Diabetic Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast is our most important meal of the day. I was taught that by my parents many years ago and it still holds true today. It is your bodily kick start to propel you into the day. For those of you with 
diabetes breakfast is vital. By having a controlled and balanced breakfast, you can set yourself right first thing. It is easy to run out of diabetic breakfast ideas and end up falling off the wagon due to boredom.
For sufferers of diabetes, whether type 1 or 2, getting the balance of your diet right is essential. But it is not as difficult as you would imagine. What works as a good healthy diet for non-diabetics pretty much works for you as well, with some clarification.
When you are looking for diabetic breakfast ideas you need to follow a few rules. What you are looking to do is avoid high glycemic foods that could spike your blood sugar. Of course you should also be seeking to include low or non fat alternatives as well. Weight control is a common problem for diabetics.
So avoid high carbohydrate foods that release their sugar fast. Breads and dough based products are particularly poor for diabetes sugar levels and should be given a wide berth. Where bread is concerned ditch white and go for whole grain toasted with a low fat spread. You should note that we have to include yoghurt here. Full fat yoghurt is packed with carbs. This comes from the sugars in the milk and is often missed in a diabetes breakfast plan. Choosing a very low fat dairy alternative is much better when looking for diabetic breakfast ideas as these are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like sucrose or aspartame.
Carb counting is essential. Look out for anything that might have been made with white flour along with our well known cereals. If you instead look at wholemeal or grain alternatives, not only do you reduce your carbohydrate intake massively, but also increase you fiber. Low glycemic-high fiber diets have been shown in studies to reduce sugar levels significantly. So oatmeal, wheat bran and fresh fruit are tasty and great foods to include in a diabetes breakfast menu.
Alongside the carbs in diabetes breakfast can also be a danger area for fats. Fried bacon, tomatoes, bread, and eggs all although avoiding the glycemic danger will pose a health danger in themselves. The health problems associated with overweight and obesity are well documented. When managing diabetes breakfast foods like these should be avoided. But you can still fill in with healthy alternatives.
Of course foods like bacon and ham also provide a punch of protein. You need these even if you have diabetes. You of course don’t have to get them from meat, dairy products and eggs having a high level of proteins as well, as most vegetarians know. You can eat these as long as you avoid the full fat versions. Soft low fat cheeses, poached eggs, low fat yoghurts and omelettes taste great and fill you up well. I fact eggs should be counted as one of your best friends.
When living with diabetes breakfast does not have to be a bland affair, but still has to be thought about. As long as you know the pitfalls and the danger foods then you will enter a new taste area and be able to use your imagination to get the most out of this meal, simply and easily. One thing that we have done is spend a hour or so on a Sunday afternoon looking for diabetic breakfast ideas for the whole week.
Diabetic Snacks
We are a nation of snack addicts when it boils down to it. Years of grabbing on the go, reduced lunch breaks at work and clever advertising have altered our view on snacks and their worth. If you are dealing with diabetes then having diabetic snacks is vital.
Snacks are a very dangerous area for diabetics. The ones we are used to eating are usually packed to the roof with sugar, carbohydrates and lots of fat and salt. Even if you didn’t have diabetes snacks are mostly extremely unhealthy. So what is the best way to deal with this then?
Of course you should have a diabetes meal plan under your belt anyway and this will provide general guidance on what to avoid if you have diabetic snacks at all. So for all you diabetics with a sweet tooth chocolate in any quantity is off the menu. Your white bread and flour favorites like pancakes, muffins and bagels are not an option. They are packed with carbohydrates salt and fat. The blood sugar level rush from these is a danger to be aware of.
What will surprise many is the need to be aware of your fruit as well. Most people would thing that any piece of fruit would be a natural when looking for diabetic snacks, but you would be wrong. We all think of fruit as a healthy part of any diet. But where diabetes snacks are concerned it is an area to be wary of. Nearly all fruits have natural sugars in them to make them taste nice. It is part of nature’s plan to get animals to eat them and spread the seeds around. Now even diabetics need some sugar and carbohydrates, but it is controlling the level that is essential. Get to know the Glycolic Index stats and implications for your fruits and pick the lower level ones. If you pre-weigh out your portions it is a quick grab in the morning before work and your have a tasty desert after your lunch.
The real thing here is that with diabetes snacks meals and drinks follow exactly the same basic principles. Keep the carbohydrates manageable and in control and manage the other dietary consequences alongside. So we are talking about limiting fat and salt as well and making sure vitamins and minerals are accounted for. Avoiding fats is not easy with snacks, but it is possible. Replacing with low fat or non-fat fiber rich foods is one of the best diebetes snack food strategies. This will give you taste and nutrition.
To round off, here are some easy ideas for good diabetes snack ideas:
Cheese strings (Low fat)
Fresh fruit pots – apple, bananas, peaches, etc (Measured into single serving quantities for convenience and control)
Peanuts (Known weight)
Pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds
Cherry tomatoes
Blueberries
If you have diabetes snacks do not have to be a pain. The key to this is planning. For easy to grab diabetes snacks, weigh out you portions so you know what carbs, fat, salt, and fiber are in it. Use simple stick on labels on the pots. Do your research next time you are shopping and note down good and bad so you know what to buy later. If you do have diabetes snacks do not have to be lost altogether, just managed.
