Gestational Diabetes - Time to change!!!

So yes, I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and my cooking habits take on a new turn. But it's a good way to experiment!!! Last night I made a bolognaise which was pretty good.

500g lean beef mince
1 onion
crushed garlic
1 or 2 carrots
tin of diced tomatos
1 red capsicum
1 cup red lentils (though any will do)
Tomato paste

Simple...

In a pan put the carrot, onion, garlic and capsicum (all chopped finely, grate carrot)
Add meat, brown.
pour over tomatos and use the tin to add about 3/4 of the tin of water
Add in maybe a heaped table spoon of tomato paste or more if you wish
Add lentils
Season to taste
Allow to simmer for a good 45 minutes or so to allow the lentils to absorb the fluid. Mix occasionally and check the liquid levels. If it starts to look too thick before the lentils are soft, add a bit more water as you go.

I served this with wholemeal spiral pasta and a small amount of parmesan cheese. The lentils give it an interesting flavour and texture, but it's not bad and my 18 month old ate the whole lot (though he eats anything so that's not really much to go by).

Slow Cooker Meatballs

I have had my slow cooker since christmas but have not used it as much as I would like. So I have decided to make at least 1 meal per week. I don't have any recipes to follow but I thought I would give a tomato meatballs and pasta a go and it came out rather well I thought. I have a rather large slow cooker so this recipe is just a guide (as usual) and you can work out your needs from there.

- 1 onion, sliced and placed in the dish.
- About half a bag of frozen stir fry veggies but you can use any type, fresh or frozen.
- Meatballs - Made in my usual way with bread crumbs, eggs and seasoning (though I did not use onions in it this time due to the onions being in the dish already).
- I used 2 tins of diced tomato but you may only need one if it's a smaller cooker.
- I filled up about half the tin with hot water and added a cube or 2 of stock.
- Salt, pepper and seasoning to taste (a bay leaf would go well)
- I think I used around half a bag of spiral noodles.

Cook for around 3 hours on high or 5 - 6 on low I guess... Done!!! Entire meal in a pot!!

Afterward I decided that next time I will add some tomato paste as well just to thicken it up a bit. I served with parmesan cheese and it made quite a few meals.