STH's Profile

When my partner was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, his doctor sent him to see a Diabetes Educator, and that was super helpful to us. She told us to focus on getting as much fiber as possible and to balance the carbs with protein. So a good snack for him now isn't something like a cookie; it's a half cup of homemade fat-free Greek yogurt and a spoonful of my low-sugar jam. I also use only brown rice and whole wheat pasta and we watch our serving sizes on them and combine them with a lean protein and lots of veg. It helps that he's a serious cyclist and the educator told him he can eat whatever he wants when he goes out on his bike; he saves his carby treats for those times.

I've been busy and stressed this week and my partner suggested I skip making dinner the other night, but I knew what he'd have for dinner if I didn't cook: a cheese sandwich (he's a diabetic, and that's pretty much one step up from a doughnut for dinner, carb-wise). I think part of what happens is that he knows I feed us really healthy food most of the time, so he figures he can get away with a few treats. I agree with that, though my definition of "few" is probably different from his. ;)

I loved our CSA, but they aren't doing it this year. The new system, where you order what you want on the website and pick it up at the farmer's market (at a discount over the farmer's market prices), will work better for us with the long trip to the UK we're taking this summer, but I will miss the challenge of it. I liked learning how to cook new vegetables and it got us to eat even more veg than we already do.

And communication is the key here, I think. As somebody wrote above, if you're the host, let people know what the rules are in advance, that your space isn't kid-friendly, what you'll have for kids to do, etc. If you're the guest, ask before you bring kids, find out if there will be stuff there they will eat, ask if your kids are becoming a burden on others, etc.

And a note to other childfree folks: the rift between the parents and the non-parents becomes smaller over time, as the kids are able to stay at home by themselves, are out doing their own thing, and all that. We're in our 40s and our friends' kids are mostly grown up enough that this stuff is no longer an issue. We do have one friend with young kids, but he happens to work with my partner, so they have lunches together.

Yeah, I have to agree with fi_burke: if you have your kids there, please keep an eye on them! I'm happy to help out, but I'm there for some grown-up time. If you have kids and want grown-up time, please get a sitter.

In recipes like this with a lot of mayo, I generally sub 1/2 c. fat-free Greek yogurt, 1/4 c. fat-free mayo, and 1/4 c. low-fat mayo for each cup of regular mayo. It's important to get some fat in there to get the right mouth feel and Greek yogurt by itself is too sour, I find.

I love this idea! And pizza would totally work--everybody brings whatever meat, cheese, veg, sauces they have and you could use frozen naan or pita bread as the base if you didn't have dough.

I don't have a lot of good appetizer recipes, though hummus always works; this is a good one that I think would be particularly good with corn chips: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus-with-Garlic-Bagel-Chips-105661. I use a roasted red pepper in it instead of the canned pimiento, as I always have them in the freezer.

My sister and brother inherited their green thumb from my mother (you should see my sister's "orchid room"!), but I don't have much of a knack for growing things. What I inherited is a love of sewing and embroidery, which I'm trying to turn into a hobby business. She, in turn, got that from her mother, who was a milliner (maker of women's hats).

So beautiful. I think I would have done green cabinets, though that could just be my spring fever talking--I'm just craving all things green right now.

I'm with at12345--looks institutional and grim. Is there any storage at all?