The Reactive Hypoglycemia Bootcamp

By Sue Keen

When I was first diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia in 2011, trying to figure out what to eat (and what not to eat) seemed like an insurmountable task. My blood sugar lows and highs seemed completely unmanageable. After only a couple of weeks of eating a seafood-based diet, I started to notice that not only were my reactive hypoglycemia symptoms staying away, but I actually had a lot more energy. Three years later and I am symptom free. This book gives you an option for combating your reactive hypoglycemia. It's an Island's style diet rich in fish-based proteins, complex carbs, dairy and other blood-sugar friendly foods. It's the diet that I follow today. You'll find more than just Islands cooking here though – there are dishes from all corners of the globe to suit everyone's taste buds. What you won't find in this book are sugar, processed foods or anything else that will spike your blood sugar. What you will find are delicious recipes made from simple ingredients. and a simple plan to giving your reactive hypoglycemia the boot!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andale LLC
• Release date: Feb 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311627667

Book preview

Introduction

Dinners

Side Dishes

Breakfasts

Lunch

Desserts

Snacks

Index

Introduction

When I was first diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia in 2011, I was eating everything that I shouldn’t have been eating. In other words, I was eating the typical American diet of fast food, processed food and junk food. Trying to figure out what to eat (and what not to eat) seemed like an insurmountable task. My blood sugar lows and highs seemed completely unmanageable.

Until I met my current beau, who is from the Caribbean.

He started cooking for me. Fish and veggies were staples in his family’s diet and nearly always ended up on the menu. After only a couple of weeks of eating his cooking almost exclusively, I started to notice that not only were my reactive hypoglycemia symptoms staying away, but I actually had a lot more energy.

The result is this book, which gives you an option for combating your reactive hypoglycemia. It’s an Island’s style diet rich in fish-based proteins, complex carbs, dairy and other blood-sugar friendly foods. It’s the diet that I follow today. You’ll find more than just Islands cooking here though – there are dishes from all corners of the globe to suit everyone’s taste buds.

What you won’t find in this book are sugar, processed foods or anything else that will spike your blood sugar. What you will find are delicious recipes made from simple ingredients.

Sue Keen

How to do a Boot Camp.

You’ll probably find this diet a radical change from what you’re used to. Giving up sugars and refined carbs isn’t easy – it can take a lot of willpower to not reach for that chocolate bar (the good news is you can cheat if you have a natural foods store near you – try a raw chocolate cake made from nuts and raw cocoa). In fact, a natural food store or a Whole Foods can really be your best friend. I rarely shop in the aisles of a regular grocery store because cereal, canned goods and other processed foods usually have additives you don’t want. The key to combating reactive hypoglycemia is to stick to natural, whole foods.

Once you’ve eliminated processed foods from your diet, it can take up to a month for blood sugar swings to stabilize. Give the diet at least two weeks before you begin to see a difference. Probably the most important thing is if a food isn’t listed in this book – don’t eat it! That includes caffeinated beverages and any kind of soda (even diet soda). Caffeine and artificial sweeteners have been shown to have a negative impact on blood sugar.

A note on breakfast

Breakfasts for me tend to be small. I’m very strict with what I eat for breakfast, eating one Chobani (high protein) yogurt, a piece of cheese and some nuts, or once a week I’ll eat an egg dish (see the breakfast section for recipe ideas). For snacks, I eat nuts (usually almonds), a piece of cheese or a hard-boiled egg. And before bed I eat 6 almonds. Note that these are all high in protein. Lunch and dinner includes more carb than breakfast, but they’re all balanced meals that are at least 30% protein. The only alcohol I consume is dry (red or white) wine with a meal or with a piece of cheese. Other beverages: decaf coffee and tea, milk and water. That’s it. Even fruit juice – seemingly healthy – has enough sugar to send your blood sugar skyrocketing (an exception is juice in a protein smoothie – I like Bolthouse Farms brand).

I’ve included other suggestions in the snack suggestions list.

A note on dinner

Pick a main course and one or two sides. The key is to eat at least 30% protein, so make your main dish (i.e. fish) about one third of your plate and then add two sides. Do not add bread dressings or other extras to your meal.

Monitoring your blood sugar

One thing you’ll want: a blood sugar monitor. You can usually get one for free if you look online, otherwise they retail for about $100. Monitoring your blood sugar is the only sure way you can know what certain foods do to your blood sugar and how long you can go without eating. For example, if you want to cheat on the diet and say, eat a bowl of cereal (I don’t recommend it, but in reality it’s almost impossible to stick to ANY diet), you’ll want to test your blood sugar a couple of hours after you eat.

Snack Suggestions

These suggestions also work for breakfast if you’re not in the mood to make an egg dish:

• No-sugar added trail mix (make sure it’s high protein)

• Sunflower seeds

• Chobani yogurt

• Protein smoothie (no sugar, like Bolthouse Farms or Naked brand protein smoothies)

• Raw crackers topped with thinly sliced cheese

• Baby carrots with hummus (go easy on the carrots and load up on the hummus)

• Nuts – any kind.

• Amy's organic soup (I add grated cheese to up the protein)

• Celery with peanut butter

• Decaf cappuccino or latte with milk

• Glass of milk

• Piece of cheese, any kind

• Hardboiled egg

Dinners

Lemon Butter Red Snapper

8 servings

If you haven’t tried red snapper before, it’s a Caribbean staple with a firm, meaty texture. I actually prefer to cook a whole red snapper, but they are rarely available in the grocery store. You should be able to find red snapper fillets in the freezer section.

Ingredients

3 lbs red snapper fillets

rice flour

salt and pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

4 Tbsps butter

2 Tbsps lemon juice

2 Tbsps fresh snipped parsley

Directions

1. Pat the fillets dry. Roll the fish lightly in flour mixed with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in skillet; cook fish until brown on both sides (3 minutes per side).

3. Remove fish to platter and keep warm.

4. Add butter and lemon to skillet; gently simmer one minute.

5. Pour mixture over the fish.

6. Sprinkle with fresh snipped parsley.

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 8 mins

Ready: 13 mins

Nutrition:

Cal 359.5

Carbs 0.3 g

Fat 15.0 g

Protein 40.5 g

Roasted Caribbean Red Snapper

4 servings

If you like lots of flavor on your