View Full Version : Seeking a truly sugarless breakfast cereal
screamingflea
2-19-11, 7:14pm
My body is getting less and less tolerant of sugar as the months go by. First things like Sugar Smacks became a problem (wonder why?) and then regular granola. Then I found I had trouble with toast (complex carbs and all) but I could eat organic granola sweetened with evaporated cane juice.
Now I'm bonking with that too. On my last trip to the grocery store I looked at the ingredients of all the grown-up cereals like corn flakes, and some variation of sugar was the second or third listed. I've tried plain oatmeal and I have trouble with that as well because it's pure carbs.
I've found myself leaning more toward eggs and meat for breakfast, but of course that isn't all that healthy either. I like conventional breakfast foods, so I don't want to go weird with stir-fry or anything first thing in the morning.
Any ideas?
Try looking up muesli. It's various grains (often oatmeal based) with nuts, dried fruit etc. You can just make it yourself with whatever ingredients and ratios you prefer. Also, for oatmeal, I usually eat mine with pecans, my husband with almonds. No reason it has to be plain. I have trouble with breakfast stuff too. Toast seems ok only if I have it with non-sugar peanut butter. Sometimes I do fried potatos or hashbrowns with beans/salsa and a little veggies. I always add some type of protein to every meal. I still eat every 2-3 hours, but without the protein I'd be starving in an hour.
Another idea is to put protein powder in your oatmeal, to reduce the impact of the carbs.
If you don't like the idea of eating oatmeal, I don't think there are any breakfast "cereals" you'll like, either. Since they are almost all made from flour of some type or other, they will be faster-digesting carbs than oatmeal is. Toast is also made from flour. Wheat flour has a higher glycemic index than oatmeal. What kind of oatmeal did you try?
My daughter's favorite breakfast is a bowl of quinoa with a little butter and salt. That's one of the higher-protein grains. When we ran out of quinoa last week she decided to have barley instead - another low glycemic index grain. You could also try wild rice. Here's a recipe for a wild rice porridge that helped to make a Minneapolis restaurant famous. I haven't made it, and would change it significantly if I did to cut sugar and fat, but it might be a starting point for you: http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/damn_good_food/mahnomin_porridge
You can make your own granola with very little sugar. I use 8 c old-fashioned oats, 1 tbsp cinnamon and < 1/4 c each honey and canola oil.
Cinnamon is reported to have beneficial effects on blood sugar - you might want to look it up, because I can't remember the details. But perhaps sprinkling it on your oatmeal would make a difference. Or buy whole oat groats rather than the flakes for slower-digesting food.
I used to make my own muesli and eat it with plain, unsweetened yogurt. I would buy different grains in rolled flake form - many natural foods stores have oats, barley, rye, quinoa, and spelt in this form. I mixed it with chopped nuts and some dried fruit. You could also toast the grain flakes before adding the nuts and dried fruit to make a sugar-free granola-type cereal (without any clumps).
I summarized some data on the glycemic indices of grains and flours here:
http://rosemaryevergreen.blogspot.com/2010/04/health-news-and-whole-foods-diet.html
Eggs and meat are a perfectly healthy meal, despite persistent propaganda to the contrary, but here's a recipe for a hot cereal substitute with ricotta and pumpkin--and only one egg you could replace with Eggbeaters if you were so inclined:
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breakfast1/r/pumpcereal.htm
I've made something similar without the pumpkin and it was tasty.
Grapenuts. http://www.postcereals.com/cereals/grape-nuts/#nutrition
flea,
I just finished reading "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" by Nina Planck. You might want to see if your library has it. Although I don't fully accept all of her arguments, it does provide a good overview of the scientific literature that debunks a lot of commonly held beliefs about diet and nutrition.
Another book you might want to look for is "Urban Pantry" She's got a recipe in there for "Hippy Hotcakes" and another suggestion for whole-grain breakfast cereal alternatives.
lhamo
My DH makes oatmeal every morning, with chopped cashews, dried cranberries, cinnamon, and sometimes dried pineapple & fresh banana. Sooo good!
