A Sebastopol artist cuts back on carbs

In 2003, screen-print artist Joy Stocksdale of Sebastopol started losing a lot of weight. She also experienced muscle weakness and a strong craving for sweets, the classic symptoms of Type 1 diabetes, caused by an antibody that attacks insulin-making cells.

“Without enough insulin, the sugar mounts up in the blood,” she explained. “It’s an autoimmune disease. .?.?. As soon as I got insulin, I felt much better.”

Related inflammation and wide swings in blood sugar, however, often gave her blurry vision and dry eyes, achy joints and intermittent hearing problems.

Stocksdale, who had been a vegetarian up until this point, went on a quest to find a diet that would allow her to keep her blood sugar levels stable.

“I wanted to eat grains, because I love oatmeal and rice, but I could not keep the numbers down,” she said. “They raised my blood sugar, sometimes unpredictably.”

About 10 years ago, she took the advice of nutritionist Judy Burgio of Mill Valley and started cutting out grains and cooking low-carb dishes. After transferring the recipes into a computer, she recently published her first cookbook, “Cooking Along with Joy: Delicious, Healthy, plus Lower Carbs.”

The self-published paperback features more than 100 low-carb recipes inspired by dishes from around the world, from Japan and Vietnam to India and Italy. Some recipes could work for vegetarians, while others are more suited to those on a low-carb, high-protein Paleo-style diet, which Stocksdale now follows.

In the introduction, Stocksdale lays out the case for why everybody could benefit from cutting back on carbohydrates.

“I wrote the book for anyone with Type 1 or 2 diabetes, and anybody who wants to eat a healthy diet,” she said. “It’s also great for anyone who is pre-diabetic. .?.?. Everyone is susceptible to diabetes.”

America loves its carbohydrates: bread and pasta, sweets and sodas and processed foods are everywhere. Even quinoa, touted as a healthy grain, has carbohydrates.

“Our culture is full of carbohydrates,” she said, “And it’s so easy to become addicted. It starts with the sweets,”

These days, Stocksdale eats about eight cups of vegetables a day, which she supplements with healthy proteins and fats from pasture-raised animals that are high in healthy, omega-3 fatty acids.

“I needed different kinds of foods to feel full,” she said. “Carbs can do it, but if you’re not eating them, protein and fat can sustain you over a long period of time.”

Although she still has to check her blood sugar throughout the day, Stocksdale now only needs a third of the insulin she needed to take before, and her aches and other symptoms have gone away. She also makes sure she gets plenty of exercise and even reads books and listens to podcasts while walking.

Because she has an autoimmune disease, she also eats a lot of healthy bone broth and ferments her own sauerkraut.

“If you’re healing your gut - and autoimmune diseases come from a damaged gut - both are supposed to help in healing,” she said. “And they have all the good things.”

In the cookbook’s introduction, she also gives tips for switching to a lower carb diet and provides sources for finding low-carb ingredients, including wheat flour substitutes and low-carb noodles made from yam or tofu.

“As flour substitutes, I use rice bran, coconut flour and chickpea flour,” she said. “Rice bran is a grain, but it’s in powder form, so you can use it like flour.”

The book begins with 35 main dishes, ranging from Curry Vegetable Tofu Kabobs to a hearty Winter Squash Lasagna that calls for turkey sausage and butternut squash, which takes the place of pasta.

“I cut the squash with a vegetable peeler, or slice it with a knife,” she said, adding that “there’s a lot you can do with sausage. I’m a regular customer at Willie Bird’s.”

She also includes recipes for salads and salad dressings, soups and side dishes, savory baked items and desserts, sweetened with sugar substitutes like maple syrup.

Some of Stocksdale’s favorite recipes include Lettuce Cups, a blend of shiitake mushrooms, carrots, tofu and ginger, wrapped with lettuce leaves; Pithale, a pancake-like side dish from India made with chickpea flour; and Green Beans with Sesame, a side dish inspired by Japan.

