What’s the best way to have a sandwich - hot or cold. What contents need to be added for people having Diabetes. Won’t Mayonnaise, cheese, butter add to the calories.
In short, what’s the best way to have a delicious and energy-rich Sandwich, for me to start the day?
What kind of bread is the best - as we have a number of varieties available?
Maybe its my hunger pangs…reason for asking this question.
Sandwiches are definitely not the best way for diabetics to start their day. Morning is when we are the most carb sensitive and two pieces of bread is too much for most of us. Hot/cold doesn’t matter at all. Calories (such as mayo, cheese and butter) are not the main concern for diabetics (unless you are also trying to loose weight). Carbs are what raises blood sugar. Some diabetics (usually more type 2 than type 1) find whole grain is better than white flour bread. For some of us it doesn’t matter. Eggs, with vegies meat, cheese, etc. are the best for breakfast.
I’d stay with mostly protein for breakfast. Protein will keep you feeling full & satisfied until your next meal. Bread has too many carbs for me, as does cereal. The more carbs you eat, the more you’ll crave.
Hot or cold doesn’t make a difference.
zoe: do you have evidence indicating “most of us” cannot handle 2 pieces of bread or an equivalent amount of carbs in a sitting? don’t men have higher carb tolerance than women, generally speaking? steve edelman (T1 endo who heads TCOYD and is a mainstream tight control guru) recommends no more than 45-60 carbs a meal for women and 60-75 carbs a meal for men, and there are tons of T1s who can work with these guidelines without a problem.
sai: i wouldn’t eat a sandwich every day for breakfast, but if you want one, make sure it has lots of protein and veggies and a bit of fat, and that it is delicious enough to justify the carbs.
I prefer an omelette for breakfast, but if you want a sandwich (for ease of eating or portability) I would get whole-grain bread (made without sugar and with 100% whole grain), put a bit of mustard on it (I like a French mustard, brand-name Maille), thick slices of tomato, crisp baby greens, a thin slice of a flavorful cheese, such as real sharp Cheddar, and several ounces of lean turkey or chicken.
Total carbs depends on bread, but if you shop carefully you can keep it under 30 grams of carbs. Some can handle that, others think it’s too much. Dr. Bernstein recommends 7 grams of carbs for breakfast, so you can see that by his standards this would be high. Others recommend more carbs for breakfast. Your Diabetes May Vary.
My new favorite breakfast:
I sprinkle one-quarter cup of Asiago, Parmesan or sharp Cheddar (grated) over the top when it’s almost done, cover it, and take it off the heat to settle while I test my blood sugar and prepare my insulin dose.
This breakfast has about five grams of carbs. I can have a couple of whole wheat crackers with it and keep my total carbs under 10.
I didn’t know there was much difference =) I guess its a matter of preference…
Personally (Type 2 here), I can take most of my required carb (about 50-60) intake in the morning (lesser as the day progress)… so I can get away with ONE slice of wheat bread maybe twice a week. Mornings is where I do my exercises too.
Definitely lots of protein and veggies… Eggs, meat, cheese…
There are numerous discussions on here touching on “bread”. Here is a few…hope this helps.
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/sensitivity-to-bread
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/what-is-the-best-bread-for
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/my-cheater-bread
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/bread-1
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/some-fun-bready-food-with
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/review-healthwise-zero-net
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/yes-virginia-there-are-zero
Love your omelet recipe Jean! I do the same…sometimes I would add mushrooms and bell peppers too =)
I can’t speak for everyone of course, but I’ll tell you what works for me to give you some ideas. I think even with all my food issues, I’ve all but mastered sandwiches. I don’t recommend sandwiches in the morning. For me, my sugar spikes easily if I’m not careful with my breakfast. If I do have bread, it would be one slice of toast with some eggs and that’s it. You might be one of the lucky ones that can handle a lot of carbs after you wake up, but be careful if you’re not sure. I also try to limit myself. So if I have one sandwich for lunch, I make sure to keep it a little extra low carb for the rest of the day, which means no bread/pasta/cereals after that.
There’s Whole Wheat bread, which I’m slowly adjusting to myself. I like to stick with Whole Grain bread, which has fewer carbs than ordinary white bread, but tastes more or less the same. I say more or less because once I got used to the whole grain bread, white bread tasted…odd. Very watery and gross. So if you do try a lower carb bread and it tastes funny, stick with it for a bit because you’ll most likely grow to like it. Look through the different brands to find the one with the least amount of carbs. Different stores carry different brands, and they have a lot of options these days, so you’re bound to find something. If you can find bread that has a serving size of two slices, all the better. Sure it can say the bread is only 26g of carbs per serving, but a sandwich takes more than just one slice.
Calories aren’t really the important thing to focus on, so unless high fats affect your sugar negatively or you’re trying to lose weight you have room to get pretty creative. The bulk of your carbs will come from the bread after all. So mayonnaise and cheese are great, along with meats and vegetables. One of my favorite lunches is a tuna sandwich and some tea, which is fairly plain I admit hehe.
That’s how I handle sandwiches anyway. I can handle bread fairly well so long as I’m strict with the portion sizes, but you might be different. I guess it’s just a matter of trying it out and seeing how it affects your sugar. If you see a huge spike after, you might want to reconsider the sandwich route.