If you're eating the little packets of oatmeal filled with junk and sweeteners, then yeah, I can understand why your body wouldnt' like it. Mine doesn't either. GOOD oatmeal cooked and dosed with fruit and nuts it loves.
Other breakfasts I eat: Yogurt with fruit and nuts; shredded wheat with berries; eggbeaters with turkey bacon. I've been meaning to try these too: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Breakfast-Patties-236930
screamingflea
2-20-11, 12:30am
Thanks for the great suggestions everyone!
As to the oatmeal I've been using, it's been generic old-fashioned oats. I usually cook it up with various dried fruits, and chopped almonds and cashews. Sweetened with lower-glycemic sucanat, and watered down with soy milk. I don't think it can get any more politically correct than that. ;)
I like the idea of the quinoa cereal. I might also try brown-rice kheer, again with the soy milk.
I will look up some of these recipes and cookbooks you've offered too. Jane, could you repost the recipe or a link to it? It didn't seem to come through, and I've love a closer look. Thanks all!
ApatheticNoMore
2-20-11, 3:34am
As to the oatmeal I've been using, it's been generic old-fashioned oats. I usually cook it up with various dried fruits, and chopped almonds and cashews. Sweetened with lower-glycemic sucanat, and watered down with soy milk. I don't think it can get any more politically correct than that. ;)
Yea that sounds pretty sugary. You might want to try the oats without the sucanat (which is sugar) or the dried fruits. And eat with what? Nuts of course, nuts are wonderful. Also can try dairy (butter, cream) if you tolerate. Maybe the oats would still cause problems and are not for you. Just something to try.
I like fruits and nuts for breakfast but I can't claim it's particularly low carb. Bananas go with all nuts but are pretty carby. Apples with almond butter are also good. Other fruits with nuts can work too. The only cereal I ever eat is oatmeal with nuts (once in a rare while I add dates or raisins), I am of course generous with the nuts. Fruit with cottage cheese or plain yogurt, full fat of course, could work if you tolerate dairy. Of course if you can't even tolerate even the lower carb fruits then disregard, maybe go with eggs and the like then.
Honestly the more I obsessed about food the more intolerant my body was growing to anything and the more I was frankly just going nuts (and not the kind of good healthy tasty nuts described above :)). So I've been pretty lax. Still try not to go completely crazy on some foods.
flea, another thing I've been having lately as a high-protein snack that you might consider trying is plain yogurt with roasted millet. It is a traditional Mongolian combination that I rediscovered while visiting my inlaws a couple of weeks ago. I do put a little bit of sugar in the yogurt because otherwise it is too sour for my tastes, but you could probably do without it. You can eat it right away if you like the crunch, or let the millet soak in the yogurt for awhile. Millet has tons of protein and lots of B vitamins. I find it really filing and satisfying.
lhamo
IshbelRobertson
2-20-11, 8:46am
Porridge! Oats, steel-cut (as Americans describe them) cooked with half n half water and milk. You could add a little sugar or honey to the finished dish (although I do it the old Scots way, a smidgeon of milk with a sprinkling of salt!)
I try to avoid sugary cereals too and it disturbs me that even ones marketed as 'healthy' often have lots of added sugar (e.g. Special K, Bran Flakes, etc). I normally just have muesli with either semi-skimmed milk or soya milk. My favourite line of muesli is Dorset Cereals (http://www.dorsetcereals.co.uk/). I scrutinise the ingredients list of every box of cereal I pick up...
Try the oatmeal without the sugar and dried fruit. Most dried fruit is soaked in a sugar solution to make it stay moist. Fresh or frozen fruit would be a lower-sugar option.
Here's a nut-based sub for cereal:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/no-oat-oatmeal-its-no-atmeal/
I generally eat eggs for breakfast, but I alternate with leftovers (often soup or stew) and sometimes with a protein shake.