“It’s very simple and very tasty,” she said of the beans. “You steam them and make a little sauce with the toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce.”

Her recipe for Cauliflower Mashed Potato Substitute can help potato lovers cut carbs and raise their vegetable intake.

“I make this all the time, and I always have it on hand, ” she said. “I’ll use it with meatballs and a sauce, or with a stir-fry.”

Desserts range from Cocoa Truffles, sweetened with stevia powder, to Coconut Almond Uncooked Cookies, which are sweetened with honey or real maple syrup.

This year, Stocksdale plans to put in a serious vegetable garden in her backyard so that she can grow her own vegetables in addition to buying them from a local farm.

“I spend a lot of money on food,” she said. “People forget how important food is to your body.”

Her cookbook can be ordered from Amazon.com for $10.95. The books are also available at Copperfield’s Books in Sebastopol.

___

“I love this dish, and it is good without sausage for vegetarians,” she writes. “Look for butternut squash with the longest and fattest neck for mock lasagna noodles.”

Winter Squash Lasagna

Makes 6 servings

½ cup turkey sausage, bulk, cooked and fat drained off

1 red onion, large, chopped

½ cup red bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

1½ cups spaghetti sauce

2 teaspoons basil, dried (or 2 tablespoons fresh, minced)

1 butternut squash, large, peeled, uncooked

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

In a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottom fry pan, heat oil until hot over medium flame. Add onions and bell pepper and saute for 15 minutes. Add cooked sausage and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Heat spaghetti sauce and basil in saucepan, bringing to a boil slowing over a low flame.

Meanwhile, cut squash slabs that will become your lasagna noodle substitute. With a large sharp knife, slice the neck of the butternut squash off at its base where the seed cavity starts. Slice lengthwise to form ¼-inch slices/slabs.

In a 9” x 9” ungreased glass baking dish, layer first the sauce, then onion mixture, and then arrange butternut squash slabs wedged close to each other to form a tight single layer. You may have to cut a slab to fit snugly. The slabs should not overlap in the layer. Repeat these layers so you end with the sauce on top. I end up with 3 layers of squash. Press the layers down with a flat metal spatula as they start to reach the top of the dish.

Cover baking dish with foil or a cookie sheet. Place on bottom oven rack and turn to 375 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle cheese on top. (Optional.) Return to oven uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 15-30 minutes before serving. The liquid will absorb into the squash. To serve, cut with a sharp knife into six parts. With a flat metal spatula, carefully remove the sections from the dish keeping the layers together.

15 carbs, 162 calories per serving.

___

“A great substitute for mashed potatoes,” she writes. “Also good as a thickener for soups and casserole. Variation: Add Parmesan cheese on top when served.”

Cauliflower Mashed Potato Substitute

Makes 4 servings

4 cups cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed (optional)

You can use the stem of the cauliflower too if it is not woody. Steam cauliflower for 15-25 minutes or until a knife easily slides through when pierced.

While cauliflower is steaming, prepare food processor with butter, salt, pepper and garlic if using, in mixing container.

Transfer cooked, hot cauliflower to food processor container. Pulse and scrape sides with spatula until pureed. Serving immediately.

5 carbs, 104 calories per serving

___

Coconut Almond Uncooked Cookies

Makes 25 small balls

1 cup coconut, unsweetened, shredded, medium grind

1 cup almond meal

¼ teaspoon cardamom, ground

1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons real maple syrup, or honey

2 tablespoons almond butter, or any nut butter

Place all dry ingredients in food processor. Pulse 3 to 5 times until mixed. Add the nut butter and maple syrup and pulse until ingredients start to look crumbly and form small balls. Take about 2 teaspoons of the mixture and press in hand to form into a ball. Place balls in a covered container and refrigerate until ready to eat or serve immediately.

2 carbs, 30 calories per cookie

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com