Diabetes is a chronic medical condition characterized by high blood sugars. Diet plays an important role in blood sugar and diabetes management. Eating meals regularly and consistently is an important component of diabetes meal planning, especially breakfast. Keep a variety of easy to prepare healthy diabetic breakfast foods to prevent you from skipping this important meal.
Starches
There are a number of healthy starches you can include as part of your breakfast meal. Choose more whole grain starches for fiber content. Fiber in food takes the body longer to digest and allows for a slower release of sugar into the bloodstream. Good breakfast starches for diabetics include whole wheat toast, whole wheat English muffin, small whole wheat bagel, whole grain cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, brown rice, whole grain pancakes and whole grain waffles.
Fruits
Choose more whole fruits for breakfast instead of juice. The fiber in the whole fruit not only helps you manage your blood sugar, but also helps to control hunger. Add fruit to your morning cereal or use it as the sweetener for your pancakes instead of syrup. Good breakfast fruit choices for diabetics include bananas, berries, melon, raisins, apples, oranges and grapes.
Milk
Milk provides calcium and vitamin D. Most Americans do not get enough calcium in their diet. Eating breakfast gives you another opportunity to help you meet your nutrient needs, according to the American Diabetes Association. Choose low-fat and nonfat milk products to limit your saturated fat intake. Good breakfast milk choices for diabetics include 1 percent fat milk, skim milk, nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt and sugar-free yogurt.
Meat and Meat Substitutes
There are a number of healthy meat options for diabetics at breakfast. Choose low-fat and lean sources of meat to limit both calorie and saturated fat intake. Good breakfast meat and meat substitutes choices include low-fat sausage, lean Canadian bacon, lox, eggs, egg substitute, egg whites, low-fat cheese and cottage cheese.
Nonstarchy Vegetables
The American Diabetes Association encourages you to eat more vegetables. People with higher intakes of vegetables have lower rates of heart disease and some cancers. Vegetables are not a typical breakfast food item, but breakfast does not always have to be typical. You can add a vegetable side dish to your eggs and toast or add vegetables to your omelet. Instead of fruit with your cottage cheese, try carrots. You can even eat a salad at breakfast.