I get whole grains from the health food bulk grains section (quinoa, brown rice, whole oats, whole rye, whole wheat, etc.) and cook them all the same: rinse, put in small pot and fill with water to 1/2" over grain, bring to boil, turn down to simmer, pop on the lid, and set timer to check back in 15 -20 minutes. When the water is almost completely absorbed (you can tell by tipping the pot slightly), turn the heat off, and keep covered for another 10-15 minutes. Then use your fork to flake the grain off into a bowl. I don't like sweet stuff, but add walnuts and sometimes berries and a pat of butter. If you do like sweet, you could add a little honey. A little bit is very filling, so there is always some left to put back in the fridge and nuke another morning. It's really very tasty.
For cold cereal, I believe there are a number of Ezekiel cereals that have no sugar but you would need to google and check that.
Oatmeal, of course.
For cold cereals, how about a 100% whole wheat cereal like "Shredded Wheat"? Another name I've been buying lately is Kashi. They make a 7 whole grain puffed cereal that's 100% sugar/sweetener free. (Super tasty)!
"Jane, could you repost the recipe or a link to it? It didn't seem to come through, and I've love a closer look. "
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breakfast1/r/pumpcereal.htm
When I went into edit mode in the original post to add it there, the link showed up. Weird. Here it is again.
My body just flat can't deal with any grains, at all. For breakfast I eat eggs with mushrooms, green onions, garlic and sometimes tomatos, with potato.
And what's even more inexplicable is, I can handle a little sugar, but not any amount of grains.
I haven't read the entire thread, but I remember Laurels Kitchen promoting eating beans for breakfast instead of cereal.
My body is getting less and less tolerant of sugar as the months go by. First things like Sugar Smacks became a problem (wonder why?) and then regular granola. Then I found I had trouble with toast (complex carbs and all) but I could eat organic granola sweetened with evaporated cane juice.
Now I'm bonking with that too. On my last trip to the grocery store I looked at the ingredients of all the grown-up cereals like corn flakes, and some variation of sugar was the second or third listed. I've tried plain oatmeal and I have trouble with that as well because it's pure carbs.
I've found myself leaning more toward eggs and meat for breakfast, but of course that isn't all that healthy either. I like conventional breakfast foods, so I don't want to go weird with stir-fry or anything first thing in the morning.
Any ideas?
I've really learned to appreciate oatmeal. It might be carbs but it's not a simple carb. Combine it with a protein, (peanut butter, an egg) and you've got some long lasting energy.
loosechickens
3-25-12, 3:36pm
For cold cereal, on the occasions that we eat cold cereal rather than oatmeal, or oatmeal/barley, or similar hot cereals, we like Uncle Sam's, which is quite high in fiber and very low in sugar. Not sexy, but filling and doesn't spike the insulin, and sticks with ya.
loosechickens
3-25-12, 3:41pm
yes, oatmeal does have carbs, complex carbs, but a serving of oatmeal (assuming you make it yourself, don't know about the yucky packaged sugary stuff), has about seven grams of protein itself, and coupled with a cup of milk or soymilk which would add another seven or eight, makes a meal with maybe fifteen grams of protein. Not shabby.
Why we eat oatmeal, or oatmeal/barley every morning is when I was where I swam laps every morning, it seemed to be the only breakfast I could eat where I didn't "hit the wall" on energy about halfway through my laps. It not only stuck with me through strenuous exercise, but I could make it all the way through the morning and not get hungry again until about 1 p.m.
We are conditioned to see cereals as carbs, but ones like oatmeal have really decent amounts of protein, too.....and if you couple it with milk or soymilk, it's hard to beat, both for cost and nutrition.
I've found myself leaning more toward eggs and meat for breakfast, but of course that isn't all that healthy either. I like conventional breakfast foods, so I don't want to go weird with stir-fry or anything first thing in the morning.
