ArcaMax

When it comes to diabetes, I think it’s important to be part of the conversation; to be well-informed.

Have you been to the doctor lately and been told you’re prediabetic? I’m lucky. I have not. I’ve been to the doctor but my blood sugar remains in the normal range. I took control of my carbohydrate intake when I designed Plan Z, and got out of the nightmare of diabetes. Knock on wood, I’ll stay there.

So many are not as lucky as me. And getting a diagnosis that says “you’re on your way to diabetes” can be scary. So can a diagnosis that says your cholesterol is too high and you need meds. Or the bad news that says your insurance premium is going up because the insurance company decided you’re too fat and you don’t fit in their parameters.

The numbers by which we are “rated” for several diseases, and even things like insurance premiums, are being adjusted regularly; right under our noses. Most people don’t think they can do anything about it. They just follow doctor’s orders without doing any research about what’s going on behind the scenes.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want anyone to play roulette with their health and doctors are doing their best. It’s the machine behind the system that needs scrutiny.

Please read this op-ed put together by some really smart, connected professionals...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Related Recipes at PlanZDiet.com:

Chicken Breasts with Zola's French Pan Sauce Ranch Chicken

Chicken with Citrus Gremolata

This is a ZReduction recipe. Gremolata, by definition, is a chopped herb and citrus condiment. Super simple and so fancy sounding. You can whip up a batch of gremolata in less than five minutes. Then all you have to do is cook your chicken!

For this dish, I seared my chicken and put it in the oven to roast at convection 375 degrees (regular oven 400 degrees) for about 20 minutes (or until no pink remains). I’ll leave it to you to cook your chicken the way you like it best. This is a perfect dish for your grill, too.

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

½ cup of chopped, fresh Italian parsley
3 Tbl of extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp of garlic, minced (jar garlic will work)
zest of ½ of a lemon
zest of ½ of an orange (you could use lime, too)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Instructions:

For zesting, it’s easiest if you have a rasp. That’s a long, skinny kitchen tool used to finely grate. If you have one of those tower graters, you’d use the finest grating side.

Hold your lemon or orange up against the fine grate and just slide up and down to grate off the peel. Leave the pith (inner skin). That’s bitter. You don’t want that in your gremolata; just the peel portion. So just move the grater around your citrus pieces to get your peel portion. This will likely be 3 to 4 tsp depending on the size of the orange and lemon. You can use the actual lemon and orange for flavoring your drinking water.

In a small bowl, mix it all up. Let it set while you cook your chicken.

When the chicken is still hot but ready to serve, just put a smear of the gremolata across the top. My husband really pours it on. This total amount of gremolata should be enough for four pieces of chicken.

This makes a great buffet dish. The chicken can be cool or room temp and the gremolata will still be a great addition.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola