TSA Diabetes Challenge

I'm in a secret Diabetes Challenge with the TSA. They don't know it. But it's happening.

I'm constantly testing to see how much stuff I can actually get on the plane in the name of diabetes.

Going through security at the airport as a diabetic is a very weird experience. The first few times I was pretty nervous about it. I'd have the letter from my doctor front and center, out of the envelope, fully unfolded. I'd put all my diabetes supplies right on top, my syringes, the mysterious vials of insulin, the oddly sexual looking site injector for my pump. Plus, whatever juice boxes, apple sauce packets, honey packets, all ready to go.

The next part is the controversial 3D body scanners, which I use the D-card for. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I can't walk through that violation of our personal freedoms because I'm a diabetic," flashing them my insulin pump as if it were a badge. Confused, they usually pull me over to the side. I am always pulled over to the side. I have yet to get through security without a pat down or my bags searched.

Because of this, I figured, fuck it. Let's see how much I can get through. Once, I've tried to make it through with a PB&J sandwich, a Chobani yogurt, a pack of almonds, and two apples. Yes, that was all for one flight....that was approximately four hours in duration. I get hungry! The Chobani didn't make it!

This week, I'll be taking a trip out west to Colorado. I'll be visiting a friend who I imagine is missing New York bagels, breads, and pizza pretty hardcore. Of course, being the amazing person I am, I want to bring bagels. But not just any bagels, the best bagels in Astoria, which are Brooklyn Bagels.

This is the challenge! How do I convince a TSA agent, that yes, as a diabetic, I need a half dozen bagels for the trip. No, no sir, juice boxes aren't going to cut. When I have a low blood sugar, I have to shove a bagel or two in my face. Yes, I'm sure. Call my doctor!

Wish me luck. And promise to bail me out TSA jail because I will throw down for these bagels!

Running Through It

I'm referring to my insulin.

While I mentioned in my post about travelling that one needs to accept that they may use more insulin when on vacation, I wasn't exactly mentally prepared for it. Sure, sure, I sounded all calm and zen about it. I know I'm going to have more high blood sugars. I know I'm going to use more insulin. I know I'm going to possibly have a low in the middle of a massive tomato fight filled with a bunch of Europeans. Yes, yes, I know, I know. It's all fine.

Until it happens.

I heard the familiar beep of my insulin pump, alerting me to a low reservoir (aka running out of insulin). The pump usually gives me a 20 unit warning, meaning that I'm not going to die in the next few minutes. It usually takes me about a day to run through a full 20 units. Apparently, that's not true when I'm travelling in Spain.

You want to hear another funny insulin thing about travelling in Spain? Okay!

I fill my reservoirs up to about the same amount of insulin each time, roughly 80 to 90 units. That usually lasts me three to four days. I've even stretched it to five (unintentionally). In Spain, I barely made it to three days. While supplies are definitely not an issue, it just isn't something I'm use to.

Overall, diabetes had not been a downer on this trip. There were moments where I was annoyed with diabetes or disappointed with numbers, but they were also just that. Moments. Fleeting thoughts that were only dwelled upon until the next glass of Sangria. Which came often.

I was on vacation. In beautiful places. Eating amazing food. I gave myself this vacation.

Something I Did Miss

I'm not sure if I mention this, but I am in love with Spain. Did you notice?

Many of my friends and families were convinced that I wasn't ever coming home. Trust me, it was definitely a consideration. 

Despite all the wonderful and glorious food of Spain, one thing we did really miss was vegetables! As you might have seen from my pictures, there was a lot of seafood eating going on. And figs. Did I mention the figs? How amazing they were? How I will never be able to eat another fig ever again unless I'm in Barcelona? And the peppers. Oh my god, the peppers! Let's not get me started on that. 

However, Spain isn't exactly a vegetarian-friendly culture. The one time we tried to order a vegetable sandwich, it came with ham on it! 

