Carolyn Ketchum

(www.alldayidreamaboutfood.com)  

The way I see it, I didn’t choose the low-carb lifestyle, it chose me.  See, I’d always been slender and relatively active and healthy, so the diagnosis of diabetes came as quite a shock.  I quickly found myself in mourning for the life I thought I would be leading, the life where I could enjoy cooking and baking and eating as I had always done.  I knew low-carb was the way to go for my health, and I thought that it meant the end of my favorite pastimes.  Prior to diabetes, I had been The Baker, the person who always brought baked goods to office parties and meetings, and saw holidays like Christmas as an excuse to make dozens of treats.  I couldn’t imagine my life without baking. 

It wasn’t long before I was scouring the internet, looking for recipes on low-carb baked goods.  And I was fortunate that, early on, I came across a couple of great websites with more information and ideas than I thought possible.   One of these was Jennifer’s wonderful blog, Splendid Low Carbing.  Sites like hers gave me hope that I could learn the ropes of low-carb cooking and baking.  I had already started my own food blog, All Day I Dream About Food, before I was diagnosed, but it took on much more purpose afterwards.  As I began to play and experiment with alternative ingredients, I gained more confidence, and soon found myself creating my own recipes.  I had a lot of success, with a few outright failures thrown in to keep me humble.  And as my blog grew and attracted some attention, Jennifer and I started to correspond.  Next thing I knew, she was asking me to be a part of this amazing project. 

In my portion of this collaborative effort, you will find an emphasis on baked goods and sweets.  I like to cook, but baking is my first love.  I have developed a feel for how low-carb and gluten-free ingredients behave, and I love nothing more than developing new recipes.  I particularly enjoy taking an old, high-carb, gluten-filled favorite and seeing if I can make it over into a low-carb treat.  I daresay I have become a better baker, as my technical baking skills have improved and I have become far more creative in the kitchen. 

So although I didn’t exactly come to the low-carb lifestyle willingly, I am happy I am here.  Diabetes has altered my relationship with food in ways I never anticipated, and sometimes I resent it immensely.  But I also know that much good has come out of it.   At 38 years old, I am in better shape than I have ever been in my life and have discovered a love and talent for running.  I am far more conscious of what my whole family eats and everyone’s diet has improved as a consequence.  It has also afforded me the opportunity to share my best recipes with you as part of this wonderful cookbook.  Bon Appétit!