Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Coconut Bliss: Ice Cream with agave (Hypoglycemic/Diabetic and Vegetarian/Vegan Info and Foods)

I have not had ice cream for several years (I am hypoglycemic and nearly all brands have sugar in them which makes me feel sick). But this year I found a brand that I can actually eat without setting off my symptoms too much.

I just found a coconut milk based ice cream earlier this year called 'Coconut Bliss'. It is soy, dairy, and gluten free and sweetened with just agave. It is also vegan! It just has coconut milk, agave, and things like cocoa, vanilla, pineapple, etc (depends on the flavor). And it's organic and made with fair trade ingredients!

It is so rich and creamy, and delicious. The chocolate one tastes like this coconut chocolate pudding that I make sometimes (just started making that last year sometime). So far I've tried the coconut bars, dark chocolate, and chocolate hazelnut fudge (which is especially yummy). Even if you don't have blood sugar issues, I recommend trying it because it is really good!

PLEASE note that most of the flavors do not contain any cane sugar but at least one of them does (Mint Galactica, because it has chocolate chips that are made with organic cane sugar. So if you have blood sugar issues you may want to avoid this one). I haven't tried one with fruit in it (not sure if it will be too much fructose for me but I am going to try a fruit one next). I am very excited to have found it since (as mentioned above) I have not had any ice cream or many sweets in YEARS. I found mine at Whole Foods.

I still can't eat a full serving of it though (too much agave makes me feel sick though I can tolerate small amounts) so I eat only 1/3 to 1/2 serving. I also have to eat it after a very protein rich meal (can't eat it on an empty stomach) and I usually don't have any other complex carbs in that meal (so when i eat ice cream I don't eat fruit or whole grains in that meal, only lots of protein and also some veggies--so only low amounts of carbs). Other hypoglycemics or diabetes may be able to eat a full serving and may be able to eat it with other complex carbs (I'd still advice to eat it with lots of protein though). While others may not be able to eat it at all :( (some hypoglycemics and diabetes can not tolerate any amount of sugar, even a piece of fruit or a small amount of agave). So if you have blood sugar issues, you will need to see how you personally react to it.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Remembering Sept 11th

I remember where I was Sept 11th; I was working/interning for National Park Foundation at the time (which is in Washington D.C.).

We saw it on television at work, and it just didn't really click in my head at the time what happened--I was in semi-shock. (NPF was in North West part of D.C. back then).

My company let everyone off, and we all tried to scramble to get home.
For a couple hours I thought I could not get out of the city, and get home (I live in Northern VA) because I had heard on the news that they had block the main highways out of the city. Luckily after a while it was reported that the roads were not blocked or unblocked so I was able to get home.

It wasn't until I got home and watched the news more that I got over my initial shock and finally understood. I remember crying when I saw people in the smashed buildings jumping out of the windows of the towers, and hearing more about the pentagon, and then the crash of last plane in PA.

My sister at the time lived in NYC--you could imagine what she must have went through. Traffic was blocked for days, some people walked miles to get home.

I knew two people from my undergrad college that worked in the world trade center. One of them was sick so didn't go to work that day. The other one was running late since she had stopped to get coffee.

I remember in the weeks afterwards, military with huge guns on some of the street corners of D.C. just standing guard. I thank those soldiers for their presence in the aftermath. Their presence made me feel safer.

Through all the pain, I remember the good things too. How we all got together and stood as a people.

I was in Chicago recently for my grandfather's funeral, and on one of the days there my aunt and uncle showed us around their area. There was a sept 11th memorial. There was a flame burning, a flame as a reminder to remember those events.

Many swore on that day to never forget. Please take a moment with me to pray to all those that we lost.

Li