Recipes & random thoughts

[piratejenny]

I used to post my recipes in the blog section, but since they got rid of that, I guess I'll try a journal!

[piratejenny]

I'd like to try more coconut in my diet, but want something besides chocolate & Fat Bombs (although I love them both dearly).

I figured oatmeal might "absorb" a lot of coconut oil, and not be too greasy.

Generally speaking I am opposed to oatmeal, but this worked out to be about a tablespoon per serving (approx 4g carb).

Then I figured I'd add in a couple more things I mean to eat every day, but end up forgetting: gelatin, chia seeds, cinnamon.

Health Glop
5 servings

1.5c water (approx)
1/3 c oatmeal
1/2 c psyllium husks
pinch or two of salt

In medium saucepan, bring water to boil. Turn off heat. Add oatmeal, psyllium, & salt; stir. Let sit a couple minutes to absorb water.
Pour into largish (6-8 cup) bowl.

Immediately pour 2 cups of water into pan. Sprinkle 5 tbsp (unflavored) gelatin on top. Let soften for a couple minutes. Add 5 tbsp chia seeds. Stir, let sit to absorb water. Add to bowl with oatmeal and combine.

Separate into 5 servings (approx 1 cup each).
(I had one now, 4 for next few days.)

To your bowl, add coconut milk or oil, then flavor with vanilla, cinnamon, sweetener.
(I used a little bit of coconut sugar & SF pancake syrup.)

Also added: toasted coconut, coconut milk powder.
The plan is to eat this in the evening as either "dessert" or a before-bed snack.
Fiber...healthy oils...I am hoping this will give me a good a.m. blood sugar reading.

PS: It was really yummy!!!

[piratejenny]

(Not low-carb; just something I made up for my son today)

Eggplant-Cannellini Burgers
Vegetarian/Vegan

2 large eggplants
1 large can (1lb, 13oz) cannellini (white beans)
10 cloves garlic
1 large bunch parsley
couple handfuls walnuts (optional)
--------------------
fresh grated Parmesan (Asiago, Romano, whatever) cheese
"dry" pre-grated Parmesan (to absorb moisture) (like Kraft)
(approx) 2 cups Italian-style breadcrumbs
1/2 to 1tsp xanthan gum (optional, but helps hold the mixture together)

Note: eggplants can be cooked & cooled ahead of time.

The eggplants (in the skin) can be baked, roasted, or cooked on a grill.
Scoop out the insides & discard skin.

I don't have an oven, so I just peeled & diced them, then simmered with a little bit of water til soft. Drain well.

In food processor, place drained beans, garlic, parsley, and walnuts. Puree til very smooth. Add eggplant and pulse; try to leave it a little chunky.


^^^This actually made a very good dip!!! A bit like baba ganouj, but with walnuts instead of sesame.

Scrape eggplant mixture into large bowl. Sprinkle xanthan gum on top; let sit a minute then stir in. If mixture is still hot, let cool for a while before proceeding to next step.

Add dry Parmesan and breadcrumbs until mixture has a firm texture. Add fresh Parmesan. Add salt & other seasonings (such as basil, Italian seasoning, or more garlic) if desired.

Form into patties and pan-fry.

We ate a few as burgers but also as "eggplant parmigiana"; heated them in some marinara sauce and melted lots of mozz & provolone cheese on top.

I'm really excited about these because my son and I *LOVE* eggplant parm but it's (a) a pain to bread & fry, and (b) not very nutritious. But this was (a) much easier, and (b) I feel that adding beans, walnuts, garlic & parsley (maybe some grated zucchini in the future) gives it some valuable nutrients.

Might cut back a little on the beans...their flavor & texture had a bit of a strong presence.

Usually I put TVP in his burgers (personally, I hate it, but it's good for lower-carb homemade burgers), but I wasn't sure about adding it to this. I put aside a little of the eggplant before I added the breadcrumbs, so I might test it out.

[piratejenny]

Coconut Fudge/Coconut Sugar Caramel Sauce

Took the "Cocoa Crack" idea but was going for a fudge-like texture.


(sorry, amounts not exact)

Melt about 1/2 cup of coconut sugar in a non-stick skillet, over med heat, with 1-2 tbsp water.
Stir and cook for a couple minutes.
Don't overcook or overheat; scorched sugar becomes very bland.

Add a hunk of ghee...maybe about 1/4 cup. Stir.
(Sugar & butter remained separate at this point.)
Pour in some cream (most recipes call for heavy, but I used light) & continue stirring.
The cream will cause the sugar & butter to "come together".

