I’m sure your dietitian, doctor, mother, and diabetes educator harp on the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is true that studies have shown breakfast eaters eat less throughout the day and have more success in losing weight.

But is just any breakfast ok? After you were diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, I’ll bet y’all found out any old breakfast won’t cut it. Your body is more sensitive glucose in the morning; your blood sugars will respond differently and more quickly in the morning so not only how much but what you eat for breakfast really does matter.

Here are some quick guidelines for setting a healthy tone for your day with breakfast:

• Start your breakfast plan knowing how many carbohydrate servings you need.
• Get some type of lean protein into each breakfast to help slow down your sugar peak and to keep you feeling full longer.
• Test and see how your body responds to juice and fruit in the morning. You body is more sensitive to glucose, especially in juice and fruit, in the morning so some people need to limit these foods in the AM.
• Make a personal rule not to buy convenience breakfast foods and fast food. Just make it a habit to pass by the toaster strudels, the sausage breakfast sandwiches, and other prepackaged breakfast meals.
• Avoid pastries like Danishes, croissants, scones, and other high sugar, high fat carb choices. For special occasions, plan ahead how much of the breakfast treat you will allow yourself. No surprises.
• Focus on portion size.
• Watch out for breakfasts with little extras like: brown sugar, dried fruit, extra butter, whipped cream, glazes, and syrups.
• Make a batch of your breakfast for the week on Sunday: hardboiled eggs (store in cold water in an airtight container), a healthy breakfast casserole, quiche, homemade whole wheat breakfast bread or muffins (you can control what goes into these), whole grain waffles you can toast each morning.
• Go for whole grains and complex carbs. Limit the refined carbohydrates.
• Set your alarm for 10 minutes earlier so you know you have time to prepare your breakfast. Or prep your breakfast the night before.

And here are some great breakfast ideas: 

• 1 piece of whole wheat bread with 1-2 scrambled eggs on top. Add seasonings, a little mustard, or a little tub butter for flavor. (About 15 grams of carbs)
• Pita bread with peanut butter or cottage cheese and fruit rolled up. Add a hardboiled egg for protein. (About 25-35 grams of carbs)
• Breakfast burrito with a whole wheat tortilla, egg beaters, salsa, and sliced avocado. (15-20 grams of carbs)
• Half whole wheat English muffin with a dollop of plain yogurt and berries on top. (30-35 grams of carbs)
• Low calorie smoothie: ½ cup skim milk, ½ cup tofu or plain yogurt, ¾ cup fruit of your choice, ice, artificial sweetener if needed. (35-40 grams of carbs)
• Homemade quiche made with skim milk, egg beaters, veggies, and whole wheat crust (or go crustless). (30-40 grams of carbs)
• Steel cut oats (30 grams of carbs for ¼ cup) or regular rolled oats, not the packaged oatmeal, (15 grams of carbs for ½ cup) with peanut butter and cinnamon. Add an egg on the side.
• Egg white omelet with tons of veggies. Have a piece of whole wheat toast on the side. (20-25 grams of carbs)
• 1 whole grain (wheat, oatmeal, buckwheat, etc) pancake or waffle with peanut butter and berries (you don’t even need syrup!). (About 30 grams of carbs)
• ½ cup unflavored Greek yogurt or plain yogurt with berries, almonds, flax seed. (30-35 grams of carbs)
• Whole wheat English muffin with a slice of lean cut ham and mustard. (About 30 grams of carbs)
• In a pinch, try a diabetes friendly shake like Glucerna.
• Have leftovers! Repeat your healthy dinner or lunch from the day before in smaller portions.
• Eggs any way! Scrambled, poached, cooked with pam, hardboiled. Add a piece of whole wheat toast, fruit, oatmeal, or light yogurt to get in good carbohydrates.