (3 different flavors), made a salad, and bought a perfectly ripe avocado for 99 cents and had what was one of the most delicious impromptu meals I’ve had in a very long time. As I ate that lunch in my car, parked at the little community park down the road from that IGA, I repeatedly said something to the effect, “that’s one delicious meal.” They have various Ken’s Salad Dressings, and I liked the Ranch & Honey Mustard versions. It was so good that I returned either the next day, or the next to try and repeat the experience… and it was close, but not quite to the level of the first experience.

So that first great experience led me to eat many, many, many salad bar lunches since then. And now I am often boiling my eggs at home, bringing some cauliflower florets in a sandwich baggie, and also some cucumber slices, mung bean and broccoli sprouts (golden raisins, onion). I had bought a container of Broccoli Sprouts and then it came to me, instead of letting them go to waste, why not substitute the sprouts for the florets. After all, the sprouts are supposed to be more nutritious than the florets.

I’ve found an athletic park in Erwin that has a large parking area and one smaller area has some shade and a view through some tall trees. Pleasant and relatively private. *The current Street View doesn’t show that they have paved this area and made a smaller parking area, but they have.

After lunch I drove over to the Lillington Library to see if they had any books for sale that I might want, and they had very few for sale, and none that I wanted.

Then I headed across the Cape Fear and past the antiques store in downtown (their OPEN sign was on), and on to the Lillington IGA. I like this IGA because of their green grocer section. It is always well ordered, and it is refreshing to stand there looking at the order. But yesterday I meandered up and down most of the rest of the store. They had Neese’s Scrapple and I think Souse, and that made me think about asking their butcher to give me a “short course” in the difference between snapple, souse and C-loaf. Later the AI was almost useless in explaining the difference.

Their canned goods prices did not appear to be exorbitant, as had those in the IGA in Rockingham last week. I then noted a nice looking salad bar, took a few pictures, and also noted a container of multi-colored tortilla strips. I thought they might be wontons, but no they were “Fresh Gourmet Tri-Color Tortilla Strips.” I thought them a little pricey, and now see they are available at Walmart for about a dollar less. *These strips appear to be about as harmless as the wonton strips. Little nutritional value, but a nice addition of texture to a salad or soup. I’m gonna try ’em.

I left the IGA and headed back into downtown and the antiques store. I like many of the things they have for sale, but rarely do I find anything that I will actually buy. Except yesterday my eye came upon a shiny, aluminum bar stool. It looked very much like the one I use as a “Lazy Susan” by my easy chair. I thought it might be taller, and when I got it home, it was by about 8 inches. A little smaller seat diameter, and I also see that the width of the stool legs is more narrow, so I would guess less stable if you actually wanted to sit on it. The price on the stool was $12.95. I walked away from it and finished my usually route, clockwise through the store. I then came back to the stool, looked at it and decided to buy it. I walked up to the counter with the stool in hand and held it up for the clerk to get the sales info off the sticker on the seat. The sticker had the price, but it also had “Susan C.” which was the person to whom the profit of the sale would go (I guess minus a small fee to the shop owner.).

I put the stool in the back seat of my car and got into the driver’s seat. Almost immediately I got on my phone and googled for “aluminum kitchen stool, round” seat, and an image that looked like what I had bought appeared with a suggested price of $180. Hmmm… $13 vs $180, I think I just got a deal. I’m thinking I may have bought my stool, several years ago, from maybe Wayfair, but for probably about $65. It’s a little tall, and the legs are close together, and the seat a little smaller, but I’m happy. *Both of these stools have a rotating seat, so that becomes a Lazy Susan, and there are bracing bars all the way around about half way up the stool legs. I can put a “make shift” shelf there. *I’ve done that with my first stool. I have a square plastic plate that I bought at the IGA in Erwin. It was dark blue with a white pattern that I liked and only cost about $2.99. But, it’s just a little too small but if I turn it “catty cornered” so that the plate edges sit on the metal rungs of the stool, it makes the shelf stable, and I now have 3 jars of nuts sitting on it comfortably.

I’ll need to measure the stool seat diameter so that I can buy a round place mat for it. I already have on on my first stool. I use a pet feeding bowl on that to contain various items: nail clippers, box cutter knife, assorted pens & markers, chop sticks, letter opener and remotes.

Okay, the Chia Seeds were added by mistake. Only after I added them did I realize that they weren’t the quinoa. But, I also added broccoli sprouts, because I had a bunch of them. I was looking more for nutritional value rather than texture, but the odd texture (stringy) is pleasing in some way, and the barley is slightly chewy.

I added 1/8 C each of the barley, chia seeds, brown lentils, and quinoa. I did add garlic powder and S&P, and some chopped flat leaf parsley and several small yellow grape tomatoes. I used some chicken broth and water.

The overall pleasure of this soup is it’s earthy presence.