I put aside about 1/2 of this for use as a sauce.

To the rest I added cocoa powder and a hunk of coconut butter.
Spread in the bottom of a flat container & chill. Cut into squares like fudge.

I also added a pinch of salt, and a little vanilla and cinnamon (Ceylon) for flavor.

PS--sometimes I use a splash of Torani SF vanilla syrup for sweetening.

[piratejenny]

Maybe I misunderstood how people prepare "Cocoa Crack"; do they just mix it together in a bowl, without cooking it?

Anyway, I melted the coconut sugar & oil together in a non-stick skillet (easier to stir/clean than a pot), and the texture got a little chewy. Made it another time without doing this (mixed everything together in a double boiler) & the texture was unremarkable...not bad, but not as interesting.

Cocoa powder
coconut oil
coconut sugar
Ceylon cinnamon
pinch of salt

For more flavor:
--Instant espresso
--Cayenne

(Ratios according to Dottie's recipe: 1/4c oil, 3T cocoa pdr, 2T sugar or equivalent of substitute.)


This is what I jotted down; IIRC, the flavor was a bit intense so I diluted it with another batch, leaving out the cayenne & espresso.

By weight:
1 oz CO
1 oz cocoa butter
1 oz cocoa powder

2 t cinnamon
1/4t cayenne
2 T coconut sugar
1 T Splenda

pinch salt
instant espresso


(Torani SF vanilla syrup)

[piratejenny]

FAT BOMBS

I didn't measure anything, just threw a scoop of this & that in a double boiler:
coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut flour, toasted coconut
peanut flour
hemp seeds, chia seeds
ghee
sugar-free pancake syrup
salt
(garnish: choc-covered cocoa nibs)

I saved a portion of this before adding the syrup and made.....
CURRIED FAT BOMBS!!!
I added a little bit of tahini, sesame seeds, toasted sunflower seeds, and more salt.
Then stirred in some Madras curry powder...plus a little more...and a little more...

The curried fat bombs made a good, quick, sort-of-Asian-peanut-sauce for noodles or stir-fry (shirataki, zucchini, cabbage). Add a little tamari, ginger, garlic, toasted sesame oil.

(From the Fat Bombs thread)

[piratejenny]

This summer, my sleeping patterns got really bad. I'm out of work, so there was no particular time I needed to be up. I've had insomnia for years & years, and there were several days a week I'd be (miserably & unintentionally) up until 4am.

I started thinking about the cortisol + insomnia + fat cycle, and have been looking into ways to reduce cortisol and "reset" my circadian rhythm.

Plus DS has cross-country practice, so I've been having to get up around 7am; when school starts in 2 weeks, that will be 6am.

Today for the first time in a while, I was really not hungry most of the day.
I want to write down all the changes I've made/started making recently.
I hope the appetite suppression will continue!

8/08: "Sprinting" workouts on the elliptical (PACE). Goal: 3-4x/week.
8/15: "Alkaline water": adding 1/2 tsp baking soda to my 1qt water bottle whenever I fill it up. Adding 1/8 tsp coral calcium once or twice a day.
(I've been adding l-glutamine to my water for a couple months, and am continuing to do so.)
8/15: L-Carnitine in the morning, on empty stomach. Taking 1g, but I've heard 2-4g is okay.
8/19: DHEA, 25mg + pregnenolone, 10mg, with l-carnitine.
8/20: Colostrum, with above--label says take on empty stomach.
(I actually got it a couple weeks ago, and took it a few times in the afternoon or at night.
Some people say it gives them energy, so I decided to take it in the morning.)

For sleeping:
8/08: melatonin, 5mg
8/17: PS (phosphatidylserine), 200mg in evening. Supposed to block cortisol.
8/19: wear blue-blocking glasses 2 hours before desired bedtime.
(I've been using the f.lux program for a year or so.)
****L-theanine has been in my sleep arsenal for a while, but will try to take it more regularly.
SOON: Stop eating 12 hours before I want to wake up.
How to Naturally Reset Your Sleep Cycle in One Night | Wise Bread

I had been doing JUDDD/Fast 5, but noticed that when I skip or delay breakfast, I have a hard time falling asleep that night.

Also, my blood sugar is high when I wake up and it doesn't go down when I fast or even if I have some form of fat (such as decaf coffee w/cream). But if I eat a good amount of protein, it goes into a near-normal range and stays there for at least a couple hours.