This is healthy, if it's part of a whole equation. COnsider looking up paleo diets or Primal (http://marksdailyapple.com).
We follow a primal diet.
If you don't want to go that route, I find that savory lentil soups (usually made with ham hock or similar) are great for breakfast.
Eggs and meat are actually a very good way to start your day. I've been reading up a lot on the Cortisol cycle and how it relates to blood sugar levels, and the articles I've read recommend a large, high-protein meal to start the day.
I can barely tolerate sweetened cereal - including oatmeal - first thing in the morning, and I get hungry again soon afterward. I usually have scrambled eggs or an omelet with soy cheese (due to dairy intolerance) or a mild flavored soup such as homemade chicken and rice with lots of chicken.
Eggs and meat are actually a very good way to start your day. I've been reading up a lot on the Cortisol cycle and how it relates to blood sugar levels, and the articles I've read recommend a large, high-protein meal to start the day.
I can barely tolerate sweetened cereal - including oatmeal - first thing in the morning, and I get hungry again soon afterward. I usually have scrambled eggs or an omelet with soy cheese (due to dairy intolerance) or a mild flavored soup such as homemade chicken and rice with lots of chicken.
I've noticed protein breakfasts don't stick with me unless I add a complex carb to it.
loosechickens
3-25-12, 10:00pm
Well, I never put any sweetening in my oatmeal, so maybe that helps. If I eat sugar I always get hungry quickly afterward.
Does it have to be cereal? The Uncle Sams sounds like it's a good choice. Mostly the hot cereals and muesli sound like the way to go. Does the Kashi whole grains cereal nuggets have added sugar? They don't appear to.
sometimes I cook millet and squish up a banana in it and add some organic peanut butter.
http://holycrap.ca/
This is made around my hometown. I can't remember if there is sugar, but it is such a good name.
A good complex carb is sweet potato or potato, but we usually just have salad.
tossed salad, scrambled eggs. On weekends fried eggs and bacon and tossed salad.
A good complex carb is sweet potato or potato, but we usually just have salad.
tossed salad, scrambled eggs. On weekends fried eggs and bacon and tossed salad.
For breakfast? I admire you. I have no energy for salad making in the AM.:)
it's easy to do while cooking the eggs. :)
I can't do veggies for breakfast, I'm more of an egg or two person and leave it at that but my husband he eats steamed veggies every morning. He found it 'fills him up' better than his old habit of eatting 2-3 bowls of 4-6 cereals.
This morning my breakfast is black beans, roasted sweet potato, and steamed kale. All three items were cooked in advance so breakfast just takes a minute to get ready. I eat salad for breakfast in summer and it also is instant, because we eat salad so often that the veggies are always prepped and ready in the fridge; I add nuts or hard-boiled egg to the salad. When I eat oatmeal, I add some chopped walnuts to lower the effective GI and to get through the morning.
Other breakfasts in our house:
fruit and nuts
leftover soup
beans with an egg, and greens when available
quinoa with a little butter or olive oil and salt
yogurt and homemade granola (way less sugar than anything purchased - 1/4 c honey per 8 c oats)
avocado spread on toast; chopped and served with beans; or mixed into a fruit salad
You could make granola yourself and serve it with milk, instead of buying cold cereal. You would know that it is entirely whole grain (and not whole grain flour, which is a substantial difference) and it would be a lot more frugal. In my opinion cold cereal is the most expensive breakfast, and the least filling.
Eggs and meat are a perfectly healthy meal, despite persistent propaganda to the contrary, but here's a recipe for a hot cereal substitute with ricotta and pumpkin--and only one egg you could replace with Eggbeaters if you were so inclined:
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breakfast1/r/pumpcereal.htm
I've made something similar without the pumpkin and it was tasty.
so I was intrigued by this and tried it this morning except I substituted cottage cheese as I didn't have ricotta. Wow! very good! It tasted very much like cream of wheat. It even looked like cream of wheat. You absolutely could put a bowl of this in front of someone who didn't know what it was and they would think it was hot cereal. I'm definitely going to have to try this on the husband, and the daughter who is celiac. She misses cream of wheat. It remains to be seen how it 'stays' with me till lunch. Thanks for posting this.
