Day 7 month 2, the Diabetic Food Stamp Project

No bread needed and there is no reason to stuff with bacon and grill, just the Peanut Butter and Banana are perfect in themselves.

We can all learn something from Elvis Presley. Peanut butter and banana is a great food combination, and how I began my morning.

Coffee .10
Banana .19
Peanut Butter .19
Potato, eggplant leek soup (two cups) .75
Total 1.23

And lunch was out with an old friend giving me extra money which I joyfull spent in Chinatown.

It was cold in NY yesterday so I ordered soup. Spicy beef broth with egg noodles and spinach. I ate all the noodles, the spinach and the beef taking home extra both for another soup.

Lunch soup 52 grams of carb

...and down to Chinatown I went. Chinese New Year is approaching so all of the seniors of the family are preparing feasts and cooking the old way. I found one who spoke English to tell me some of the preparations for the following foods.

The Spleen is made into a soup called Batchoy, often with some tenderloin and other organs. It is chopped in fine pieces, fried, stewed in rich broth and topped with pork skin and Chinese leeks. It can be made with other meats but with organ meats is is supposed to give you strength for the coming year.

It is the dish that Chop Suey was derived from and the pork in Chop Suey often was organ meats and in some restaurants still is.

The tip is considered to be the finest cut of tripe or stomach. It has a stronger beef flavor and a more dense texture.

It is often cut into strips, stewed and then stir fried with ginger, scallion and hot pepper and small portions are served as Dim Sum. What is not used as tripe is ground and is part of the hamburger at chain restaurants and in 'all beef' hot dogs.

People in the states are funny in that they wont' eat what they consider nasty bits yet anyone who has eaten fast food gets little else.

There are many ways to use pig tails to celebrate the New Year. Note the elevated prices, at other times of the year they are half that or less.

It is served stewed in a soup with peanut or mushroom, or it is braised and then fried and tossed with chili pepper and garlic.

Having had it at the beginning of this project I can attest to the fact that it is the most delicious of pig parts. Were the price less I would have purchased some.

I am noticing something about my diet. Fatty meat satisfies, you are not hungry when you eat it. Of course it causes health issues etc. but as this project has gone on I find myself eating more and more meat for the in order to be satisfied.

This is after I made a conscience choice to use meat as a flavor vs. a main course.

When living in poverty do we become less capable of making a choice other than to be full?

...and we come to an absolute favorite of mine. It is also high priced for New Year's. Ducks have a small bone in their tongue so whether braised with 5 spice or fried the bone protrudes as the meat shrinks and you can pick them up easily with chopsticks and slide the meat off the small bone.

It was not that long ago I first tried duck tongue and I still crave it. This would not end up in a McDonald's hamburger, they are a delicacy and expensive.

Which leads us to dinner.

I bought two duck thigh/legs for 3.99. As the whole duck increases in price for the New Year the parts decrease. Don't ask me to explain the Chinese food economy.

I rubbed them with 5 spice and extra star anise, brushed with soy and let rest for about an hour.

I then steamed them for an hour removed the bone re-glazed and stir fried, and you can see the wondrous crisp result.

I made white rice and you see in the photo my carefully controlled portion but I did go back for more making my total consumption 3/4 cup.

I ate like a madman and skipped the vegetables but after the meal I had a nice bowl of blueberries. 

I was really pushing with this meal. Pushing the carbs, the calories (which I need) and the $$.

Duck 3.99 (yes I ate it all)
Rice .09
Blueberries .50
Carbs 60 (top of my limit)
Total 4.49

The total is more than I am supposed to spend in a day, but I was counting on the extra to cover me.

I spent a whopping 5.72. I had 3.19 to carry over giving me 7.44. I still have 1.72 to add to tomorrow.

I did get 1,893 calories, but the lack of vegetables did nothing to bolster my nutrition.

Too many carbs, high protein and not a lot else.