Weekend Cooking 5/18

Each weekend, Beth Fish Reads hosts Weekend Cooking.  This is perfect for me since I love food and cooking almost as much as I love books!

As you may recall from earlier posts, our family switched to a Paleo/low-sugar diet earlier this year for medical reasons, to help with the chronic illness (an immune system disorder) that three of us have, and my husband happily went along with it for weight loss. It's become second-nature to us by now. We usually have simple dinners with meat or fish and two veggie sides, but I am always looking for new Paleo recipes, to break up the routine!

I recently picked up a copy of Low Sugar Living magazine at  Whole Foods (it is also sold at Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble and other stores), so I thought I'd tell you a bit about that today. Whether you are eating Paleo, are diabetic, have yeast/candida problems, or just want to eat healthier and reduce sugar in your diet, this is a great magazine, chock-full of recipes.

Apparently, it is a brand-new magazine. The issue I picked up (their summer 2014 issue) is only their second. They don't even seem to have a website yet, so unfortunately, I couldn't find their recipes online to share with you. However, they do have  Low Sugar Living magazine Facebook page and a page from the publisher where you can order a subscription (only $8!).

Photo © Low Sugar Living magazine

We have tried three recipes from the magazine so far, and all have been delicious! What we've tried so far has been full of flavor, easy to make, and perfectly fitting for a Paleo diet, even though that's not their focus (many of their recipes are Paleo, though some contain some dairy or whole grains).

The first dish we tried was Sukuma Wiki, an East African dish that is super-easy to make and so tasty! We've already had it twice, and it is already a favorite. The main ingredients are lean ground beef, collard greens, onions, and grape tomatoes, with a mix of about a dozen spices that make the dish heaven for your taste buds! Our 16-year old son liked it, too. You can see from my photo that the magazine is already well-used.

Photo © Low Sugar Living magazine

This week, I tried two of the magazine's recipes for one dinner. I made Grilled Peach Chicken, a super-simple dish of grilled chicken breasts that have been marinated in sugar-free peach preserves (I used apricot since that's what we had) and some other simple ingredients.

Photo © Low Sugar Living magazine

On the side, I served roasted asparagus and Grilled Zucchini with Basil, Mint, and Lemon (I subbed cilantro for the herbs since that's what I had on hand). We have zucchini a lot, so I was thrilled to try a new recipe that added some extra flavor - the roasted hazelnuts on top also added a nice crunch. I will definitely make that one again, too.

So far, so good! If you are cooking for someone with diabetes or other health problems helped by a low-sugar diet, I recommend finding a copy of this magazine (or ordering a subscription) and giving it a try. We're really enjoying it so far!