“A Three-Minute Diabetes Breakfast That Changes Lives?”

Whoa, a life-changing breakfast? Sign me up!

Three years ago, that post was published on DiaTribe. I’ve come back to it every now and again with every intention of trying this amazing recipe myself, but it called for ingredients that I don’t usually have on hand.

I mean…chia seeds? Coconut oil? Those aren’t exactly pantry stables for me…and they probably aren’t for many other people.

But during a grocery store trip earlier this month (before things got really crazy), I finally remembered to pick up a giant pack of plain old chia seeds and decided to whip up the recipe.

As a simple Internet search informed me, I was free to play around with the ingredients I added to my chia seed pudding – really play around. Coconut oil wasn’t a requirement; rather, an add-in, and it turns out the only truly needed recipe components are chia seeds and a liquid of some sort. I’ve been using a combination of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and water, which suits my tastes just fine, though I’m sure that just about any other kind of milk out there would work well in this recipe, too.

This is what I added to my first batch of chia seed pudding (which made 4 servings):

• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup of water
• 3 tbsp. vanilla protein powder (I just kind of eyeball it when I add it in)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (adds more flavor)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar-free syrup

I combined all the ingredients into a plastic container, gave it a good stir, and let it chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours before giving it a taste test.

And I was pleasantly surprised. It was definitely sweet and had an interesting texture going on – very pudding-like, but with a little something…else going on. I could almost compare it to bubble tea (a.k.a. boba or tapioca pearls).

When I prepped a bowl for breakfast the next morning, I added a little of whatever I had on hand, which was craisins, a bit of granola, and some shredded coconut. Now the challenge was…how do I bolus for something like this? And how would my blood sugar react over the next 3-4 hours?

I decided to bolus for the toppings, which I figured were about 15 carbs. Ultimately, though, I rounded up to 20 to pad my bolus since I really wasn’t sure how the chia seeds would affect me. (They’re loaded with fiber and even some protein, and sometimes it can be tricky to calculate accurate insulin dosages for high-fiber foods.)

I’m not exaggerating when I say I experienced an incredibly flat post-breakfast line on my CGM.

I was pretty wowed. There was ZERO rise after consuming the meal, and my blood sugar just…held out for hours afterward. So yeah, I’d say it’s pretty effin’ life-changing for THIS person with diabetes…

…except for one tiny caveat: I was hungry again just a couple of hours later. Perhaps I could’ve added more of the pudding to my serving, but it was probably over a full cup that was in the bowl…I had assumed that would be more than enough to tide me over until lunch. Then again, an easy fix could be to add more satiating toppings, like fresh fruit – which I’ve experimented with, and they make a great addition to the mix.

I’ve had chia seed pudding for breakfast many times now, and I’d say the final verdict is that I definitely like it, and my blood sugars seem to LOVE it. It’s probably not for everyone considering the texture is a little “different”, but I’m glad that I took a chance on this highly versatile recipe.