One circadian rhythm reset plan that I know of recommends an 8-hour eating window/16-hour fasting period. I don't know if I'll be able to do this; if I eat breakfast by, say, 8am, then my window would close at 4pm. That would mean no dinner with DS, who gets home at 6pm. But to not eat after 7pm (when I need to get up at 6 or 7am) seems doable.

[piratejenny]

I've been posting my blood glucose every day in a JUDDD thread, but want to put it here in one place.

On 8/15, Yam-Yam mentioned that her sister, who is diabetic, has been following an "alkaline diet" plan, and has lost 28lbs in 5 weeks!!! One of these weeks was a vacation that included eating at restaurants, drinking wine...and in a recent update, Sis lost another 3lbs the week after vacay!

An important part of her plan is "alkaline water". When Yam described some of the foods her sister had been eating, I knew they weren't like anything I've seen on most alkaline food lists. So I figured I'd start with the water while waiting for more info.

That afternoon, I put 1tbsp* baking soda in a quart of water & drank it.
Tasted a little sweet/salty, but not unpleasant.
(*This is how much Yam said she'd read about in "The pH Miracle".)

Less than 2 hours later (5:45pm), I felt sleepy and my eyelids were VERY itchy.
(The itchiness is something that plagued me for years, to the point that I could never wear make-up;
I suddenly realized it hasn't been a problem for months, if not a couple years.)
I took my BG (blood glucose) just out of curiosity, since I was so sleepy.

It was 78!!!

This is pretty much unheard of for me. I'm psyched if my BG is under 120 at any point in the day, and very proud if it's around 100.
And, although I felt a bit off, my hands weren't shaking and I wasn't cranky or uncontrollably hungry.

I started this for weight loss (which hasn't happened yet); I wasn't expecting it to affect my BG at all!

After that first time, I started putting only 1/2tsp in my 1-qt water bottle, and I refill that about 4 times per day.

8/16: 80 at 6:50pm
8/17: 87 at 3:00pm
8/18: -----------------
8/19: BG was 120 in the morning, 130 after lunch.
I drank some hibiscus tea with 1-2 fresh limes* squeezed in,
and my BG was 85 a couple hours later! That's 45 points down!!!
Another 2 hours later, it was still 85.
(*Fresh lemon or lime juice in water also works to "alkalize".)
8/20: 87 at 7pm
8/21: ----------------
8/22: 80 at 3:30pm
8/23: 70 at 6:30pm

On 8/20 & 8/21, I noticed that my appetite was quite suppressed.
Then, that afternoon, TOM arrived a couple days early, and I was pleased to realize that I hadn't been snacking or craving sweets the day before.

Overall, I've noticed a decrease in cravings. I usually sip on iced tea, lemonade, or some other (no-calorie) sweet drink throughout the day (as well as an equal amount of plain water, more or less), but since I started "alkalizing", I've pretty much been drinking only the baking soda water.

Btw, I haven't had any itchiness or other problems since that first day.
I've felt great!

[piratejenny]

"Zucchillas"
(like tortillas)

1 med zucchini, grated
2 eggs
1/4 cup oat fiber
1/4 cup water
1-2 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp onion, grated or minced extra fine
Pinch or two of salt
Black pepper
Butter (ghee) for frying

Grate zucchini into bowl, add eggs, oat fiber, water, salt; mix well. Add cheese and onion. Add more water if necessary, to create a consistency similar to pancake batter.

Pre-heat then butter a small (approx 8"), non-stick frying pan.
Spread about 1/4 cup of batter in pan. Shake pan to even out edges.
Cook with lid on for a few minutes, until center is set.
Shake pan again to see if "tortilla" is loose; if not, cook a little longer with lid off.

Flip* and cook other side.
*I held the pan over a plate (in case of accidents!) and flipped directly onto a huge, flexible spatula, then slid it back into the pan. You could also flip it into another preheated skillet of equal or greater size.

I meant to save these to make enchiladas (stacked, Santa Fe style), but I didn't have a filling ready, and I was too hungry--so I ate them as I made them!

A couple didn't make it through the flipping process, so I sort of scrambled them, put them in a bowl, poured hot enchilada sauce over them, and ate with a little sour cream. Divine!!!

[sunday]

Subbing & stalking. I never knew this was here.

Thanks for the link!

[piratejenny]

Haha! Well, I sort of forgot all about it myself!
I'll try to add something useful every now and then.

