What can you find at Type 1 Kitchen?
Recipes that:
· are easy to make, with clear step by step instructions
· put meals on the table quickly with most recipes taking less than 30 minutes and involving 5 or less ingredients
· utilise everyday products available in your local supermarket
· are carbohydrate counted
· have been family tested and approved
· are sorted into helpful groups – low carbohydrate, low GI, high carbohydrate, low sugar, normal sugar, normal GI, treats
· make delicious and healthy meals that everyone can enjoy
· come with enticing photos
· are designed by people with type 1 diabetes.
Who is Type 1 Kitchen for?
Type 1 Kitchen is primarily for people who have type 1 diabetes. Food can be a minefield for those of us who have type 1. Some of us (Holly) spend all day thinking about food, but all of us have to think about every morsel of food we put in our mouths. Type 1 Kitchen is here to relieve some of that thinking. Want a low GI, slow release meal to keep those sugars nice and level – have a look at our low GI recipes here? Fancy something comforting and sweet, but want to know the carbs – check out our treats recipes? Wanting something you can get on the table in under half an hour – our Tick Tok 30 recipes are here. To view all our groups of recipes click here.
The ideal type 1 diet is frankly just healthy food. Those of us with type 1 can eat anything we want to, but like everyone, we shouldn’t eat too much fat or sugar. So the recipes found on Type 1 Kitchen can be enjoyed by all, not just those whose beta cells are under constant attack.
Why was Type 1 Kitchen created?
When I was first diagnosed, I looked around for a specialist cook book. Amazingly, there wasn’t one. There were lots for people with type 2 and a few of these occasionally mentioned type 1. And anyway these recipe books were packed full of terribly healthy meals – lentils featured a lot in main courses, fruit was in almost every pudding. Yes, I like lentils and fruit but I also like sticky caramel sauce and that didn’t feature. Twenty years later the situation is still much the same; it seems no one wants to write mouth watering recipes designed for those with type 1. Type 1 Kitchen was born to fill this gap.
Who is behind Type 1 Kitchen?
“I’m Holly and I created Type 1 Kitchen in February 2018. I was first diagnosed in 1997 which means I’ve been in the business of planning and creating food suitable for me with type 1 as well as all the family, for 20-years.
On 2 May 1997, aged 14, I went to hospital to be told that I had type 1 diabetes. Everyone remembers diagnosis and the overwhelming amount of information you have to take on board – learning to check your own blood sugar, how to fill a syringe and inject yourself or a loved one, getting your head around what having a meal entails, and how this must all go on 24/7. I was lucky, I wasn’t in DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis which can result in a coma). My cousin was diagnosed before me so I was at least familiar with some aspects of the condition and the diabetes team were fantastic. We had a family camping holiday planned for that coming weekend and they were very keen that we still go. The Diabetic Specialist Nurse gave me her personal phone number so I could consult before every meal to figure out what I was going to inject.
Type 1 hasn’t stopped me doing much but it’s certainly made me think about how I’m going to do stuff. I left home at 18, went to university, lived in remote parts of Asia for 18 months and have also done shift work. Type 1 always adds an extra something to wherever you are or whatever you are doing.
In 2012 I started working as a fundraiser for JDRF(link), the type 1 diabetes charity. It’s based in the USA, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands and the UK. It funds world class research to cure, treat and prevent type 1. If you are ever thinking of doing some fundraising, JDRF would be my go-to charity.
In 2014 our son was born and then in 2017 we had a little girl. Conceiving and being pregnant with type 1 diabetes is a tough gig but, wow, my motivation to have controlled blood glucose has never been so high. Holding our beautiful babies in my arms was worth every extra check on blood sugars, bolus and stress about blood sugars!
In 2011 I started on a Dana Insulin Pump. In 2014, ahead of conceiving, I self funded a Dexcom G4 for the length of the pregnancy. In 2016 I started using the Freestyle Libre and changed to a Medtronic MiniMed Paradigm Insulin Pump.
Now for some hard numbers – I thought long and hard about sharing my HbA1c numbers here. I know lots of people with type 1 diabetes and we never ask each other what our HbA1c is. It would feel a bit like asking someone how much they got paid – you just don’t do it here in the UK! But I wanted to share my results for a few reasons:
· I think the more open and honest we are about type 1 and the challenge it presents the better.
· When I had an HbA1c of 8.3% I remember reading about people who had far lower readings than I did. I almost didn’t believe it was possible to have tighter control than I did at that time and for me it was really helpful seeing that lots of people weren’t experiencing the highs that I was. It motivated me to work to get rid of those highs.
· On this site we share with you food that I eat frequently, with this food, a lot of hard work, a pump, a Freestyle Libre and a bit of luck I hope to keep my HbA1c within target range(link).
August 2017 – 6.9% – 52mmol
September 2013 – 5.8% – 40 mmol
October 2010 – 6.9% – 52mmol
October 2002 – 8.3% – 67mmol
Here’s to great food for everyone and here’s to those of us with type 1 diabetes getting the numbers we want!” Holly