Food & Fitness

Taken from The WEBB Cooks by Robyn Webb, MS, LN

• One minute solutions
• Recipe: Banana Ginger Muffin

It's a familiar scene: rushing in the morning hours, gulping the last drop of coffee as you dash to out the door to start yet another hectic day. Did you forget something? Besides the keys to the car, did you have a proper breakfast?

As a person with diabetes, you know eating regular meals goes a long way to keeping your blood glucose level nice and even. For many of us, breakfast becomes an afterthought. Breakfast literally means breaking the fast between your last meal and morning. To keep good energy and steady blood glucose readings, breakfast needs to be on your plate every morning. Studies have shown increased mental ability when you eat breakfast. Breakfast skippers report irritability, fatigue and restlessness. With only so many opportunities to get in all the nutrients you need each day, you will have a much harder time meeting your daily needs by skipping breakfast. Don't believe you'll lose weight if you skip breakfast. On the contrary, you'll probably overeat at the next meal, causing weight gain!

"Breakfast is boring." "I hate cereal." "I'm not particularly hungry." "I'm running out of ideas". I hear these excuses everyday from my clients. There are some solutions, and some delicious ones at that!

One Minute Solutions

Try to keep quick-to-fix foods on hand. Stock items like fresh fruit, cottage cheese, eggs, whole grain breads and cereals. Go an extra step and spend perhaps 5 minutes preparing for breakfast the night before. Even setting out a bowl, a spoon and a glass can ease the morning crunch. If all else fails, yes, get up a few minutes earlier!

Even if you don't like traditional breakfast food, it does not matter. You can get creative by having soup, a sandwich, or even a slice of pizza. Or even try changing your usual fruit choice to something more exotic. Or change your yogurt flavor.

All these breakfasts can be brought to your office or school if you find sitting down at your own breakfast table difficult.

Here are some creative ideas:

• Breakfast Shake: 1 cup fat free milk or plain non fat yogurt, blended with 1/2 cup fruit, 1 tsp. wheat germ and add 1 tsp. nuts or nut butter, ice and whirl!
• Berries and muffin: Split open a small bran muffin and place on a plate. Top with fresh berries and a dollop of fresh yogurt.
• Bagel and chutney: Spread mango chutney on a small bagel, and pair it with a side of cottage cheese sprinkled with cinnamon.
• Baked Potato and Cheese: A little unconventional for breakfast, but delicious. Top one half of a medium leftover baked potato (or microwave a raw one for 10-15 minutes) with low fat cheddar cheese and a spoonful of salsa. Return to the heat until the cheese melts.
• Breakfast Sandwich: Top a whole wheat English muffin, whole wheat pita bread or even a whole wheat chapati (Indian bread found in specialty shops) with 1 ounce lean ham and a flavored mustard. Pair it with fresh fruit and a small wedge of low fat cheese.

With these "make, freeze and forget about it" muffin recipes, there is never an excuse not to start your day off right!

Banana Ginger Muffins

Makes 1 dozen/ serving size: 1 muffin

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour (use some whole wheat if deisred)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 bananas, mashed
2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger (or use 1 tsp. ground)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
2. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Mix well, but gently. Do not overbeat.
3. Pour the batter into 12 sprayed non-stick muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes until center comes out clean and the muffins are lightly brown. Remove the muffins from the oven and cool 10 minutes in the pan. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool them completely.

Exchanges: 2 starch

Calories: 156
Calories from fat: 29
Total fat: 3 g
Saturated fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 18 mg
Sodium: 83 mg
Carbohydrate: 28 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 7 g
Protein: 5 g