How to cook healthier Chinese cuisine (3 of 4) - Breakfast substitutions

Hello. Welcome to Foolish Insights. We are the Foolish Couple, Andrew and Minna, nutrition coaches and success mentors. We created FoCo Academy to guide and mentor people like you to achieve true health and healthy relationships through nutrition, exercise, mindset and lifestyle changes.

 This week we are talking about simple things we can do to tweak the Chinese way of eating and cooking for better optimal health. So far we’ve talked about oils and salts.

 Today, we are going to talk about breakfast substitutions.

 In the morning, if you are eat at a Chinese restaurant, the typical way to start the day is with a bowl of Congee, which is basically a bowl of rice soup essentially mixed with some type of meat, usually chicken, beef or pork. And we typically eat that with a fried Chinese donut or chow main. If you are at home, more then likely you are eating a bun from a Chinese bakery or toasted white bread. 

Chinese typically don’t eat whole wheat breads or the healthier sprouted wheat breads because they don’t like the texture. Highly processed white breads are pillowy soft and the pineapple buns are fluffy and soft.

But what gives the bread that soft pillowy texture is also a very bad ingredient that Chinese people eat a lot of. And that ingredient, is highly processed white flour that contains carbohydrates or sugar. 

Eating too much sugar over a long period of time spikes your insulin, causing pre-diabetes, leading to type 2 diabetes and Type 3 diabetes of the brain more commonly known as Alzheimers.(Tweet this)

As a matter of fact if you have not had your blood sugar tested, we suggest you do. We can almost assure you that you are most likely pre-diabetic if your main cuisine is Chinese foods. 

 How can we eat healthier carbohydrates without spiking our insulin?

If you are eating out, rather than eating the congee, order their western style breakfast with salmon, eggs and toast or ham ,eggs and toast. Make sure you butter your toast. The added  protein and fat from the meat, eggs and butter will slow down the digestion of the white toast, prevent a spike in sugar in your blood, and will raise your insulin slowly rather than quickly. 

If you are eating at home then we suggest you don’t buy the store bought buns because they have almost no nutritional value. Buy an egg tart instead. It still has carbohydrates, but it has fats from the crust and protein and fats from the egg custard to slow down the spike of blood sugar that a normal bun will have. 

Also if you choose not to eat whole wheat bread or sprouted wheat bread for toast in the morning, this is what you need to do make your white bread healthier. Buy some avocados and make a avocado toast with a poached egg on top. You want the healthy Omega 3 fats from the avocado and eggs to offset the white bread and it taste really yummy too!

Another staple that most people eat in the morning is cereal with milk or oatmeal. You see athletes promote these things as being a healthy way to start your morning. But they really are not that healthy. Cereals are highly processed and has a lot of added sugar and oatmeal is so highly processed that most of the nutrients are gone. 

Instead of cereal and oatmeal, get some organic Greek yogurt and make some chia seed pudding. It is so healthy for you and is easy to make and taste amazing. All you need is the Yogurt, non-dairy milk, and chia seeds.

Organic yogurt is high in omega 3’s and Chia seeds are also high in Omega 3s. So the chia seed pudding will boost your omega 3 levels which will help offset the Omega 6 oils from when you  eat at Chinese restaurants.

To make your breakfast even healthier, add some steel cut oats granola to the chia seed pudding to get some healthy fiber, and minerals and vitamins. Top that off with some berries to add some sweetness and also to bump up your antioxidants.

Next time, we are going to tackle the big one that all Chinese people has to eat, it’s a big one so don’t miss it.

 If you've missed the previous episodes to this series, here're the links:

Part 1: https://www.thefoolishacademy.com/blog/chinese-cuisine-1-of-4

Part 2: https://www.thefoolishacademy.com/blog/chinese-cuisine-2-of-4

Till then love what you live and live what you love.

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The Foolish Couple are not doctors. This blog is not intended to diagnose medical condition, or replace your health care provider. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your personal physician before starting any fitness or exercise program or changing dietary habits. The content of this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services or counsel provided by medical professionals. However, we do hope to inspire you to become healthier, more self sufficient, and more aware of options.