Wednesday, April 24, 2013

FRENCH TOAST FOR A BALANCED BREAKFAST

As you see, I carefully balance protein and carbs in order to control my blood sugar.  It is actually easy to use everyday foods, the ones we are familiar with, to do this.

One of my favorite breakfasts is French Toast.  The egg in the recipe slows down the blood sugar spike from the bread, and I always serve it with whey protein cocoa to make protein grams equal to carb grams.  Here is the recipe:

French Toast


1 egg Egg, whole, raw, fresh
1 slice Pepperidge Farm Oatmeal Bread
1 tbs Butter, with salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp Honey, strained or extracted

Soak bread in beaten egg. Melt butter in pan. Add soaked bread and sprinkle with cinnamon. Turn when first side is browned. Spread honey on cooked toast.

Cal. 267, Fat 17.5 gm, Carbs 19, Protein 8gm, fiber 1 gm.

Serve with whey protein cocoa to make protein gm > carb gms - the secret to blood sugar control!

Monday, April 15, 2013

WILL POPCORN RAISE MY BLOOD SUGAR?

The short answer is yes.  But there is good news.  Popcorn is actually one of the better snacks for diabetics IF YOU EAT IT WITH EQUAL GRAMS OF PROTEIN.  My favorite way is to have a whey protein cocoa with my popcorn.

And you have to portion control it.  Three cups is 16 carb grams, when the popcorn is air popped.  This is actually a very generous amount.

Here is my favorite popcorn recipe:

1/2 c yellow popcorn
PAN spray
2 heaping tbs nutritional yeast
shake or two of paprika
garlic salt to taste
sea salt to taste.

Pop the corn in an air popper.  As the popcorn comes out the chute, spray with pan spray, so the seasonings will stick.  Add garlic salt, sea salt, and nutritional yeast and paprika.

Serve with at least 15 gm protein.  My favorite is chocolate whey protein cocoa, but you could also have ham, chicken, fish, eggs, cottage cheese or regular cheese.  Just check your food labels to make the carb gm and protein gm equal.

The protein dulls the blood sugar spike from the popcorn.  Popcorn is about 55 on the glycemic index, so it is not terrible.  Just make sure to eat it with protein!

STRESS AND BLOOD SUGAR

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, allow me to inform you.  Stress raises blood sugar.  Now how can we avoid stress?

There are many natural supplements that increase serotonin, the feel good chemical.  Among them are reishi and holy basil, and whey protein.

Reishi also lowers blood sugar on its own, if it is high.  Ganoderic acid A and B are the active ingredients.  You don't need to worry about taking too much reishi.  It is a mushroom, a food, and it is an adaptogen.  If your blood sugar does not need lowering, it will not lower it, but if it does, then the reishi goes to work.

Reishi also activates the immune system.

So does holy basil.  Holy basil generates lots of serotonin, and I guess it does not take much to figure out why they call it "holy."  Holy basil is great for lowering blood sugar, too.

Whey protein is a wonderful way to balance protein and carbs, and it also works to generate serotonin.  The amino acids in whey protein are all precursors to serotonin.  You get a distinct mood lift when you make whey protein a regular part of your diet.

Also good are:  exercise, far infrared sauna's, magnesium (Epsom salt baths) and deep breathing.

The standard treatments are meditation, prayer, and any other spiritual method that gets you out of yourself.  Take a kid to a park.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen.  Do anything you can to avoid the "poor me" phenomenon.  It is a wonderful world, full of magic and beauty.  Go take a look.  Your blood sugar will come down when you calm down.