# Breakfast



## MargB (Feb 7, 2011)

There is quite a debate on the general board about cereals and it has got me wondering what to eat if I stop eating cereals.

Basically, I only started eating breakfast at all after I was diagnosed with stomach ulcers and told to stop smoking and start eating breakfast, specifically cereals because I really needed the milk.  Fine.  Had semi-quit smoking anyway and I knew that my habit of a cigarette and coffee for breakfast and then not eating anything until around 5pm wasn't the brightest thing to do.  

So now, 25-30 years later, cereals for breakfast is normal.  I don't have fry ups, only own an omelette pan, not a frying pan so a fry up is out of the question.  Cereal is quick and easy.  I don't have to be fully awake to get out a bowl, pour in closest cereal to hand, add milk, eat, wake up.  Take Metformin.

So, what do others eat for breakfast?  Oh, I have high cholesterol so although I can now eat more eggs than I used to, still not recommended that I have an egg every day.

What is a filling breakfast that keeps you going until lunch?


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## Adrienne (Feb 7, 2011)

Yoghurt and fruit will keep your blood sugars going fine until lunch time.  Whether it will keep you filled up or not is a different matter.

Scrambled egg in the omelette pan or in the microwave.  You can also microwave bacon and have one piece of seeded or nutty toast.   

Boiled eggs and soldiers 

I find breakfast hard as well


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## FM001 (Feb 7, 2011)

Scrambled, poached or boiled eggs with toast is a good alternative to cereal, as you can't eat eggs every day you could alternate with your choosen cereal, alternatively as a occasional treat you could look for some low-fat sausage and bacon which will be kinder to your high cholesterol.


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## AlisonM (Feb 7, 2011)

Too queasy for breakfast these days, but when I did, I'd have either oatmeal, yoghurt and berries or a grill up at weekends. Occasionally I'd go mad and have a slice of wholegrain toast with the grill up.


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## macast (Feb 7, 2011)

I like yogurt and berries..... and maybe a small slice of muligrain toast.  some days I have eggs (so many ways to do them)  they are lovely with mushrooms or a rasher of very crisp bacon.  other days I have a small portion of porridge with blueberries.

but I also get a bit stuck with breakfasts


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## novorapidboi26 (Feb 7, 2011)

Purely down to routine I have cereal, for a while I was eating the mini variety packs as they are only 30g, splash of milk and thats me, at that time of the morning I dont have the time or energy to actually make a meusli/youghurty cocktail and enjoy it, but I think i wil be making the effort once (if) the dawn BGs come down.....

I like porridge at the weekend, good for soaking up the booze...........under no cirumstances could it made sweeter with anything (a true scot)...yuch....


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## Steff (Feb 7, 2011)

scrambled egg and bacon for me or poacked egg and bacon if im feeling risky


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## alisonz (Feb 7, 2011)

Northe got me onto Oatso simple porridge, I put a drizzle of honey on it, Its well nice and fills you up


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## Carina1962 (Feb 7, 2011)

I'm running out of ideas what to have with my toast for breakfast.  I sometimes have a boiled egg, sometimes some cheese but would like some more ideas what to have with it, can you help?


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## Adrienne (Feb 7, 2011)

Mushrooms, tomatoes, kidneys (yummy but not sure about breakfast), baked beans, spaghetti (hoop things)

Just off the top of my head


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## Alan S (Feb 7, 2011)

MargB said:


> So, what do others eat for breakfast?  Oh, I have high cholesterol so although I can now eat more eggs than I used to, still not recommended that I have an egg every day.
> 
> What is a filling breakfast that keeps you going until lunch?


On eggs, please read this:

*Eggs, Carbs and Cholesterol*. I wrote to the authors to check that I had not misunderstood their intent and received this reply: ?feel free to quote those paragraphs. You got the idea correctly?.

On alternative breakfasts, this may help with some ideas you can add to yourself; this morning I had a pre-prepared sausage and veges stew which took about three minutes from freezer to bowl via the microwave.

*Breakfasts*

For various reasons, I'm one of the many type 2's for whom breakfast is the hardest meal of the day to get right. The traditional "heart-healthy" breakfast of cereal, milk, juice and toast is a disaster for my blood glucose levels. So, after much experimentation I came up with these ideas.

Breakfasts With Minimal Carbs

1. Egg. The humble egg can be cooked in so many ways: poached, fried (minimal oil in a non-stick pan), normal omelette (beat it lightly while cooking), fluffy omelette (separate, whip the white with a spoonful of water, fold back with filling and yolk), scrambled with a little milk, frittata (sort of a heavier omelette with filling), and baked. Use fillings, cheese, fresh herbs if you can, dried if you can't.