While we were prepared to eat meat this trip, Jerry and I are practically vegetarian eaters with a variety of vegetables usually being the main focus of our meals. When we got home, Jerry announced that he only wanted to eat vegetables. Nothing else. No grains. No protein. Just straight up veggies. He didn't even want seasoning. Jerry? Not want seasoning? This is the guy who would sprinkle curry powder into our oatmeal if I let him.

Our first night home, we roasted up about 5 pounds (not even being sarcastic) of vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, mushrooms, and onions. With spices. By our second night home, I wanted something a little bit more developed that just a massive bowl of roasted veggies, no matter how delicious.

So, what did I do? I created a massive bowl of sauteed veggies! Soooooo different, right?

But this time....I topped it with an egg! Booyah!

Dish inspired by my friend, Carrie

Warm Summer Vegetable Slaw

by Bonnie Graham

Cook Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Keywords: saute entree side vegetarian low-carb eggs carrots zucchini

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Ingredients (2 - 3 large servings)

• 1 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1/2 large red onion, sliced
• 1 medium to large zucchini, shredded
• 2 large carrots, shredded
• 1 ear of corn, kernels removed
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1 egg for each serving
• Optional: grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil while you use your food processor or mandolin to shred the zucchini and carrots.

2. Add shredded veggies as you go until all are added in.

3. Add in all your spice and saute until veggies start to soften. Let cook, tossing every few minutes or so.

4. Meanwhile, take the kernels off your corn cob and reserve to the side.

5. Heat a pan and prepare your fried eggs.

6. Once veggies are sufficiently soften (carrots are tender), plate up, adding the raw corn kernels in at the end. Top with an egg.

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Things I Already Miss

It's been less then 24 hours since arriving home from Spain and I'm already in deep longing for the shores of Cadaques and tapas of Barcelona.

Here are a few of the things I already miss.

Peaceful, Easy Feeling

Sitting in an outdoor cafe, sipping on a Cafe Americano, staring out into these beautiful views....

I felt a calm that I haven't felt in a very long time. No rush. No worries. No tasks I need to cross off my To-Do list. Nothing else to do but to sit here and enjoy my drink. 

It feels amazing. 

The Meal that Saved France

As part of our trip, considering how close to the border we would be, we decided to spend a few days in the South of France. Having just fallen in love with Barcelona, Perpignan was going to have some stiff competition as Barcelona had just become my most favorite place ever...in the world!

When we first arrived in Perpignan, it was cold and windy and raining. Not a good start. On top of that, the streets are insane, which is particularly difficult when you don't speak, understand, or know a glimmer of the language. Riddled with anxiety about not knowing the language, assuming that all French people would hate us, nerves a little frazzled from being completely lost, our first few hours in Perpignan weren't good ones.

After a few hours of isolation in our room due to embarrassment at our complete lack of understanding and knowledge of the French language besides "soup du juor" and "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" (gotta love Lady Marmalade), we finally ventured out in Perpignan. Where it was dead. The place was a ghost town. It was like they announced tasteless Americans had arrived and everyone boarded up their windows to await our celebrated departure. Which I guess is what happens when the only question you know is "Would you like to sleep with me?" It would certainly make us popular in New York!

However, the more we wandered, the more Perpignan grew on us. Maybe this place was cute, despite the wind....and rain....and French people?

Pictures taken our first night

 

Then dinner happened. Ah, food cures all, doesn't it? 

After wandering around a bit, there was a row of restaurants right outside our hotel that seemed to be the only ones opened. Luckily, our waiter spoke English, so we didn't have to resort to grunting and pointing as our primary way of communicating. He was also very pleasant and friendly as were most people we met.

We ordered a bottle of wine, started with a cheese plate, and welcomed France with open arms.

You had me fromage!

Which means "cheese". See how much French I picked up! :)

One of the best cheese plates I ever had.

Duck

Shrimp

Tomato: To Eat or to Throw?

