Diabetic Pantry Haul: What To Eat and Avoid

If you’re diabetic you know it’s very important to carefully manage your blood sugar. You may remember that a few months back I did a video wearing a continuous glucose monitor. 

Throughout the week, I ate different foods and kept track of the varying glucose reactions. While I’m not diabetic myself, and everyone’s body is different, I learned a lot about what foods make my insulin spike and what foods don’t. 

I’d like to walk you through my pantry and show you some of the foods I keep stocked that are low-glycemic and don't spike my blood sugar, as well as mention a few foods you definitely want to avoid.

Cereal:

Now, cereal is usually a no-no if you're watching your blood sugar. In our house there are two kinds of cereal we eat. One is paleo, the other is keto.

This is the paleo cereal: Seven Sundays. It's still not necessarily diabetic or low-carb friendly, because it has 27 grams of total carbs and one gram of fiber, but it's a great paleo cereal.

Here is the keto cereal, which I’ve talked about many times before; Organic Coconut Flakes from Thrive Market. The only ingredients are coconut meat, coconut water, and a little bit of palm starch. (Not palm oil, palm starch.) 

With 14 grams of total carbs, including five grams of fiber, we're talking nine net carbs overall. Because it’s made from coconut meat, it contains MCTs: medium chain triglycerides. They’re great for energy and for your brain. 

This is very good, diabetic friendly cereal that won't spike your blood sugar.

Rice:

Why wild rice? Not just because it’s a “wild and crazy guy” - but because it's not actually rice. It's an aquatic grass, and the benefit of that is it has no heavy metals. Regular rice can be notorious for heavy metals, but aquatic grass has none.

Because it's a super-complex carbohydrate, the fiber and protein are off the charts. When you eat a complex carbohydrate that's high in fiber, the fiber slows the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, lowering the glycemic response. So this, along with a good protein, would be fantastic!

I enjoyed this wild rice one night while wearing the glucose monitor, and saw a very moderate spike in my blood sugar. And then I ate white rice another night, and my glucose spike was much more severe..

White rice is your worst enemy, because it’s a simple carbohydrate. Brown rice is better; it still has the fiber and the hull on it But white rice has that stripped away. What’s left is a simple carbohydrate that spikes your blood sugar in a major way. 

While brown rice is a better choice than white rice, wild rice is where it’s at!

“When choosing your breakfast avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates.”

Breakfast:

Let’s talk breakfast. Traditional breakfast is going to be high in carbs. Think about bread with jam or jelly, orange juice, and sugar in your coffee; it’s all no good. 

I eat a pretty hearty breakfast; three slices of bread with a little jam on it. And if you look at my glycemic response to that, it's minimal to none. Why? I eat keto bread.

This Base Culture bread is gluten-free, paleo and keto. You can eat any keto bread you want, even if it's not “Bobby Approved,” and it's still not going to spike your blood sugar. When I tested my blood sugar after eating this bread, the spike was minimal.

On a different day, I had a more typical American breakfast; a bagel with cream cheese and jam, a cup of orange juice, and a little coconut sugar in my coffee. My glycemic level was off to the races! The next day I had a keto truckers breakfast, and I barely had any spike at all.

It really matters how you start your day. So, when choosing your breakfast avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates, instead choosing foods that won’t start you off with a spike!