Smart Starts: 7 Days of Healthy Low Carb Breakfasts

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1 Smart Starts: 7 Days of Healthy Low Carb Breakfasts Breakfast is the most challenging meal for people living with diabetes. In this country, standard breakfast fare is usually very high in carbohydrates. Cereal, toast, bagels, muffins, danish, scones, pancakes, waffles, and even fruit are among the foods most likely to spike your blood sugar. Bacon and eggs are carb-free, but bacon comes with other downsides and even the most devoted of egg lovers can't have eggs every day. With the help of the folks in dlife's Food Talk forum, we've gathered up some great ideas and created easy, healthy breakfast meal plans for a week. MONDAY Back-to-work Monday is a good day to go for simple toast and toppings. But a slice of whole grain toast with a tablespoon of jam on it will cost you 26 grams of carbs. And it's unlikely that one piece of toast will satisfy you. Try this: Blueberry Danish Roll-Up 1. Spread 1 teaspoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and 1/4 cup of gently mashed blueberries on one half of a piece of low carb lavash bread.* 2. Roll up, using toothpicks if necessary to hold it together, and heat in toaster oven or microwave until warm throughout. 3. Have a hard-boiled egg to complete your meal. Total carbs: 14g *Try Joseph's Middle East Bakery Lavash, with flax, oat bran, and whole wheat (or any whole grain, low carb tortilla or wrap). Variations: almond, macadamia, or peanut butter with finely diced apple; no-salt-added cottage cheese and cinnamon; or this dlife recipe for Raspberry Cheese Spread. If you don't have lavash, make any of these open-faced on whole grain, low carb bread or waffles. TUESDAY Breakfast sausage gets a bad rap because it's usually greasy, high in saturated fat and sodium, and often contains dicey chemical preservatives. However, you can find some varieties (Jimmy Dean's is a nice surprise) that have remarkably few ingredients and decent nutritional profiles. Just watch the sodium -- two links can have almost 1,000mg. Your best bet is always homemade, which is easier than you think. Try this breakfast: Sausage Patties with Fried Tomatoes & Cottage Cheese Page 1

2 1. Make dlife's Turkey Sausage Patties ahead of time and freeze what you're not going to use. 2. Fry up two patties in a large frying pan while also frying two thick slices of tomato (green, if you can get!). 3. Spread 2 tablespoons of no-salt-added cottage cheese across the top of the hot sausage and tomato. Season with fresh pepper. (If you want, you can cook the sausage and tomatoes the night before and reheat in the microwave.) Total carbs: 3g Variations: Try this recipe with any of your favorite veggies that fry up quickly. Frozen, chopped spinach would be a perfect addition. You can also substitute ricotta cheese or shredded cheddar for the cottage cheese -- carbs will be about the same. WEDNESDAY Smoothies are notoriously high in calories and carbs, despite their image as a health food. The reason is that smoothies are often made with fruit juice, sweetened yogurt, and higher carb fruits like bananas. (A regular-size strawberry-banana smoothie from Sonic Drive-In contains 113 grams of carbs.) Here's a healthy version for the morning when you want something fast, refreshing, and delicious -- that doesn't break the bank, carbwise. Simple, Healthy Smoothie 1. Start with a base of 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of silken tofu in a blender. 2. Add 3/4 cup of your favorite lower carb fruits (1/2 cup of raspberries and 1/4 cup of diced honeydew melon contributes about 11 grams of carbs). (If you use fresh fruit, add 1/2 cup of ice cubes. If fruit is frozen, no ice is needed.) 3. Add 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed, oat bran, or wheat germ for added fiber and phytonutrients. 4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and sweeten if you like with 1/2 packet of artificial sweetener. Total carbs: 23g (includes 6.5g of fiber) Variations: Instead of tofu, you can substitute the same amount of plain yogurt or kefir (a yogurt-like beverage), sour cream, or pureed cottage cheese. You can also add finely ground nuts, nut butters, other flavor extracts, and sugar free syrups. Check dlife's collection of 57 smoothie recipes for more ideas. Page 2

