Healthy Cinnamon Breakfast Cookies

Author: Missy Chase Lapine

Kids love roller coasters. Moms don’t -- well, at least not the ones that take place inside our homes! I’m talking about the "spike and crash" syndrome that describes the rapid ups and downs of children’s blood sugar levels when they eat too much sugar and overly processed carbs, especially on an empty stomach.

Foods that are especially high in sugar -- even natural sugar and honey -- are known to cause a very quick rise in blood-sugar levels. They are rated high on the "glycemic index" (GI) -- a measurement of the effect a food has on one’s blood sugar level. The higher the rating on the index, the more rapid the increase in blood sugar level. The spike doesn’t last very long and is followed by a corresponding fast drop in blood-sugar level. (often it drops even lower than it was before we ate). This is commonly referred to as the "spike and crash syndrome."

Children seem especially susceptible to this phenomenon. After they eat the kid-favorite jelly beans (the ultimate sugar spike), particularly when it’s on an empty stomach, parents notice them acting as if they’ve had four cups of coffee. They’re bouncing off the walls and then, in a predictable amount of time, they crash -- growing sleepy, lethargic, and cranky. The reason is that refined sugars (or carbs) raise blood-glucose levels too quickly, causing a surge of insulin, which soon removes even more sugar than when the person started; the loss of sugar is what makes him feel lethargic. For people who are particularly sensitive, the crash may be accompanied by shakiness, irritability, fogginess, and a feeling of intense hunger even though they just ate an hour ago. Almost all packaged snack foods and cereals that are marketed to kids today have this effect on them.

Examples of slower-burning carbs (those with a low GI) are high-fiber foods such as whole grain breads and crackers, vegetables, beans, legumes, brown rice, oats, and whole grain pasta. These high-fiber foods not only add nutrients, but they also contribute to the feeling of being full, which prevents children from overeating. Including low-GI foods in recipes keeps the blood sugar levels balanced, reduces subsequent cravings for more sugar and the snacks that contain it, helps manage weight, and has a positive influence on moods and concentration, among other things.

We need to get kids to eat these low GI, slow-burning foods more often, and at the right times (along with the high GI snacks, for example). That’s just what the recipes below do, yet none of these sneaky additions are obvious. When your kids eat a Sneaky Chef Corn Muffin (below), all they know is that it’s delicious. They stay satisfied longer than if they’d eaten a donut or candy bar, have more sustained energy, feel happier overall, and don’t crave as much junk food. Your little muffins won’t realize that the muffins they ate had enough fiber from the hidden vegetables, wheat germ and stone ground flour to stabilize their blood-sugar levels. They have no idea why these chocolate chip cookies was so gratifying to eat. After all, it tasted just like any other chocolate chip cookie, so they couldn’t possibly guess that it contained pureed white beans, whole grains, and half the sugar. The only one who knows these little secrets is you (and their healthier bodies).

As "The Sneaky Chef," I’m known for coming up with simple solutions that we can use right now, without radically changing our lives, but that make families healthier without a struggle. I live in the real world where kids eat sugar, junk food, and pizza, but I’ve found ways to boost all their foods with extra nutrition and help offset any ill effects of a less-than-ideal diet.

So here are 7 simple ways to prevent the sugar "spike and crash" syndrome and give your child lasting energy:

1. Add vegetables into high-carb foods -- these low-GI veggies add not only important nutrients, but lots of fiber that helps slow down the sugar rush. For example, hide pureed cauliflower and zucchini in corn muffins (see muffin recipe below).

2. Add whole grains into high-carb foods -- the high fiber grains not only slow the sugar rush, but help make kids feel satisfied so they won’t be as likely to overeat. For example, mix wheat germ and whole wheat flour with white flour for homemade baked goods (see cookie recipes below).

3. Add beans into high-carb foods -- low GI beans add not only important nutrients, but lots of fiber that helps slow down the sugar rush. For example, hide pureed white beans in homemade chocolate chip cookies (see recipe below).

4. Make snacks into "mini-meals" -- instead of giving kids a "snack" of high-GI carbs alone (like potato chips, most cereal bars, even most fruits), make it a "mini-meal" and pair that fast-burning carb with some good fat and protein like a cheese stick, slice of turkey breast, or a handful of almonds to help slow the sugar rush.

5. Avoid high sugar foods before going to bed -- this can cause the child to wake-up already in a sugar low and on the way to a downward spiral. If you’re going to have the classic bedtime cookies and milk, make it the Sneaky Chef’s high-fiber, low-sugar cookies below.