2. Meat. Bacon, Ham, small steak, hamburger patty (watch the fat), chicken, prosciutto, hot dogs and so on. Can be fried, grilled/broiled, chopped after cooking and added to omelettes, frittata or scrambled eggs. For bacon or other fatty meats, drain on absorbent paper before serving.

3. Fish. Smoked, canned or fresh. Can be poached, fried, as a mornay (easy on the thickener), mixed in a stir-fry etc. Same for seafood.

4. Mushrooms. Small ones can be sliced and cooked with onions, herbs , garlic etc and a little oil and a smidgin of flour for a gravy. Large ones can be filled with bolognaise or napoli sauce (or whatever you like), topped with grated cheese and baked in the oven. Also another good omelette filling.

5. Casseroles and stews - beef, lamb, chicken, mince (ground beef) etc can be pre-prepared and divided into individual breakfast sized serves. Put them in small plastic containers in the freezer and zap one in the microwave for breakfast. Check the carbs in the recipe to check suitability. Beef bourgignon, Irish Stew (watch the spuds), chicken fricassee, whatever your favourite is. Always test at 1 hr the first time with casseroles - thickeners are usually the carb culprits for high BGs.

6. Leftovers - slices of roast meat, re-heated or cold, re-heated chops etc

Also see Breakfast On The Run.


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## Steff (Feb 8, 2011)

What about breakfast mushrooms(the large ones) and some grilled bacon placed on top.


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## lucy123 (Feb 8, 2011)

Hi Marg,

I have either:

Cottage cheese pancakes - which are nice and light but strangely stop me feeling hungry
Portobello mushroom topped with poached egg, creme fraiche and bacon bits
Portobello mushroom topped with bit of cheddar and bacon bits, or
banana nutty shake - 1 banana, 1/2 pt soya milk, almond essence, vanilla essence, liquidised. This really does keep me going, i have a good klip beaker and take it to work!


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## chrismbee (Feb 8, 2011)

I never knew breakfasts could be so traumatic 

Personally, I have a piece of (lightly) buttered toast or 2 weetabix with a bit of milk.

Alternatively, try gruel - plain and simple.
No carbs / takes forever to prepare / so disgustingyou don't want to eat it anyway!


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## MargB (Feb 8, 2011)

Chris!  You made me laugh which is bad when I am at work.

You know, I have obviously been very unadventurous with my breakfasts up till now!  I would never think of having leftover casserole for breakfast - but why not?

Am thinking of alternate days with cereal one day, eggs another to start off.  Have got some All-Bran and intend to buy low fat yoghurt and see how that goes.  Someone has given me a recipe to make up the night before of cereal, fruit, topped with the yoghurt and left overnight in the fridge for the flavours to blend.  Will try that as it is the cooking first thing in the morning which is alien.  Can eat a cooked breakfast, just can't cook it.

Some really good ideas coming in so if anyone has anything else to add, please do so!

Thanks everyone - a forum of stars.


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## macast (Feb 8, 2011)

Alan..... I'm not sure I could manage some left over stew for breakfast.... but I remember my teenagers living at home eating left over curry

maybe I just have to get over the idea of so called 'traditional' breakfasts and think outside the box!!!


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## Steff (Feb 8, 2011)

macast said:


> Alan..... I'm not sure I could manage some left over stew for breakfast.... but I remember my teenagers living at home eating left over curry
> 
> maybe I just have to get over the idea of so called 'traditional' breakfasts and think outside the box!!!



Same here i looke over at my o/h and screwed up my face and went ewww warmed up stew for brekkie lol... im just to much of a traditionolist


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## macast (Feb 8, 2011)

Steffie said:


> Same here i looke over at my o/h and screwed up my face and went ewww warmed up stew for brekkie lol... im just to much of a traditionolist



maybe it is yummy.  shall we try it together???  lol

perhaps I'll make a stew and try it............ and maybe I won't


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## Steff (Feb 8, 2011)

macast said:


> maybe it is yummy.  shall we try it together???  lol
> 
> perhaps I'll make a stew and try it............ and maybe I won't



I just could not do it lol...maybe if i was forced and it was all i had to eat in the world


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## MargB (Feb 8, 2011)

I know what you mean but why do we think like that?  When I was reading Alan's post I thought he had slipped into listing lunches too and had to scroll back and see if I had missed a heading.

It is food and perhaps we have been brainwashed into what makes breakfast.