3 THURSDAY Today it's time for that superfood of breakfast staples, the egg. We'll assume you don't need any help with your basic over-easy, scrambled, or omelet versions. But how about ways to make eggs even faster, tastier, and easier? Try this: Quiche Minis in a Muffin Tin 1. Quickly saute a cup of fresh or frozen diced peppers and onions in a little oil. 2. Whisk together 8 eggs and 1/4 cup of water. 3. Place one slice of Canadian bacon in the bottom of each well of a muffin tin (assuming 8 wells), and evenly divide veggies among the wells. 4. Pour the egg mixture over top and bake at 350 degrees F until set. 5. Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese after they're cooked and leave in oven for another minute to melt. Total carbs: about 3g in two quiches Variations: Make these Minis ahead of time and freeze them. Make them "to-go" with low carb pitas or tortillas: Cut your quiches in half, season, and place inside pitas or tortillas. Add a little chili powder and a spoonful of salsa and turn your Minis into breakfast burritos. Check out dlife's recipes for quiche and frittatas. Note: If you're an egg lover (and who isn't?), consider investing in an electric egg cooker. These gizmos cook your eggs to perfection, whether you want them hard, soft, or medium. Some will poach, too. No more waiting for water to boil. FRIDAY Did you know that, in Japan, people usually eat fish for breakfast? Our breakfast habits are dictated by our cultural traditions and preferences more than they are by what our bodies need. Your body requires protein but it doesn't know the difference between breakfast sausage and and a New York strip, right? So instead of being stuck in a rut of "breakfast food," why not try having: Dinner For Breakfast: Steak & Cheese 1. Cut 5 very thin slices of leftover steak, such as this London broil. 2. Saute 1 cup of fresh or frozen onions and peppers in a little oil until just warm. 3. Add steak slices to the vegetables, and cover. 4. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until steak is just warm. 5. Top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, cover again, and cook on low until cheese melts. Page 3

4 6. Serve with a medium-sized wedge of cantaloupe (equal to 1/8 of the melon or about 5 balls). Total carbs: 13g Varitations: You can, of course, make this with chicken or even fish. You can also make a no-cook version by preparing a plate of cold slices of meat, a piece of cheese the size of 4 dice stacked together (1.5 oz), 1 cup of tossed salad or 5 baby carrots. Drizzle the plate with some extra virgin olive oil, and you can still have the wedge of melon on the side. Also, check out dlife's delicious recipes for steak salads. SATURDAY Many dlife members love to use steel cut oats (also known as Irish oats) because they have a lower glycemic index than regular, rolled oats. They are less processed, so all the great nutrients of the whole grain are intact and they digest more slowly. Because of all this, however, they take a lot longer to cook. They also have a chewy texture and nuttier flavor. Though the carbs in this dish are relatively high, oats contain a special type of soluble fiber that has proven to have powerful heath benefits, especially for people with diabetes. Steel Cut Oats with Berries & Cream 1. Cook 1/4 cup of dry oats (per person). First, toast the oats in a frying pan with butter until just golden. Then, add them to boiling water and cook as directed. (Since the oats take so long to cook, make a batch that can keep for a week. Many people like to use a slow cooker or rice cooker.) 2. When the oats are done, keep the pan on the stove, and stir in 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and 1/4 cup of milk. Next, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 packet of artificial sweetener (to taste). 3. Add 1/2 cup one of the following: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, diced peaches, nectarines, plums, or papaya (all contain about 7g of carbs). 4. Drizzle 1/4 cup of half and half over the top. Total carbs: about 38g (6 to 10g fiber, depending on fruit) Variations: Two tablespoons of peanut butter will contribute about 6g of carbs and 2g fiber. Other great additions are wheat germ, oat bran, and ground nuts. One-quarter cup of chopped walnuts contains 4g of carbs and almost 2g of fiber. Try this recipe for Scottish Oat Cakes, or check out all of dlife's recipes that use oats Page 4

5 SUNDAY Greek yogurt is becoming increasingly popular and available in this country, and it's very diabetes friendly. It has more protein and fewer carbs than typical yogurt. Plus, it's somewhat easier to digest, which is great for people who are lactose intolerant. The best thing about it, of course, is its thick, creamy texture. Try our low carb version of this classic breakfast treat. Greek Yogurt Parfait 1. Toast one-quarter cup of a mixture of almonds and macadamia nuts in a pan with some butter or oil. Let the nuts cool, then put them in a resealable plastic bag, and crush them with a heavy pan. 2. Add your nuts and 1/4 cup of raspberries to 1/2 cup of greek yogurt, sweetened with artificial sweetener to taste. Total carbs: 14g (6g fiber) Variations: Granola is delicious in yogurt, but very high in carbs. You can make your own lower carb granola from slivered almonds, crushed macadamia nuts, ground flax seed, and rolled oats tossed with melted butter and honey (or agave nectar), or here's a dlife recipe for a honey granola. Page 5