Queen Ginger Gets the Sadz.....

when she learns that the TV world's greatest Southern chef is living with type 2 diabetes!

Queen Ginger can't help but love Paula Deen!  She reminds the Queen SO MUCH of her dearly departed Momma G in so many ways!  Just not so much the blue eyeshadow part!

Momma G kept her hair naturally white, like Paula.  Momma G kept a coffee can of bacon grease on the kitchen counter.  Momma G knew you can't make divinity when it's raining.  And Momma G had type 2 diabetes.


And Momma G could cook up some of the best Southern dishes you ever laid a lip on!
















Queen G has blogged about diabetes before,  for that nasty disease has taken away too many people (and critters!) that she loved, and it's knocking' at her back door, as well!


The haters (and by haters I mean that asstit Anthony Boredom) have already started ragging on Paula, saying she should have revealed her diagnosis sooner, and that it's "in bad taste" for her to write cookbooks and host television programs heralding her delicious, if not someone unhealthy, cuisine while suffering from a disease likely caused by those foods!


Paula, in her own defense, claims that she never meant for anyone to eat her decadent specialties 365 days a year, which sounds fair, to this rather biased royal.  Growing up in the South, it's not like we had a pecan pie every weekend, or fried shrimp once a month to celebrate payday! Think about it, people: the traditions of the South are rural. In the "old days" in the most of the rural South, there wasn't a hell of a lot to do, so people celebrated just about anything they could justify, and cooked special meals whenever they had the opportunity to get together with others,which really wasn't that often! To this day, Southern cooks "fix" their best recipes for visitors, and calories be damned when there's company coming!


Additionally, there's no proof that the foods "caused" her diabetes.  While diet may play a part, and must be controlled to managed the disease, heredity and genetics could cause a person with the healthiest diet on earth to contract type 2 diabetes.


When Daddy G was first diagnosed with heart disease back in the 70's, it was hard for Momma G to part with her grease can, and her garlic salt, and her deep fryer- but she did it- not just for Daddy G, but for all of us.  She learned to use olive oil instead of bacon grease;  a "teflon pan" instead of an iron skillet; and the oven instead of a deep fryer.  It may have been too little, too late, but she educated herself with fervor to learn what was rapidly being revealed back then about heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and the like.


We still got fried shrimp on our birthdays, and maybe a pecan pie at Thanksgiving, but we also learned to enjoy grilled chicken, broiled fish, and boiled shrimp.  Just as, I'm sure, Paula's family does on a day to day basis!


So, go to hell, haters!!  Paula is good people, and she makes good food, the traditional way.  If that's a bad thing, Anthony Boredom, than you will have to prove it to me! Because I think Paula is a saint, and I hope someday, when her time on earth is done,  she and Momma G have a chance to whomp up a big ole batch of fried shrimp together! I can hear their laughter in the kitchen from here!

Life Without Pinot- Day 1

Actually, Miss Ginger is being a drama queen... she's not completely without pinot. She's just had her second glass for tonight. And she's not gonna have a third. Really. She means it. She really means it.

The pre-diabetes thing from the doctor really got to her. Here's the rub: Miss G could drop dead of a heart attack tomorrow and have no regrets. Really. She's had a great, happy life, and if the good Lord chooses to call for her tomorrow, off she'll go to be reunited with her loved ones in the afterlife. She really believes that, and this is not about a fear of dying.

It's the fear of not dying that terrifies her! She remembers standing by what turned out to be her mother's death bed, thinking "Oh, Momma, no!" Momma G loved life, too, and would have been miserable if that stroke had spared her life but had left her without the use of her hands, or without the ability to move freely about the house she considered her castle. Try as they might, Jackson and Shelby would be hard pressed to take care of their momma, and there's really no one else around to do it! So, Miss G has no choice but to get some of this weight off and start moving around more so she can stay healthy.

To that end she has decided to give Nutrisystems® a try. There's a couple of reasons why she thinks it might work.

1. It's kinda brainless. Open the pack and eat it. She pretty much does that anyway, most of the time.

2. It's automatic. They send it to the house. No grocery shopping, which Miss G hates.

3. It's built in portion control, which Miss G needs. Living alone, she tends to eat all of everything. She won't feel like eating it as leftovers tomorrow.

4. It's prepaid. She paid for it up front, so if she doesn't follow the plan she will have wasted all that money.

Of course, #4 didn't really work so well for that gym membership that she finally cancelled, or the rowing machine that's collecting dust in the guest room. Okay, scratch #4.

Still, if it can help her look like this:

or this:

It might be worth a try.

(actual Nutrisystem® website models!)

Oh, and it comes with it's own free blog site! So check out her Nutrisystem® blog !