One of my top tips as a dietitian is to try to have breakfast whenever it’s possible! It will make you feel energetic, ready to tackle whatever comes during the day. Even if you don’t have time to cook a full English breakfast in the morning, you can prepare a quick smoothie the night before. So you only need to grab it and go in the morning.
If you follow my tips you can not only have a delicious breakfast whenever and wherever you want, but will stabilize your blood sugar levels for hours, which is a must if you live with diabetes!
Here are my top tips, using the Diabetes Plate Method as a guideline, if you decide to make your own smoothies at home:
1. Choose a low-carb fruit
You can’t go wrong with berries here: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries are all good choices. They have a low glycemic index which means they will not raise blood sugar levels quickly, if you eat them moderately. Eating only 0.5 a cup, you can keep the glycemic load low as well.
2. Add healthy source of fat
Fats are slowing down the absorption of carbs, so it’s a good idea to include them in your smoothie. You can either choose a full-fat yoghurt/greek yoghurt or add a plant-based healthy fat to your smoothie like a piece of avocado or a tablespoon of any type of nut butter.
3. Add a healthy source of protein
Just like fat, sources of protein can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates. Not to mention, if you add protein sources, your smoothie will fill you up longer! If you eat dairy, add some high protein yoghurt to your smoothies or a scoop of whey protein. But even if you are vegan you can enjoy the benefits of plant-based protein powders, like pea protein powder or rice protein powder! (Even better if you use a mix of plant-based protein powders.)
4. Don’t forget about the fiber!
Adding some low-carb veggies to your smoothie is an excellent way not only to increase your daily veggie consumption, but also to add more fiber to your meal and further help to balance out your blood sugar levels. Adding some green veggies like zucchini, kale, spinach could be one way to eat. But you can also add 1 or teaspoon of seeds (eg. chia seeds, linseeds, hemp seeds) or even psyllium husk to further increase the fiber content of your smoothies.
5. Choose a low-carb sweetener
It’s great if the sweetness of fruits are enough for you, but if you have a sweet tooth you might consider using some kind of a sweetener. A zero-calorie option would be stevia or erythritol. Be careful with natural syrups like agave, honey, maple syrup, date syrup, etc. because they are shown as healthy sugar alternatives but they are full of carbs (simple sugars) and they will most probably have an affect on your blood sugar levels.
If you keep these simple tips and tricks in mind, you can enjoy a glass of smoothie even if you have insulin resistance, diabetes or pre-diabetes. If you want to be sure you can even log it in a diabetes management app, like DiabTrend, to see how many carbs your favourite smoothie has.