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## caffeine_demon (Feb 8, 2011)

when I had flu once, I had chilli con carne for breakfast


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## mcdonagh47 (Feb 8, 2011)

MargB said:


> Some really good ideas coming in so if anyone has anything else to add, please do so!
> 
> Thanks everyone - a forum of stars.



Smoked Salmon, nice on a slice of burgen bread with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to reduce the GL


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## MargB (Feb 8, 2011)

I hardly ever buy bread because I don't want to eat too much but I hate wasting food or eating stale bread.  I have heard this burgen bread mentioned before - is it a full sized loaf?  Asda do a sort of part loaf, maybe 6-8 slices which seems to be OK - certainly just about enough for me.


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## Adrienne (Feb 8, 2011)

MargB said:


> I hardly ever buy bread because I don't want to eat too much but I hate wasting food or eating stale bread.  I have heard this burgen bread mentioned before - is it a full sized loaf?  Asda do a sort of part loaf, maybe 6-8 slices which seems to be OK - certainly just about enough for me.



Hi 

The Burgen is Soya and Linseed.  The slices are a bit smaller and the whole loaf seems a bit smaller.

Why don't you keep it in the freezer.  My mum never has bread out, she takes out a couple of slices as and when she wants them, it seems to work.


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## macast (Feb 9, 2011)

Adrienne said:


> Why don't you keep it in the freezer.  My mum never has bread out, she takes out a couple of slices as and when she wants them, it seems to work.



I do the same.  otherwise I end up with mouldy bread before I am halfway through the loaf


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## Royston46 (Feb 9, 2011)

Hi marg,

Like yourself I find breakfast difficult and I used to skip it but now I have bran flakes as they are low fat and high in fibre and sprinke them with blueberries.

Typical about eggs I was told not to eat too many after we had just got some chickens which we keep free range (so now friends and family get lots)


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## Alan S (Feb 9, 2011)

macast said:


> Alan..... I'm not sure I could manage some left over stew for breakfast.... but I remember my teenagers living at home eating left over curry


Try it, you may be surprised. I'll post a recipe after this.


> maybe I just have to get over the idea of so called 'traditional' breakfasts and think outside the box!!!


Very wise words.  Actually, for new diabetics, vital words.

Breakfast Stew

I make this up every month or two and use the results for breakfast once or twice a week. All measurements are approximate; it is one of those "make it up as you go along" type of dishes. The main thing is to not add too many high-carbohydrate vegetables to it; no spuds for example. Carrots are OK for me but they do spike some people, so adjust to suit yourself. Replace them with something like cabbage or capsicum or any non-starchy vegetable you like in season.

Ingredients

1.5-2kg (3.5-4lbs) approx of stewing beef or lamb
2 cups celery, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
1 medium/large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 rasher or 4 strips of bacon, chopped
Chopped herbs to your taste; I use basil, mint and thyme.

Method 

In a large frying pan or wok fry the onions, garlic and chopped bacon in a little olive oil until the onion is starting to lightly brown. Add the celery, carrots and herbs and cook until the vegetables have started to "sweat" but are not fully cooked. Transfer to a bowl temporarily.

Trim the beef of fat and gristle and cut it into cubes of 1-2cm, or 1/2"-3/4". Fry the meat on high heat in a little olive oil in the same pan, in small batches, until they are sealed and brown but not cooked. Transfer to an appropriate sized casserole container for your oven. Do not fry too much at once or the meat will release too much liquid and not brown correctly.
When all the meat has been fried and is in the casserole container, return the reserved vegetables to the pan and sprinkle a teaspoon of guar gum over them. Mix that well and add a cup or two of dry red wine to de-glaze the pan. Bring the mixture to the boil, simmer for a couple of minutes, then pour the vegetable mix over the meat.

Mix and then add sufficient stock (or water and stock cubes) so that the result will be just enough to cover the mixture of meat and vegetables. Press down the mixture with a large spoon so that the liquid just covers the meats.

Cook in a 140-160C (285-320F) oven for about 90 minutes (longer if it is a cheap cut of meat) and leave it in the oven another 30 minutes after you turn off the heat. About half-way through, season with salt and pepper to your taste. I also add a few sliced mushrooms to the mix sometimes.

Let it cool in the fridge overnight. Put 7-10 small individual serves in plastic containers in the freezer. When you want a quick no-fuss breakfast decant it into a bowl, zap it in the microwave while making your coffee or having your shower - and presto - breakfast.

