In room breakfasts for diabetics?

[aubriee]

My 73 y/o mom is a VERY early riser (4:30-5:00 am) and a diabetic who MUST eat breakfast. I am not a breakfast eater and would prefer to sleep a little later and spend the time getting dressed for the day. Can you guys please suggest some good breakfast foods we could pack, so she could eat breakfast in the room? Due to her insulin we will have a small refridgerator in the room (medical reasons).

We will be on the dining plan, but my mom MUST eat at least three meals/day so we will be using our CS and TS for the other meals. Going down to the food court by herself is not an option, because she has absolutely no sense of direction and gets lost even in her home town. Last Dec. she was tired so I tried to get her to go back to the room by herself to rest and she went into a panic refusing to even let me out of her sight for a minute for the rest of the trip.

 

[kcashner]

She probably requires some protein in her breakfast. This is usually the hard item as carbs, etc. are fairly easy. You didn't specify where you are staying. If she needs a refrigerator for insulin, you need to let your resort know this (it used to be free if needed for medical reasons). It is small, but big enough for a little food.

Don't flame me--I know hospitals would never put medications and food in the same refrigerator, but people at home do it all the time.

SO...back to what you can do...

If you have the fridge, you might save a little of the entree from the night before. That could be one of the easiest things. There are protein bars that are more than glorified candy bars. Unfortunately, you have to read the labels carefully and "taste test" them. Some are little more than mis-marketed candy bars and some taste like cardboard. Personally, I like some of the Zone Perfect bars (but I'm not diabetic). Other thoughts--peanut butter crackers, glucerna bars, nuts of any description. Some fruit for the carbs?
What does she like to eat at home?

 

[emma'smom]

My mom is a diabetic and she usually eats whole grain cereal (like granola) and fruit. She picks low sugar fruits like green apples/pears/melon, but I don't think that is a huge issue (in limited quantities) as she will eat fruit like strawberries and bananas on occasion. She also will eat whole grain muffins sweetened with Splenda. I would say anything your mom likes that is sweetened with an artificial sweetener, is whole grain, or is a natural sugar (within limits) would be fine.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I like a hearty granola type cereal with nuts and a little dried fruit first thing, this with a glass of milk held me until later in the morning when I could get something hot if desired. It was easy to pack the cereal and pick up a quart of milk in the gift shop.

Peanut butter is good, so is lunchmeat/cheese if it doesn't have to be traditional breakfast food.

One of my favorite snacks to carry around is a Nature Valley Sweet and Salty granola bar (I like peanut much better than the almond ones). It's sweet yes, but with lots of peanuts in it, it has more protein and fewer carbs than other granola bars.

I found that I was burning a lot more energy than normal while at WDW and needed to eat more carbs to avoid a low-sugar reaction. Either that or cut back on the medication.... This way I got to share mickey waffles and dole whip floats and eat dessert!

 

[Lewisc]

Some of the refrigerators that Disney gives out for medical reasons are very small, shoe box sized. Free refrigerators are now in all the moderate and deluxe resorts.

You should try to get as close as you can to what she eats at home. Granola bars are a good choice but check the label. You want the total carbo count to match what is needed as per the insulin she's taking. BUT, what would she eat at home? If she eats something like ceral just buy/bring what she normally eats. Be careful you don't give stuff that OJ, bagels and jelly that might have far more carbs than she is used to, and is taking insulin for.

The previous poster is right, your Mom may need less insulin if she is going to be walking more than she is normally does.

 

[scraptoons]

My DH is a type 1 diabetic.

Please keep in mind that what works for one diabetic will not work the same for the next diabetic.

Genetic make up and lifestyle factors (stress on the job, amount of sleep, amount of exercise, etc...) make a huge difference on a person's blood sugar levels and how they respond to certain foods.

Every "body" is different (Pun IS intended)

We are staying in a DVC studio that has a mini fridge and microwave.

My husband plans to use the "ready to eat" bacon with instant oatmeal cooked in microwave. This is his standard "grab on the way out the door and eat at the office" breakfast.

They have low sugar and sugar free varieties available now in instant oatmeal.

If you don't have a microwave, but a small coffee pot..you could heat your oatmeal water in the coffee pot.
Just run the coffee maker without anything in the filter basket.
The ready to eat bacon can be eaten without being microwaved, just cold.

Also, if you don't have a microwave...

Someone has recommended buying some protein drink mix at a local health food store (or GNC). Most of the time these can be mixed with water, and can be an excellent sorce of protein.
My DH is considering trying this in place of the bacon on some mornings.

Hope this helps

 

[webray]

I have found that the new dannon smoothies work great for breakfast if you aren't able to cook. The ones with the red lable, not blue, I think they say something about low carb or something on them. They are made with splenda, splenda does not affect blood sugar. They are very filling and taste great. I have only found two flavors so far, strawberries/cream and strawberry/banana. The strawberries/cream tastes the best to me.

 

[Henlady]

Here is another vote for the "ready to eat" bacon. It's not as good as the "real" stuff, but it is very convenient to use in this type of situation. If you have a microwave it can be "zapped" for about 20 seconds, if no microwave it can be eaten just out of the pkg. You could take along a box or 2 (there are approximately 15 slices per box) and a pack of lo-carb pita, or bread and make a quick but filling breakfast sandwich.
Wal-Mart carries the Oscar Mayer bacon at about $2.50 per pkg as well as a fairly decent lo-carb Oat bran/whole wheat pita that I use on a regular basis.


Kris

 

[scraptoons]

Hormel makes a wonderful "ready to eat" bacon. It's the one in the vacuum pack package, not the box. Walmart sells it less than $2.50 a package.

We like it better than regular bacon because alot of the time you get really nice meaty pieces and there is hardly any greasy clean up at all, which is asorbed with a sheet of paper towel.

As far as cost goes, It is not a whole pound, but by the time you "cook down" the fat out of a pound of raw bacon, the result is about the same amount that is actual consumable. (did that make sense?)

 

[scraptoons]

Hormel makes a wonderful "ready to eat" bacon. It's the one in the vacuum pack package, not the box. Walmart sells it less than $2.50 a package.

We like it better than regular bacon because alot of the time you get really nice meaty pieces and there is hardly any greasy clean up at all, which is asorbed with a sheet of paper towel.

As far as cost goes, It is not a whole pound, but by the time you "cook down" the fat out of a pound of raw bacon, the result is about the same amount that is actual consumable. (did that make sense?)
So to me, the trade off of easy clean up and meaty pieces with hardly any fat, it's a great deal.

 

[scraptoons]

Whoops! I'm sorry about my double post

Please forgive!

 

[Julylady]

I take plastic bags of my usual granola/bran cereal mixture that I eat most mornings at home. I purchase milk at the food court the night before. I also take slices of a quick bread that I make with splenda. (I cut, wrap, and freeze at home.)

I like to take either peanut butter & crackers or nut/fruit snack mix with me into the park. I always carry a low fat granola bar with me in case my blood sugar drops. These can substitute for breakfast with a glass of milk in a pinch.

I also travel a lot with my Mom! Have a great trip.

Donna

 

[aubriee]

Great ideas! Thanks guys! I guess I need to go shopping in the next few days.

 

[Swimnoid]

I travel a lot and when I get to the event I am working they always have lots of bagels and muffins but no protein so I have learned to pack for myself to get that needed protein. One of my main stays are hard boiled eggs but that may be too difficult for you to get. Another is cottage cheese. And of course deli meet such as ham, turkey or roast beef is good too. They also sell cheese cubes in most of the resort markets as well. Then she cna just add any kind of carb she wants to get her balanced meal/snack. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!