[sunday]

Have you ever tried Earth Balance Coconut Spread? Omg! I can't believe I never knew about it! It tastes as close to butter as coconut spread can.

I will have to be very careful because it is high in calories. 100 cals per tbsp. These zucchini tortillas would be delish with a bit of this spread on top. It is vegan, lactose free and gluten free.
I am trying to add more EVCO and less butter. And this could do the trick.

[ouizoid]

i looked at that stuff sunday, but it has canola oil in it, and i am really trying to avoid the seed oils

[sunday]

I should probably too. I love butter, but would rather use evco. I was hoping that using only a small amount of canola is not as bad. What do you think?
Should use sparingly for now either way. Let me know if you find one without the canola.

[sunday]

I just wrote Earth Balance because they also make many CO products and hope to hear back. I just asked how much and why can't they make it without? Will see if they respond.

[sunday]

PJ,
I want to know more about coconut milk powder? I saw that on your reply in JUDDD forum. Is it good for subbing for the liquid coconut milk? I am in love with coconut cream too.

[piratejenny]

I like it (or coconut cream concentrate) because I don't always need exactly 1 can!

I like to use both as thickeners (vs canned milk). The powder is easier, though, because the concentrate gets solid and has to be muscled out of the jar...or if you get the kind that comes in a little bag, sometimes it separates.

[piratejenny]

Started "no wheat" on 1/26.
Not eliminating all gluten at this point; just wheat, to see if it makes a difference in blood sugar,
overall health, and--I hope!--weight loss.

FYI, a person's FBG (fasting blood glucose) is a good indicator of diabetes/diabetes risk.

NORMAL is 70-92 mg/dl
(lab report parameters usually go up to 99 before diagnosing "prediabetes")

MINE is usually 120-150, even after 2 years of low-carbing and taking metformin (diabetes medication). This isn't terribly severe; many diabetics get readings in the 200s and 300s; home meters measure up to 600. I don't take insulin.

Typical FBGs while consuming wheat:
139, 138, 147, 128, 123, 149

No wheat:
1/27: 105
1/28: 107
1/29: 144*
1/30: 162*
1/31: 162* *Not sure what caused this; detox? or TOM?
2/1: 102
2/2: 104
2/3: 91***OMG!!! NORMAL!!!!!!!***
2/4: (couldn't test)
2/5: 73!!!

[sunday]

Freakin amazing!!!

Since GF stuff causes BS spikes due to sugar? Do you ever use tapioca or rice flour? Only reason I ask, is that I am interested in making the GF homemade tortillas. I miss the homemade enchiladas and did not want to order the GF brown rice tortillas, for fear it would be another fail.

[piratejenny]

I've only been doing this for about a week, and I want to see how it affects me without adding too many carbs in other areas. So, no, I haven't started using specialty GF products. I use corn tortillas once in a while.

[sunday]

Earth Balance never responded. I get very disappointed when this happens.

I like corn tortillas but don't some have gluten? Or is this just my mistake?

[piratejenny]

Originally Posted by sunday

I like corn tortillas but don't some have gluten? Or is this just my mistake?

I haven't looked into it...as I said before, I am just eliminating wheat, not buying specialty or certified gluten-free products. If you are GF and looking for info on GF products, I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help.

[piratejenny]

Another good reading yesterday, 2/6: 85!

And something really exciting happened today; I fasted for 2 hours after waking and my BG went down from 112 to 79. This has *never* happened!!! My BG usually stays the same or even rises if I fast, exercise before eating, or consume only fat for breakfast (ie, coffee & cream or "bulletproof coffee"). Eating protein (at least 25-30g) is the only thing that brings it down. I have tested this repeatedly because I tried Intermittent Fasting and "fat fasting" several times over the last 15-16 months.

(I woke up earlier than usual, so I think that's why my BG was "high" at 112. Usually I wake up at 6am to take my son to the bus stop, then go back to sleep for a couple hours.)

I'll have to try it a few more times to be sure, but this makes me really happy because I *think* it implies lower cortisol levels. And maybe I'll be able to do IF or JUDDD without the insomnia I've experienced in the past.

Originally Posted by sunday

I miss the homemade enchiladas and did not want to order the GF brown rice tortillas, for fear it would be another fail.

Sunday, have you tried the "zucchillas" yet? They made really good enchiladas!
(I didn't bake, them, though; I don't have an oven. So I'm not sure if they'd hold up the same way corn tortillas do. But I just made them on a plate and ate them right away. Or you can stack them like pancakes with the filling & sauce in between, Santa Fe-style.)