6. Start the day with fiber and protein -- this is far more important than a glass of juice which has too high a sugar count. A whole grain breakfast of old-fashioned oatmeal with almonds (grind them up to hide them, if necessary) will hold a kid way longer than orange juice and a bagel. So will a slice of cheese melted on a whole grain English muffin. For a fast, "grab and go" breakfast loaded with whole grains and protein, try the recipe for Breakfast Cookies and Milk below.

7. Sprinkle cinnamon on cereal, desserts, and juice -- One of the easiest ways to balance your blood sugar for the day is to add a sprinkling of cinnamon in oatmeal, hot cocoa, chocolate milk, apple juice, or cereal. Cinnamon has been found to be one of the most effective ways to balance blood sugar levels and prevent the "spike and crash."

Cinnamon Breakfast Cookies:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with oil).

Using a rolling pin, gently crush the cereal (in a sealed plastic bag) into coarsely crushed flakes. Alternatively, you can quickly pulse the cereal in a food processor.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together Flour Blend, crushed cereal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, oil, vanilla, and ricotta cheese. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Drop single tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch between cookies. Flatten cookies with the back of a fork and then sprinkle tops generously with cinnamon sugar (or just sugar if your kids don’t like the cinnamon flavor). Bake about 18 to 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and crispy around the edges.

© Missy Chase Lapine, all rights reserved.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/parenting-articles/how-to-avoid-kids-blood-sugar-spike-and-crash-130410.html

About the Author:

Missy Chase Lapine is the author of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals (Running Press, March 2007). She is the former publisher of Eating Well magazine and the founder of a natural baby product line Baby Spa®. Missy is currently on the Culinary Arts faculty of The New School, in New York City, and operates The Sneaky Chef workshops, which is a program of cooking classes and demonstrations that teach families how to eat healthier. She is a contributor to Parenting Magazine, ediets.com, and education.com, and available to individuals, groups and businesses for private cooking instruction, workshops and personal coaching in The Sneaky Chef methods and recipes. Missy lives with her family in Westchester, New York. For more information visit www.TheSneakyChef.com.



Chocolate Coffee eLiquid

Ante Merideim™ Chocolate Coffee E-Liquid is a rich blend of Chocolate and Mint flavors. Each puff envelopes the user in rich layers of robust coffee and savory chocolate. If you like your coffee mixed with wonderfully sweet chocolate, you will to enjoy the unique flavor of Ante Merideim™ eLiquid. Ante Merideim™ eLiquid is made in the USA.

Ante Merideim™ eLiquid

Ante Merideim™ eLiquid works in all models of electronic cigarettes. As with all VapeSafe® eLiquids, Ante Merideim™ eLiquid is made in the USA using organic, hypoallergenic, USP and food grade vegetable glycerin.

E-Liquid Legal Disclaimers:

Always keep VapeSafe® eLiquids away from children!

VapeSafe Ante Merideim™ eLiquid is for Adults Only! You must be of legal age in your state to use our products! Absolutely no sales to minors!

Always be sure to allow the Ante Merideim™ eLiquid time to fully soak into the cartridge or cartomizer (cartridge with built in atomizer) before use. To stretch your dollar further, please note that these flavors are more concentrated than normal and can be diluted with small amounts of distilled water without compromising the flavor.


Luscious Chocolate Recipes:

Appetizing Chocolate Icings, Caramels, and more:

Frostings are sweet often creamy glazes made from sugar with an added liquid such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients such as butter, egg whites or vanilla flavorings and is used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies. Pastry bags are then used to apply the frosting to cakes, pies, muffins or other baked goods. A high-quality reusable pastry bag is often made from tightly woven nylon, polyester, rubber or waterproofed cotton. Medium quality bags are similar, except they are not so tightly woven and may let some contents seep through the weave or the seams. After use, a reusable bag is washed by hand and hung open to dry. A high-quality bag may last for many years.

Sugar Chocolate Caramels

Mix two cupfuls of sugar, three-fourths of a cupful of milk or cream, one generous tablespoonful of butter, and three ounces of Walter Baker & Co.'s Premium No. 1 Chocolate. Place on the fire and cook, stirring often, until a little of the mixture, when dropped in ice-water, will harden; then stir in one-fourth of a cupful of sugar and one tablespoonful of vanilla, and pour into a well-buttered pan, having the mixture about three-fourths of an inch deep. When nearly cold, mark it off in squares, and put in a cold place to harden. These caramels are sugary and brittle, and can be made in the hottest weather without trouble. If a deep granite-ware saucepan be used for the boiling, it will take nearly an hour to cook the mixture; but if with an iron frying-pan, twenty or thirty minutes will suffice.

Tags: Chocolate Liquid, Chocolate Flavorings, Cheap Chocolate E-Cigarette, E Cig Chocolate Liquid, Chocolate E-Liquid