I love to cook. In the spring and summer, I like to try out different salads. In the fall and winter months, my kitchen is brimming with bubbling pots of soups and stews. So today, with a dusting of snow on the ground and football on the TV, it seemed like the perfect day to make chili.

Ever since I was diagnosed with diabetes--and especially now that I'm that I'm trying to lose weight--healthy cooking has become a priority. I've learned a few tricks for keeping full on the fewest calories and carbs, like drinking lots of water, substituting a relaxing cup tea for dessert and filling up on lots of veggies. (READ MORE)

I have been on a low-carb kick that has food centered in the forefront of my mind. I had a certain misrepresenting perception of low-carb or carb-free eating. It taunted me about the extra hassle and drawn-out time needed to plan accordingly. If most of the country is serving carb-full food, it made sense in my head that eating alternatively would be more troublesome. Why hand pick vegetables from the produce section when they would automatically put on top of my salad and tacos from the Mexican restaurant? It turns out though, consciously eating carb-free makes life much simpler from this diabetic's perspective.

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