Nutrition Table

Based on those ingredients and 8 serves, this is an approximate nutrition breakdown:

Calories 400
Kilojoules 1675
Protein 38 gm
Total Fat 20 gm
Carbohydrate 6 gm
Fibre 2 gm


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## donnarob (Feb 9, 2011)

Hi Guys, 

In Norway, they eat brown cheese called Brunost, selected cold hams, gherkins roll mop herring for breakfast.  Basically, anything goes. (Brunost is made by boiling a mixture of milk, cream and whey carefully for several hours so that the water evaporates. The heat turns the milk sugar into caramel which gives the cheese its characteristic taste. It is ready for consumption as soon as it is packed in suitable sized blocks. A low-fat variant is made by increasing the proportion of whey to milk and cream). 

I think we're so pre-conditioned into eating traditional breakfast foods maybe we should adopt the continental way. 

Alan, will definitely give your stew a try!  

By the way, I keep my bread and potatoes in the fridge.  Bread keeps so much longer that way. 

Donna


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## MargB (Feb 9, 2011)

Adrienne said:


> Hi
> 
> The Burgen is Soya and Linseed.  The slices are a bit smaller and the whole loaf seems a bit smaller.
> 
> Why don't you keep it in the freezer.  My mum never has bread out, she takes out a couple of slices as and when she wants them, it seems to work.



I don't have a freezer!!  When I did have a freezer it was filled with pizzas, oven chips, ready meals, some frozen veg.  The idea was to cook up a storm at weekends and fill it with good, nutritous food.  Rarely happened and I was eating all the wrong stuff.  So, got rid of the freezer, improved my diet, and now there is no room for a freezer in my kitchen!!!!

I could do with a small fridge/freezer that goes under the countertop and only takes the space of a normal fridge!  I probably would use it now and not be so naughty.


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## Zuckerkranke (Feb 11, 2011)

toby said:


> Scrambled, poached or boiled eggs with toast is a good alternative to cereal, as you can't eat eggs every day you could alternate with your choosen cereal, alternatively as a occasional treat you could look for some low-fat sausage and bacon which will be kinder to your high cholesterol.



Not long after I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2, I used to eat a boiled egg for breakfast. My dietitian told me to eat less eggs for breakfast - maybe one per week.

I've now got into a routine of eating two weetabix, a glass of fruit juice and two slice of toasted wholemeal bread. I don't find it boring. It's food and that's all that matters.


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## Alan S (Feb 11, 2011)

Zuckerkranke said:


> Not long after I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2, I used to eat a boiled egg for breakfast. My dietitian told me to eat less eggs for breakfast - maybe one per week.
> 
> I've now got into a routine of eating two weetabix, a glass of fruit juice and two slice of toasted wholemeal bread. I don't find it boring. It's food and that's all that matters.


You might like to join the experiment over here: Breakfast Cereal test ? 

You may get a surprise if you test one hour after you finish breakfast. It may all be food, but that is not all that matters. The consequent blood glucose levels also matter.


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## macast (Feb 13, 2011)

Alan.... I'm going to give your stew a go!!!  not sure how I will feel about eating it at breakfast time ..... but .....  I might as well dive in


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## Steff (Feb 13, 2011)

macast said:


> Alan.... I'm going to give your stew a go!!!  not sure how I will feel about eating it at breakfast time ..... but .....  I might as well dive in



oooh you devil marcie


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## macast (Feb 13, 2011)

Steffie said:


> oooh you devil mandy




Mandy????  here you go again with the Mandy!!!  

LOL


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## Steff (Feb 13, 2011)

macast said:


> Mandy????  here you go again with the Mandy!!!
> 
> LOL



ahum i changed it


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## Andy HB (Feb 13, 2011)

Steffie said:


> ahum i changed it



Next time, PM a mod, we can change it quietly and make Mandy look silly.

Doh! 

Andy


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## macast (Feb 13, 2011)

Andy HB said:


> Next time, PM a mod, we can change it quietly and make Mandy look silly.
> 
> Doh!
> 
> Andy



Hey!!!

lol.... that already happened on another thread


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## Alan S (Feb 14, 2011)

macast said:


> Alan.... I'm going to give your stew a go!!!  not sure how I will feel about eating it at breakfast time ..... but .....  I might as well dive in



So, what is the review for the gourmands?


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## macast (Feb 14, 2011)

oooh the stew was gorgeous Alan .......... for dinner 

it is on the menu for breakfast tomorrow  I'll let you know what I think and my BG levels


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## Alan S (Feb 15, 2011)

macast said:


> oooh the stew was gorgeous Alan .......... for dinner
> 
> it is on the menu for breakfast tomorrow  I'll let you know what I think and my BG levels


My own breakfast serve size is a little less than one cup.