[sunday]

Originally Posted by piratejenny

Another good reading yesterday, 2/6: 85!

And something really exciting happened today; I fasted for 2 hours after waking and my BG went down from 112 to 79. This has *never* happened!!! My BG usually stays the same or even rises if I fast, exercise before eating, or consume only fat for breakfast (ie, coffee & cream or "bulletproof coffee"). Eating protein (at least 25-30g) is the only thing that brings it down. I have tested this repeatedly because I tried Intermittent Fasting and "fat fasting" several times over the last 15-16 months.

(I woke up earlier than usual, so I think that's why my BG was "high" at 112. Usually I wake up at 6am to take my son to the bus stop, then go back to sleep for a couple hours.)

I'll have to try it a few more times to be sure, but this makes me really happy because I *think* it implies lower cortisol levels. And maybe I'll be able to do IF or JUDDD without the insomnia I've experienced in the past.


Sunday, have you tried the "zucchillas" yet? They made really good enchiladas!
(I didn't bake, them, though; I don't have an oven. So I'm not sure if they'd hold up the same way corn tortillas do. But I just made them on a plate and ate them right away. Or you can stack them like pancakes with the filling & sauce in between, Santa Fe-style.)

Very interesting, and exciting for you PJ! I have not tried zucchillas, but it is on my list! As well as the minute zuc muffin.

Hmmm, have you read Seth Roberts' test he did for his cortisol and fasting blood sugar? Do you think this could be happening? His went down and his cortisol balanced after he changed a few simple things which in turn healed him of longterm insomnia and corrected his circadian rhythm.

[piratejenny]

No; is that on his blog? I just Googled "Seth Roberts" and found .net website. Is that where it is? Do you know the date of that entry, so I can look for it? Thanks.

[sunday]

Jen, If you will google just 1st sentence, it should take you to his info. I have been doing the Perfect Health Diet by Dr. Paul Jaminet and Shou Ching. It is pacific paleo oriented, but Paul recited Seth Roberts (author of Shangri-La Diet) while doing his own research on circadian rhythm and all things "perfect health". That is where I read his study... Very interesting...

From Perfect Health website...

Seth Roberts and Circadian Therapy

Posted by Paul Jaminet on March 22, 2011

A while back I noted that hypothyroidism is a circadian rhythm disorder and that dietary steps that restore circadian rhythms, like intermittent fasting and daytime eating, should be therapeutic (“Intermittent Fasting as a Therapy for Hypothyroidism,” Dec 1, 2010).

Many other disorders besides hypothyroidism feature disturbed circadian rhythms:
•Sleeplessness and poor sleep
•Depression, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric disorders
•Dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome and obesity.
•Neurodegenerative disorders

Circadian rhythm disruption also suppresses immune function and increases vulnerability to infectious disease.

Restoring or strengthening circadian rhythm may be therapeutic for all of these conditions. Even for healthy people, tactics for enhancing circadian rhythms may improve health.

Which brings us to Seth Roberts.

Seth Cured a Sleep Disorder With Circadian Therapy

Seth is a well-known blogger, a Paleo dieter and psychologist, author of The Shangri-La Diet, and a great self-experimenter.

Seth recently gave a talk that tells the history of his self-experimentation.

It turns out he suffered from disturbed sleep for many years. He experimented to find cures for 10 years; nothing worked. But then he got a lead.

When a student suggested he eat more fruit, he started eating fruit for breakfast. His sleep got worse! This was exciting to Seth because it was, in 10 years, the first thing he tried that changed his sleep.

He had the idea of trying no breakfast. It turned out that skipping breakfast improved his sleep. One of his slides:

This directly supports our idea that intermittent fasting (confining eating to an 8-hour window each day) should be therapeutic for circadian rhythm disorders such as disturbed sleep and hypothyroidism.

But what’s exciting is that Seth continued his experiments to find other ways to improve his sleep. As a psychologist, he knew that human contact controls when we sleep: people are most awake at the times they have contact with other people, and asleep when isolated.

He knew that watching TV can have effects similar to socializing. So he tried watching Jay Leno one morning. He slept very well the next night.

It turns out that looking at human faces is almost as good as real socializing. Here is Seth’s data relating mood to whether he looked at faces:

Seth also tracked his mood over the course of the day. The response of mood to seeing pictures of human faces clearly followed a circadian (24-hour) rhythm:

[sunday]

Cont~

Another thing that relates to circadian rhythms is exercise: we normally exercise during the day and rest at night.