One of the experiences we were most looking forward to on our trip to Spain was La Tomatina Festival. It is an annual tomato fight in the town of Bunol, where locals and visitors alike prepare themselves to be pelted with tomatoes.

The experience was definitely intense, to say the least. It's basically a mosh pit with tomato juice.
Everyone pushes into a small square in the center of Bunol and wait for large trucks filled with tomatoes to plow through, leaving buckets of sauce in its wake. As the trucks come in, insanity ensues! The crowd pushes together to make room for the trucks, to get leverage, to cop a feel (which I was on the receiving end of, the downside of the festival), to catch a breath, grab a tomato, whatever else you can do in a crushing crowd of hundreds of people.

At one point, I had to yell for Jerry's help as I wasn't able to breath in the body crush of the crowd. Finally making it over to a wall that provided a little bit more stability, there was a lull in the onslaught of trucks, allowing me a quick moment to hold out my hands.

Shaking hands. Not a good sign.

Jerry looked at my hands and immediately asked, "You're low?!"

Tears began forming in my eyes. The festival had just started. There was no easy way out of this crowd and I had stupidly not brought in anything to treat a low. I checked for the other usual signs. Was I getting hot? Was my mind slowing down? Did I feel shaking anywhere else in my body? Was this just the result of an adrenaline boost to the system from being squeezed by tomato-soaked Spaniards? Should I just start eating tomatoes in the hopes that it rises my blood sugar?

I took a deep breath. Calmed down a bit and said no. I don't think I was having a low. Just a slight panic attack. I promised Jerry if I started to feel weak, we'd push through the crowd and get something to treat it immediately. We stayed in the center of the madness for another 20 minutes before we both agreed to call it quits. Once out of the pit, all feelings of hypoglycemia faded away.

We warned to not carry anything as things got a little crazy and would pretty much be destroyed. I took that suggestion too far, forgetting that, as a diabetic, the concept of "not carrying anything with me" just does not apply.

Eating Our Way Through Spain

On the second day in Spain, we went to La Mercat la Boqueria for breakfast. Which was really lunch. Because we had too much Sangria the next before to actually get out of the hotel to eat anything resembling a breakfast.

At the market, I ate the world's best fig. I never knew that figs could taste like that. I'm forever ruined as I will never be able to eat another fig unless its out of a plastic cup in Barcelona.

In the Mercat, there was an amazing looking tapas bar, where you could pick out fresh seafood that they cooked on the grill in front of you. There were all sorts of items to choose from.

Of course, we chose clams that look like penises for our first course.

And a plate of octopus and Pimentos de Patron - our favorite peppers, but I won't bore you with yet another picture of them.    

 Initially, when I saw these, I thought the were cupcakes. Really they're meringues! Don't they look amazing. 

For dinner, we went to Bilbao Berria in the Barre Gotic as my friend's, Erica, suggestion. Bilbao Berria is a serve yourself kind of tapas place. You walk around with a plate and choose whichever tapas looks good to you. At the end of your meal, they count up your toothpicks and figure out your bill from there. It was definitely a fun dining experience. Especially since we're gigantic fat kids who love variety!

Of course, every meal includes Sangria. It's pretty much the same as water here. 

Iberian Ham with fried quail egg and a stuffed mushroom with cheese

White fish with eggs, caviar, and a dollop of olive tapenade

Roasted zucchini and brie on herbed flat bread

Same as above, just a prettier angle

Sardine with roasted red peppers and stuffed mussel

Morcilla (blood sausage) with red pepper, Croquette with Pimentos, flatbread with roasted veggies and anchovies

So good. And so in love with Spain. 

Have Fat Kids Will Travel

Fat Kids in Spain - Day 1

Our first breakfast in Barcelona - Egg Sandwiches

Mercat de la Boqueria

Fresh almonds

Amazing fruits and veggies

Dragonfruit

Yes, those are hooves.

Drink of Choice

Pimentos de padron - so fucking good

Best peppers ever and Grilled Octopus

Seafood Paella

Meat Stick

Bottoms Up