Tag: breakfast

Maybe Some Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats For Your Monday

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, health, Health and wellness, Kids, Nutrition, Recipes1 Comment

My husband and I have a golf tournament in the morning and it starts pretty early. I am making this Apple Cinnamon Slow Cooker Oatmeal recipe tonight so that we can have something healthy and hearty in the morning ready to go.  I love crock pot oatmeal because it makes the house smell amazing and there’s something really pampering about having a hot breakfast waiting for you when you wake up. Just drizzle a little honey or maple syrup and heavy cream over the top and you’ll be happy as can be!

Recipe here.

You might also like:

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Pumpkin Waffles

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Oat Muffins

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Smoked Salmon Egg Bake

Fats, Carbs and Protein For The Win

On By Cultivate WellnessIn breakfast, Cooking, diabetes, diet, disease, dysglycemia, eating, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, wellness2 Comments

I have always struggled with my blood sugar. I am infamous in my family for getting, shall we say, cranky if my blood sugar dips. I regularly get a little lightheaded upon standing if it’s been too long since I last ate, and there have been times when I have gotten sweaty, shaky, and nauseated from waiting too long to eat.

I always just thought that this was how I was built. I couldn’t understand it when people told me they regularly skipped meals. I couldn’t fathom how that was even possible. In my recent studies to become a Nutrition Consultant, I’ve been learning a lot about blood sugar irregularities, also knows as dysglycemia. Because of regular blood tests, I know that everything else is functioning normally, and so far my low blood sugar issues haven’t caused any damage. BUT, left unchecked, high or low blood sugar can lead to all kinds of problems. We all know diabetes is a huge problem in our country, and chronically high blood sugar can (and probably will) lead to a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis somewhere down the line unless you get it under control.

The good news is there is a lot we can do with our nutrition to help stabilize our blood sugar. Last week I started a concerted effort to make sure every single snack and meal contained a healthy fat (think nuts, avocado, fish, whole fat yogurt, olives, olive oil), a healthy carb (like those found in sweet potatoes, sprouted grain toast, or an apple), and high quality protein (again, nuts and fish and yogurt, but also chicken, legumes, a hard boiled egg, or hummus). Plus for each meal, lots of non-starchy veggies. I also have been giving myself a snack a couple hours after breakfast. I used to try to just hold out until lunch, but would find myself literally counting the minutes until 11:00 a.m. Ever since I’ve made these changes, It has made a HUGE difference in my hunger levels. It used to be that every afternoon between about 2 pm and dinner time, I would be ravenous. Normally that’s when I would inhale too many crackers because my blood sugar was low and simple carbs were what my body was begging for. But for the last week my blood sugar feels quite stable. I can wait until 12:00 or 1:00 for lunch now that I’m having a snack. And that period between lunch and dinner is no longer excruciating (because I’m nourishing my body with what it needs earlier in the day). I’ve been on vacation with family and have been so much more flexible in when we eat our meals because I’m not feeling like I might pass out if I don’t eat rightthisverysecond.

I don’t know if my weight will change, and quite frankly I don’t care. I like the fact that I feel healthier, more flexible about my eating schedule, and less cranky. I’m sure my family will enjoy those benefits as well.

So, if you feel like maintaining an equilibrium with your blood sugar is an issue, try this method. It takes a bit of planning, but it is worth it. And please check back in with me and let me know if it works for you!

For healthy snacking ideas, click here.

You might also like:

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Smoked Salmon Egg Bake

Healthy Breakfast Recipe — Tuna Stuffed Avocado

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Pumpkin Waffles

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Pumpkin Waffles

On By Cultivate WellnessIn baking, breakfast, Cooking, diet, disease, eating, health, Health and wellness, Kids, Nutrition, Recipes, wellness4 Comments

The third healthy breakfast recipe I want to feature this week is one you can make ahead of time and keep in the freezer until you are ready. We regularly make extra batches of waffles and pancakes on the weekend to pull out on busy weekday mornings. These waffles are gluten-free and paleo friendly (even though we are neither in our household). To add a bit of extra protein to your breakfast, I would suggest a serving of chicken breakfast sausage. I really like Applegate. Their chicken apple link sausage only contain Chicken, Dried Apples, Water, Honey, Salt, Spices and Parsley. 3 links are 120 calories and will add 9 grams of protein to your meal.  They are pricey, but because I eat mostly vegetarian and my husband does his own thing for breakfast, we use them sparingly.

