She's sweeet, but her cereal shouldn't be...

April 18, 2009 2:38 PM

Looking for a low-sugar (diabetic friendly) oat-based cereal with "mass" to it, preferably flakes of some sort.

My S.O. is diabetic, and is constantly frustrated by a lack of breakfast cereals that are A) Diabetic friendly, B) Have some "mass" to them (preferably flakes of some sort), and C) are natural / organic. We've tried Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, but none of the flake-based cereals are safe - they all have sugar. The safe ones are all Cheerios clones, that she doesn't like the consistency of (They aren't filling for her).

Anyone have a brand they can recommend?

posted by GJSchaller to health & fitness (12 comments total)

With the cereal AND milk, she might be putting too much carbs in her system. I know it sucks, but she might have to change her habits in order to stay healthy.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:41 PM on April 18

I'm diabetic and a fan of Bear Naked Peak Protein - very substantial, 16g carb, with fiber and protein to keep her on an even keel. It's also pretty natural. I heat it up and add about a 1/4 c. milk, which takes the carb count up to 18g total.

Old-fashioned oatmeal is also great because it contains fiber, making it easy to keep your sugars normal (I'm type I, but even with precise dosing of insulin my sugars are still more predictable when I eat low glycemic index carbs.) As a slim girl I usually only do 1/4 c. which is about 13g of carb.

For cold cereals, I've learned to love fiber heavy All Bran, but I just realized it contains HFCS and so am looking for an alternative. Good luck.
posted by pearl228 at 3:34 PM on April 18

My suggestion: oatmeal.
"You eat it and your brain tells your body that it's full," said Ruggiero, a registered dietitian who works in New York and Florida. "It's satisfying and you chew it and you feel like you've eaten something."
posted by iviken at 3:42 PM on April 18 [2 favorites]

This answer is aimed at Type 1 diabetes, not sure if it is relevant for Type 2.

My girlfriend is diabetic and needs a filling breakfast since she's a teacher and gets very little time for lunch. Her usual breakfasts are (these are all from the UK so apologies if there's no equivalent in the US) bran flakes, Shreddies, and Weetabix. They are all low sugar and filling. You can get definitely get organic Weetabix. You can probably get organic bran flakes somewhere. You can't get organic Shreddies but there might be another brand that does them.

She says unsweetened museli is good too (I'm sure you can get that organicly).
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:47 PM on April 18

You might try making your own granola - it's very easy. I make mine w/ oatmeal, steel cut oats, walnuts, almonds, wheat germ, pecan meal, oat bran, and chopped dried fruit (eg craisins, raisins, dried cherries, dried blueberries - though sugar implications might discourage this).

The recipe I prefer (Crunchy Gingered Granola from the 'Simply In Season' cookbook, calls for 1/4 a cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of honey, but I believe these could be reduced.
posted by harnharn at 4:07 PM on April 18 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure how low-sugar your SO has to be, but I am a fan of Kashi GoLean Honey Almost Flax, and the sugars added include evaporated cane juice, honey, and brown rice syrup (not sure if that is a sugar?) Anyways, I'm not sure which of those are ok on her eating plan.
posted by sararah at 4:43 PM on April 18

Uncle Sam Cereal
posted by martin10bones at 5:13 PM on April 18

I'm not diabetic, but I aim for low glycemic index foods for weight loss. Barley is lowest on the glycemic index for grains. I have rolled barley and flaxseed for breakfast most mornings. There's a company called BGLife that makes Barley Flakes, but I've never had them. (This is, of course, a perfect excuse for me to try rolling my own barley flakes; it shouldn't be too hard - spread a thin barley slurry, maybe add a bit of egg white to bind, in a baking pan and bake until crisp)
posted by zerokey at 6:09 PM on April 18 [1 favorite]

Almonds, rolled oats and milk works well for me (I don't have diabetes, though since Tiny Ms Flabdablet does, I've become more aware of carbs in general). As a fat guy prone to overeating, I find I can eat less of this mixture than any other kind of breakfast cereal and still feel satiated. The crunchiness of the almonds nicely sets off the chewiness of the oats.
posted by flabdablet at 6:33 PM on April 18

Check out Bobo's Oat Bars. I'm not sure if they are diabetic-friendly, but I love them for many of the reasons you listed: low in sugar (just sweet enough to the taste, I hate overly sweet stuff), all natural and organic, and very filling and hearty.
posted by whiskeyspider at 6:35 PM on April 18

I don't know if it's feasible, but steel cut oats can be made by the bucketload, refrigerated, and heated in the microwave for a minute in the morning. They've got a great texture, like the pop of caviar, and are high in fiber. If they're ok for diabetics, they might one good choice to enter into the breakfast rotation.
posted by mollweide at 6:48 PM on April 18

As long as she likes the taste, I have to agree that oatmeal may be the way to go here. Oats are carbs, so as long as you're looking for an oat-based cereal, there's only so far you can get away from a food that will cause a glucose rise. But plain rolled or steel-cut oats are pretty low on the glycemic index, as I recall, so they have that going for them. I'm assuming she is a type 2 diabetic, by the way.
posted by chinston at 7:46 PM on April 18