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## macast (Feb 15, 2011)

macast said:


> oooh the stew was gorgeous Alan .......... for dinner
> 
> it is on the menu for breakfast tomorrow  I'll let you know what I think and my BG levels



ok had the stew for breakfast this morning..... and it was unusual but quite nice to eat something so tasty first thing (although it was a bit of a late breakfast.... being 9am)

fasting   BG   = 6.2
1 hour after   = 7.3
2 hours after  = 7.0

the stew contained some celery, carrots, butternut squash, peas and mushrooms

porridge or berries and yogurt can take my BG up to 15 


last night's figures were 

before meal   = 4.6
1 hour after   = 7.3
2 hours after  = 7.3

same stew but with half my plate consisting of brocolli


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## Alan S (Feb 16, 2011)

macast said:


> ok had the stew for breakfast this morning..... and it was unusual but quite nice to eat something so tasty first thing (although it was a bit of a late breakfast.... being 9am)
> 
> fasting   BG   = 6.2
> 1 hour after   = 7.3
> ...


Those numbers mean that I don't really need to say anything, but I will 

I don't suggest stew for every day, but if you make up a batch and freeze single-serve containers you now have a swift brekky via the microwave that won't spike you when you want one. And it's a change from bacon and eggs or omelettes or *similar*.

Also, now that you've broken the ice, consider some of your own favourite lower-carb casseroles or stews for the same purpose.


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## pippin (Feb 21, 2011)

Zuckerkranke said:


> Not long after I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2, I used to eat a boiled egg for breakfast. My dietitian told me to eat less eggs for breakfast - maybe one per week.
> 
> I've now got into a routine of eating two weetabix, a glass of fruit juice and two slice of toasted wholemeal bread. I don't find it boring. It's food and that's all that matters.



I was worried when I read it was toast or cereal as my dad was told to have toast & cereal after years of eating one or the other. Looks like in Northern Ireland the dieticians are giving the same advice as Zuckerkranke received (minus the fruit juice which we were told wasn't allowed) Hopefully when we start to test at home we can work out what happens to dad's levels. 
I changed his bread to a recommended ones although he misses a little bit of marmalade.


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## Zuckerkranke (Feb 21, 2011)

pippin said:


> I was worried when I read it was toast or cereal as my dad was told to have toast & cereal after years of eating one or the other. Looks like in Northern Ireland the dieticians are giving the same advice as Zuckerkranke received (minus the fruit juice which we were told wasn't allowed) Hopefully when we start to test at home we can work out what happens to dad's levels.
> I changed his bread to a recommended ones although he misses a little bit of marmalade.



I'm surprised that you've been told that fruit juice isn't allowed. My dietician told me that I can have a glass of orange juice for breakfast. But it must count as one portion of fruit per day.


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## pippin (Feb 21, 2011)

Hi sorry, possibly she was working on the amount of fruit dad has thoughout the day plus she mentioned the whole fruit for fibre. I know he had to stop a cherry active drink he took to keep purine levels low as we didn't realise how high this was and he took 30mls each day for another problem. Didn't mean to make you think fruit juice was wrong as we are still learning what works I didn't mean to upset anyone. I just noticed you were allowed toast & cereal which dad is too.


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## AlisonM (Feb 21, 2011)

At diagnosis, I was told to cut way down on fruit and fruit juice (a real hardship for me) because the majority of fruits are very high in sugar. I was told limited amounts of berries would be OK. Fruit juice is a rare treat these days


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## Northerner (Feb 21, 2011)

Zuckerkranke said:


> I'm surprised that you've been told that fruit juice isn't allowed. My dietician told me that I can have a glass of orange juice for breakfast. But it must count as one portion of fruit per day.



Fruit juice will spike your levels very quickly, so it's not really a good thing for diabetics - unless you are trying to raise you blood sugar levels quickly, like when you have had a hypo. Basically, it's an 'instant hit'. I had to stop drinking fruit juice after diagnosis as even on insulin it's impossible to overcome the spike.


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## Steff (Feb 21, 2011)

Alan S/Marcie im taking the plunge and trying stew tomorrow morning daunting at 07.15 in the morning but still gonna give it a shot....shall report my results tomorrow after Work


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## macast (Feb 21, 2011)

Steffie said:


> Alan S/Marcie im taking the plunge and trying stew tomorrow morning daunting at 07.15 in the morning but still gonna give it a shot....shall report my results tomorrow after Work



hope you enjoy it Steffie..... I thought it was ok once I got over the thought of a dinner for breakfast lol


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## caffeine_demon (Feb 21, 2011)

macast said:


> hope you enjoy it Steffie..... I thought it was ok once I got over the thought of a dinner for breakfast lol



crikey - noone tell them about kedgeree!!


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