This thread is interesting. Although I often have left overs for breakfast, I would never think of salad. Sounds yummy though, and perfect for those mornings when nothing appeals to me.
I actually bought a box of Cheerios recently as I heard my childhood favorite calling out to me. Blech! I tend to think most boxed cereal are like animal kibble - overly processed, sprayed with vitamins, etc. We are almost entirely oatmeal eaters but add a lot to it. This morning I added a few dried cranberries, some frozen blueberries, flaked coconut, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. On the weekends, we will do some poached eggs on greens or spinach omelets. Living where we do, breakfast tacos are also a staple. Usually mashed pintos and a bit of grated cheddar in a whole wheat tortilla with salsa. Sometimes bacon and scrambled egg tacos or diced potato and egg tacos.
loosechickens
3-26-12, 2:30pm
Much of the world eats ordinary "rest of the day" foods for breakfast, so the ideas of leftovers from dinner, or other kinds of stuff than just "traditional" breakfast foods seems great to me. We've gotten into something of a rut of oatmeal/barley, so maybe it's time to branch out again and do the beans, veggies, etc., again. Great thread....good ideas.......
My two favorite cereals were Shredded Wheat 'Bran and Grape Nuts. Then I found out that extruded cereals spike your blood sugar so I axed the Grape Nuts.
I usually do a cup of the Shredded Wheat and put about 1/2 c frozen blueberries on it and about a teaspoon of maple syrup then mike it for 30 seconds and top it with vanilla soy milk.
If you're worried about the insulin kick you could substitute agave nectar or brown rice syrup (both low glycemic index.)
I'm also big on steel cut oats. I brown it with some Earth Balance (vegan version of Smart Balance) then cook it with half/half soy milk and water. I also add some maple syrup and cinnamon and top it with more soy milk. Steel cut oats is really good but takes 45 minutes to cook so I cook several day's worth at once. Also, slow release of carbs so easier on your blood sugar.
Or how about just plain old porridge oats? Add salt or fruit and voila!
One of my favorite cold cereals is a flake cereal called Uncle Sams. It has 1 gr. sugar and only 4 ingredients. (Whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt and barley malt) It also has 7 gms protein and 10 grams of fiber and taste great!
I like sauteed (in butter) cabbage with my eggy breakfasts. Sauteed cabbage with onions is even better.
I want to live with JaneV2.0 for a month, and learn Her Ways.
I didn`t realize until reading through here that dried fruits are often soaked in a sugar solution. I buy my dried fruit at the bulk store and thus had no idea. Thanks for that, Rosemary. No wonder I find myself in addict mode with that stuff.
I have tried a protein powder breakfast and that works pretty well. A couple of eggs scrambled with veg is great for me, and keeps me going. What doesn`t work is oatmeal with fruit and almond milk, unless I bump it up with nuts. And right now I am low carbing so eggs are us....or at least, eggs are ME or will be soon, if we are what we eat.
Tussiemussies
3-29-12, 7:26pm
We have been eating Ezkiel 4:9 which is mainly dehydrated sprouts. There is no sugar whatsoever
but plenty of carbs so I'm not sure how it would work out
for you.
Sprouted grain bread is higher in protein compared to flour-based bread. It has a lower glycemic index, not only because of the higher protein, but also because the particles in the bread are larger compared to flour and are not digested as quickly.
Leslieann, I find that I even the unsweetened dried fruit can be sweet enough to trigger more eating. I have to eat it very mindfully. But I avoid all the sweetened stuff, because that's really candy!