For a scholar, the easiest way to exercise is to stand rather than sit (for instance, by working at a standing desk). Seth tried standing 9 hours a day – and it cleared his sleep problem!

Of course, standing is not a very strenuous exercise. Seth found that if he just stood on one leg, the effect was much more intense, and he could fix his sleep problem with only minutes of one-legged standing per day.

He also found that eating more animal food improved his sleep. It’s possible that animal fat may enhance circadian rhythms more than other foods.

Conclusion
I found this fascinating – because it adds more evidence regarding the centrality of circadian rhythms in health – and exciting, because it shows that simple tactics can be therapeutic for circadian rhythm disorders.

In the hypothyroidism post, I suggested the following tactics for improving circadian rhythms:
•Light entrainment: Get daytime sun exposure, and sleep in a totally darkened room.
•Daytime feeding: Eat during daylight hours, so that food rhythms and light rhythms are in synch.
•Intermittent fasting: Concentrate food intake during an 8-hour window during daylight hours, preferably the afternoon. A 16-hour fast leading to lower blood sugar and insulin levels, and the more intense hormonal response to food that results from concentration of daily calories into a short 8-hour time window, will accentuate the diurnal rhythm.
•Adequate carb intake: Eat at least 400 “safe starch” carbohydrate calories daily during the afternoon feeding window. Relative to a very low-carb diet, this will increase daytime insulin release and, by increasing insulin sensitivity, may reduce fasting insulin levels. It will thus enhance diurnal insulin rhythm.

To these, we can add several more based on Seth’s findings:
•Looking at human faces: If you work at a computer, keep a window up that cycles among photos of faces, or shows a video of a talk show; keep photos of your family near your screen.
•Standing: Work at a standing desk or, failing that, get in the habit of standing on one leg rather than two.
•Animal fat: Eat a diet high in animal fats.

These tactics cured Seth’s sleep disorder. Might these tactics also cure or greatly improve other circadian rhythm disorders – including hypothyroidism and psychiatric disorders like depression and bipolar disorder? Could looking at human faces help the obese lose weight and improve their lipid profiles?

I don’t know but I’d certainly give these techniques a try before pharmaceutical drugs. I believe these techniques deserve clinical testing as therapies for all diseases associated with disrupted circadian rhythms. I believe that they may be just as beneficial for the healthy: by improving immune function, they may delay aging and extend lifespan.

A few weeks ago, when I posted a video of Don Rumsfeld defending the use of a standing desk (the same video was later linked by John Durant and Mark Sisson), I brashly stated, “There are few single life adjustments more likely to improve your health than working at a standing desk.”

Perhaps that statement wasn’t as exaggerated as it may have seemed!

[sunday]

PJ, I hope you are safe and warm. I am worried about you!

[piratejenny]

Oh, we're fine! We were right on the edge of the storm and only got about 6" of snow. Power didn't go out, sun's been shining all day...

Thank you!!!

[piratejenny]

My FBG isn't consistent or predictable since eating less wheat (I can't say I've eliminated it entirely, but I do have a few days a week without eating it and maybe one or 2 meals a week when I do).

*A couple days ago I had some wheat (a̶ ̶f̶e̶w̶ several bites of my son's Chinese food--lo mein, breaded eggplant, fried wontons); my BG had been high the morning before I "cheated" (135ish), but the next day it was 98! And back to 130 the next day!!!

I just don't know what is going on.
But I got my A1c taken right when I started my w̶h̶e̶a̶t̶-̶f̶r̶e̶e̶ less wheat thing, and I'll get it done again in April or May, so I'm hopeful that I will see a difference there. That would be a victory even if my fasting BGs aren't always good. They seem to go up & down with my cycle, anyway.

It also seems depends on how much sleep I get. For example, this morning I woke up after only 4 hours of sleep, and my BG was 137. I went back to sleep for 3 hours, and my BG was 107. (This has happened a few times.)

Oh, and some nights I either forget my metformin or I skip it because it still hurts my stomach (the next day) if I take it without food. So I might have slightly higher BGs the next day.* (*posted on another thread, pasting here as an update)

Last night right before bed I had 1 slice of white bread (my son made a sandwich and couldn't finish it, I needed something to eat with my vitamins & metformin). My FBG this morning was 88!!!

Maybe wheat has a delayed or cumulative effect. Maybe my BG will be elevated tomorrow.