Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day.
For people with diabetes, morning is usually the time of day with the highest blood glucose levels so a good breakfast choice will help to improve your control.
Whilst putting the breakfast list together, we found some supermarket cereals that were far from the ideal choice for breakfast – with high levels of sugar (with some cereals containing chocolate ) and a number of other less than healthy additives.
We’ve put together some simple and healthy breakfast ideas to get you started.
Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese
Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese make good breakfast choices.
Quick to put together and easy to tailor to your own desires by adding any of the following:
- Nuts – always a good source of energy and a low carb favourite
- Oatmeal or wheat bran for fibre ( whole grains )
- Berries are a popular choice
- Fruit – cantaloupe is listed as a good accompaniment
Smoothies
A very simple idea – take a mix of food, stick it in a blender and drink it.
Some mixtures work better than others and it can be fun to find out which do work.
For the dedicated, making smoothies can be quite an art form to get the colour and consistencies just right.
For us with diabetes, we also need to consider the carbohydrate content to our own requirements.
Rather than suggest one smoothie, here are some ingredient ideas to get you started for your own smoothies – be they savoury or fruity:
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Avocados – help to make your smoothies creamy
- Berries
- Citrus fruits –oranges, pineapple, limes etc
- Bananas – also help to make your smoothies creamy
- Cashew nuts
- Yoghurt
- Cottage cheese
- Cream
- Coconut milk
If you hit upon a fantastic smoothie mixture, share your find on the diabetes food forum
Scrambled eggs and omelette
A great breakfast for keeping insulin requirements low and another choice for which you can let your imagination go by adding any of the following:
- Mushrooms
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Fresh leafy spinach
- Cheese
- Bacon / ham – meat would be used, for example, if following the Dukan Diet
Porridge
Some of us with diabetes can handle porridge well, whereas for others it can send blood sugar through the roof
If your numbers can happily handle porridge then it can be a satisfying choice.
Weetabix, Oatibix, Shredded Wheat
For those who can handle a few more carbs than the rest of us, Weetabix, Oatibix and Shredded Wheat can make for good choices.
High in fibre, relatively low in sugar (for a cereal) and one of the more natural cereal choices available in supermarkets.