Tussiemussies
4-2-12, 11:18pm
we have been buying a cereal called -- Ezekial 4:9 -- which is made completely from dried sprouts. It has no sugar at all but it does have carbohydrates. Not sure if this would work for you. Not all stores carry it, we live in NJ where they do not carry it in Wallmart or Weiss but do have it in Shop Rite...
I want to live with JaneV2.0 for a month, and learn Her Ways...
Hahaha! My ways are erratic, thus ineffectual. But say--do you do yard work?
http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/viannen/viannen_84.gif
... Sauteed cabbage with onions is even better.
Add garlic, lots of garlic! I love that and have it regularly for dinner. I put a slice of yellow cheese on top, and mix in Asian chili sauce.
I am an outlier in that I've never liked "breakfast" foods. One of the pleasures of being an adult is that you can eat whatever you like for breakfast, and I often have salad.
I hate something sweet in the morning, ugh. yuck. Eggs are fine, though, but I seldom eat them.
Cream of Wheat has to be the most horrible stuff ever invented. That's what my parents had for breakfast all too often when I was growing up. When it is congealed, OMG it is nasty stuff. And then people put sweetener on it to make it palatable. What a nightmare. Sadly, there are few foods I eschew :) but this is one of them. Also pancakes in the morning, another Ugggh. If only the world had five foods and 2 of them pancakes and Cream of wheat, I'd be model thin!
I've just started making smoothies for breakfast. I use a base of 8 oz of soymilk, half a banana, a cup of frozen blueberries, a cup of spinach, a scoop of protein powder, & 1 tsp of raw tahini. It makes about 16 oz of smoothie. Quite delish!
Other ingredients to be put into rotation are frozen peaches, raspberries, apples, almond butter, & flax seed. Because of the fruit it is sweet, but not intensly so. The spinach disappears in the mix, and I love getting raw greens at every meal. Some day I'll try savory breakfast smoothies. I'm using this website as inspiration: http://www.rawfamily.com/recipes
I haven't read all six pages of posts, but ...
I'm a mess if I have sugar in the morning, and I find a lot of granola and muselix these days has too much sugar for me. There is a lot of what I call "fake health food" out there.
My old standby is Cheerios, believe it or not. They seem to be one of the last sugarless cereals standing. I think a serving has 1 gram of sugar.
I also have found some oatmeals have very little sugar. And with a few raisins, that's fine.
Good luck!
I gave it a try and had last night's asparagus risotto for breakfast. Yum!!
It lasted longer that my usual oatmeal.
Mix up a big pot of red or green lentils, then heat some up in the microwave in the morning and put a fried egg on top with some seasoning like hot sauce or spices. Not sweet, but it gives you slow carbs, protein, and zero sugar. It keeps me VERY satisfied for a full four hours.
Tussiemussies
4-5-12, 1:04am
Have tried twice to post this here --
But anyway we eat Ezekial 4:9
Cereal which has 0 amount of sugar
But does have carbs. You may have to get it in
A grocery store since it isn't easy to find.
The neat thing about it is that it is
Purely made from sprouts that are dehydrated
And seem in texture a little like grape nuts
But taste better in my opinion!
Tussiemussies
4-5-12, 1:06am
PS. I meant to say that you may have to get it
In a health food store -- only one grocery store
Has it around her...
DH eats shredded wheat (plain, not frosted). I'm a Cheerios girl. Either that or we have plain oatmeal.
This is not a cold cereal but one of my favorite breakfasts: Toast a piece of my home made multi-grain bread (or any good whole grain bread) spread generously with your favorite peanut butter eat alternating with spoonfuls of my home made sugar free apple sauce (or any good sugar free applesauce, pref. chunky) Yum! It's quick and has a nice balance of fat and protein with the carbs so I don't get hungry at 10 am
Or how about: slice a banana into a bowl, top with raw old fashioned oats, shredded coconut (sweetened or not), toasted wheat germ and sliced almonds or other favorite nuts. Follow each spoonful with a sip of your favorite milk or milk substitute
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