Oooh! I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow! It’s typical. There are hundreds of ways to prepare eggs, yet I somehow always end up going with a plain, semi-tasteless omelet. I don’t know if it’s morning grogginess or what, but that needs to change. Starting with that recipe!
I love it with mushrooms, too. Try diced crimini mushrooms and a wee bit of finely minced green onion. Yum!
If you’re in a super hurry, you can always just wisk the eggs with a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash (the garlic kind) and pepper and skip the veggies. Use 1/3 cup of cheese for more protein and flavor.
But if you have time, the onion and bacon is yummy.
If you have even more time, try making a scramble with a quarter cup of fresh blueberries and an ounce or two of cream cheese, cut into little squares. It’s almost decadent – like a crepe. ;0)
To be honest, the best answer to your question will come from your blood glucose meter.
Everyone’s body is different and everyone’s diabetes reacts differently to different foods. We can share our personal experiences with you but the only way to find out what works for you is to try out different food combinations and check your post-meal numbers. As you can see even from the first few replies in this thread, everyone’s diabetes is different. For me personally, I cannot eat any kind of sandwich at all as it would spike me too much especially in the morning. I also find low or high GI makes absolutely no difference and that, for example, the same amount of carbs in French fries is more easily metabolized than wholegrain bread, which would spike me for hours and hours.
Sai,
We are all different.
I think the idea of a sandwich is wonderful, but I, for one, can only eat carb reduced bread, so if I’m not in the chicago area where we have carb-reduced bread, whole grain, I can’t eat a whole sandwich.
I take one slice - meaning 5 grams, add cream cheese and pretend every morning I’m eating a bagel. To that I add carb-reduced yogurt and protein. The protein gives me variety, whether it’s sausages, eggs, or ham.
I’m Type 1. I don’t worry about calories. But I worry big-time about my blood glucose and what it’s doing.
Your hunger pangs will be satisfied by protein which changes to glucose over 3 hours - and if you add too much, you’ll end up having to add some insulin at 2.5 - 3 hours, if you’re on insulin.
When I’m not in the chicago area, I don’t eat more than a half-slice of bread at a time.
2 slices of bread raise my blood glucose far higher than the insulin can cover - up in the 300s - without anything between the slices. Even given 25 minutes ahead, insulin doesn’t hold the BG down.
Try testing yourself at intervals to see what your blood glucose is doing.
No evidence, ultravires, just my own experience and listening to 18,000 other diabetics for two years on TuDiabetes. Perhaps I should have said “many of us”. If you can work within those guidelines, that’s great! I wouldn’t be able to handle 45-60 carbs per meal, even with insulin.
Befoe we confuse sai even further by our variability. What I would suggest, and I dont think you will disagree, ultravires, is to eat the sandwich and then test two hours later and see how it affects your bloodsugar.
Thanks all for the list of answers and experiences. I was wondering how would I calculate the calorie content, protein or carbohydrate content when I am on the run to office. I am not sure whats the best way to take a limited content. Also, should I go for a Subway sandwich or something from a deli next door (or oatmeal cereals anyone)? Please give me ideas how to measure and how I cannot go on a binging spree in case of a brunch etc. Also, the time you have breakfast might vary, hence I am not able to keep all parameters in check!!!
Do you cook for yourself, Sai?
Having diabetes means needing to plan ahead and knowing what’s in your food.
It’s much easier to eat healthfully if you prepare your own food.
The Subway Indian website has got full nutritional information for their products. So for example a chicken tikka Subway has 46.8g of carb while an Aloo Patty has 61.3g of carb.
If you can manage this amount of carb for breakfast, then go for it.
When I got my pump, MiniMed gave me this book called “The Calorie King” that lists carbs, protein and calories for a lot of different foods and I bought a scale. I don’t always weigh everything but the bread here has the # of carbs printed on the side of the package, I dunno if they have that in India? I don’t always weigh everything but I test new foods to see about how much = a hunk of carbs. Last night I initially washed the biggest potato in the bag and then I weighed it and, as it was 10 oz, I decided to be more conservative and washed the 6 oz. one!
I will weigh cereal and do ok with it and usually have one piece of toast with egg beaters, these fake fat and cholesterol free eggs. There also are a bunch of thin bread products that our out, flatbreads and these skinny bagel things that are ok and are more like 12g of carbbs/ slice rather than heavier duty bread. I like the whole grain bread too but it seems to have more carbs than I’m all that interested in messing around with.
You can also access Calorie King online at Calorieking.com
I rarely count calories just carbs. I try to keep my meals under 25 carbs. I have recently found Eziekel Sprouted grain bread. It is made from different seeds that are sprouted not flour. It looks and tastes just like bread. I rarely get a spike with it. Trader Joes also has a low carb version of sprouted bread which is pretty good, too. Since I don’t count calories I tend to eat high fat. I usually put avacado, mustard, mayo, hummus and pesto on my sandwiches plus lots of spinach, mushrooms, peppers. I love grilling sandwiches on my painni maker with different types of cheese. I usually eat the bread later in the day though. Breakfast is usually my lowest carb meal of the day, usually bacon and eggs or dinner leftovers. You can also use low carb wraps for sandwiches.