January 2026 - A surprising diagnosis
2026 is already proving to be a doozy! This New Years Eve was a lot different from anything John and I have ever experienced… the day started off fairly normal, with John headed off to work, but by the afternoon we were sitting in our hometown emergency room. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the holiday we probably could have avoided the ER, but as most clinics were closed and he needed a prescription fast, that’s where we ended up. Why? We learned that John had dangerously high blood sugar levels! Neither one of us have much experience with diabetes, but boy oh boy have we gotten an education in this last month.
Being diagnosed with diabetes for your 50th birthday is hard. Breaking bad habits, building new habits, experimenting with what works, what doesn’t and all the highs and lows that come with it is a lot of change. Change that we weren’t prepared to deal with. Luckily for us, we love to try new things and to learn, so that’s exactly what we did. We learned that carbs have to be balanced - that they can’t be cut out completely (hello low blood sugar!) and that you don’t have to give up everything that you love, it just has to be loved in moderation!
Of course, one of our biggest concerns now is how does this translate into barbecue?!? Anyone who has ever watched and/or competed in a KCBS competition knows that you’ve got to create that ultimate bite of meat candy! How might this diagnosis change our recipes? Do they have to change? Will we cook, but not eat our own barbecue? All these questions and more jumped to the forefront of our minds. And, of course, it’s January, where a cold front just dumped 5” of snow and -18° wind chills in our hometown. We weren’t brave enough to sign up for the SJV Winter Rub in Omaha, NE competition where they had to deal with the frigid temps. I can’t imagine how they kept the food warm. How do you prep for cold BBQ? Like you would for a slice of cold pizza? Actually, that might have been a challenge I would have enjoyed. And that, my friends, is why we compete!!
Brad’s class is just around the corner! See you in next month’s blog… :)