If you don’t have a waffle iron, you can use this as pancake batter instead.  Enjoy!

pumpkin-waffles

You might also like:

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Smoked Salmon Egg Bake

Healthy Breakfast Recipe — Tuna Stuffed Avocado

Healthy Snacks

Healthy Breakfast Recipe: Smoked Salmon Egg Bake

On By Cultivate WellnessIn baking, breakfast, Cooking, diet, disease, eating, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, Recipes5 Comments

Following up on yesterday, I’m featuring a Smoked Salmon Egg Bake for today’s healthy breakfast. It has healthy fats (salmon, eggs), high quality protein (eggs, salmon), and some healthy carbs in the form of zucchini. These three components of breakfast will start you on the right path first thing in the morning, help stabilize your blood sugar, and hopefully reduce those sugar cravings later in the day.

Give this a try, eat it as easy leftovers all week!

 

smoked-salmon-egg-bake

You might also like:

Healthy Breakfast Recipe — Tuna Stuffed Avocado

New Recipe: Easy Peanut Butter Balls (and an update on the elimination diet).

Midweek Mashup

Healthy Breakfast Recipe — Tuna Stuffed Avocado

On By Cultivate WellnessIn breakfast, Cooking, diet, disease, eating, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, Recipes3 Comments

I recently created an educational handout for healthy breakfast recipes with lots of protein. Because here’s the deal: if you notice yourself craving carbs and sugar throughout the day, many times it’s because you aren’t getting enough protein at breakfast. A bowl of cereal with lots of refined flour or grains is satisfying at first, but really it doesn’t sustain you for long.  You ideally should be having high quality protein, healthy fats, and quality carbs (this can be in the form of vegetables or fruits) at breakfast. So, an avocado filled with tuna has healthy fats (tuna, avocado), high quality protein (tuna), and healthy carbs (avocado,which is also high in fiber, and red bell pepper).

If you have a problem controlling yourself around sugar, don’t blame your lack of “willpower”. When your caveman brain is telling you it needs sugar, it’s very hard to resist. But you can help to quiet that voice by setting yourself up to avoid those cravings in the first place. A savory breakfast can help. If you have a sugar problem, but you start your morning eating something really sweet, even if it’s a healthy smoothie, you’re just feeding into it. If you start with a savory breakfast that has fat/protein/healthy carbs, you might find yourself slowly craving sugar less and less.  Just a note: fruits and smoothies aren’t “bad”. But if you are having trouble with sugar, it’s best for a few days to skip the sweet breakfast.

I’ll post one breakfast recipe each day for the next three days. Just give them a try for the next few days and let me know if you notice any difference! This first one couldn’t be any easier, and will take just a couple minutes more than pouring a bowl of cereal.

Enjoy!

 

tuna-stuffed-avocado

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Oat Muffins

On By Cultivate WellnessIn baking, Cooking, Health and wellness, Nutrition2 Comments

Pumpkin muffins

It’s chilly and rainy here.  The leaves have covered the sidewalks and I had to wear gloves and a hat to take the dog for her walk.  It is fully fall here, there’s no denying that.  There is even talk of some snow fall tonight.

I had plans to go golfing today but with the arrival of rain it became a different kind of day.  My daughter is turning 11 on Halloween, so I decided to cozy up and make her some muffins.  She loves pumpkin muffins so I set out to make a healthy version that she could have for breakfast this week.

I found a recipe that looked great on Food.com and knew that with a few tweaks of my own I could reduce the sugar and add some whole grains without compromising the taste or texture.  The original recipe also called for nuts, but since my kiddo lives for chocolate and doesn’t love nuts in her baked goods, I subbed semi-sweet chocolate chips for the nuts. If you love both I think you could absolutely add nuts and chocolate (which would be my vote but since it’s her birthday and her muffins, I did what all mothers do from time to time and sacrificed.  It was a big one but I’ll recover).

What I love about pumpkin muffins, especially when you use whole wheat flour, is that you are getting good amounts of fiber and phytonutrients.  Carotenoids from the pumpkin are what give it that beautiful orange color (just like in carrots).   Epidemiological studies suggest that diets high in carotenoid-rich fruit and vegetables are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.  Dietary carotenoids are also thought to provide health benefits in decreasing the risk of disease, particularly certain cancers and eye disease. Carotenoids are best absorbed with some fat, which is why I kept the oil in this recipe instead of replacing it with apple sauce which I sometimes opt to do when baking.

The end result is a delicious, moist and flavorful pumpkin muffin that I am sure you’ll love as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups  pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1⁄2cup  canola oil (preferably organic)
  • 1⁄2cup  water
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups  white whole wheat flour (I love King Arthur Flour)
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1⁄4teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet or milk)

METHOD:

  1. Heat oven to 375*F.
  2. Grease and flour muffin tins, or use paper liners.
  3. In large mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips, blend until just combined (do not overmix)
  4. Stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full.
  6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins test done when a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool in pan or on a wire rack.
  8. Eat them all in one sitting Savor them over the course of a couple of weeks, keeping them in the freezer to pull out as desired.

Makes 24.