Anyone care to teach an idiot?
When I first got diagnosed, I was still eating cereal for breakfast. One, because like the week before the diagnosis, I bought twenty boxes of my favorites that were on a great deal. That's how I lived, sales, and good deals, and it made me feel better to have the food in the house, especially on snowy days like today.
Anyway, as usual, I digress. On the cereal, I always put a tsp of cinnamon and I believe it helped my BG numbers a bit, along with the usual, "what can it hurt" disclaimer.
Well, I have given up the cereals, and have missed having cinnamon in my diet, so how do I get it back in? Best way seems to be cinnamon tea. Sounds reasonable, and could be tasty, but you are reading about a complete tea neophyte. Never drank it in my whole life, or coffee either. I've watched people dunk tea bags, which makes sense, but the cinnamon sticks don't exactly dissolve. Should I grind them up or something?
So, I just looked it up, and the basics are put a stick of cinnamon in boiling water, and let it steep ( had to look that word up!) for ten minutes. This I did, and now I have a cup of water, with a tree root floating around in it, that tastes mostly like water, and I have no idea how much cinnamon I am actually taking in.
So.... I wonder if anyone is drinking cinnamon tea, and would be kind enough to tell me how you do it, and how you know the qty of cinnamon you are getting from one "tree root" worth?
If you can help me, pretend I am like, seven years old, and talk to me at that level. I will not be offended :-)
If there is another way to get a tsp into me each day, I am up for it, but what I eat is not conducive to cinnamon, so I wouldn't mind learning some new foods that would allow it to be a part of the meal or snack.
There are some things that I now just eat because I know they are good for me, so I get em down the t throat, no matter what, but cinnamon doesn't slide down like say, a tsp of sugar :-) I really can't afford to go and buy pills at the GNC store or wherever. Prefer to just buy it at the market and make it part of something else that I eat. I have read that some folks "roll their own" into capsules, but again, cost, and effort make me question that.
Much obliged for any suggestions, or comments.
John
Anyway, as usual, I digress. On the cereal, I always put a tsp of cinnamon and I believe it helped my BG numbers a bit, along with the usual, "what can it hurt" disclaimer.
Well, I have given up the cereals, and have missed having cinnamon in my diet, so how do I get it back in? Best way seems to be cinnamon tea. Sounds reasonable, and could be tasty, but you are reading about a complete tea neophyte. Never drank it in my whole life, or coffee either. I've watched people dunk tea bags, which makes sense, but the cinnamon sticks don't exactly dissolve. Should I grind them up or something?
So, I just looked it up, and the basics are put a stick of cinnamon in boiling water, and let it steep ( had to look that word up!) for ten minutes. This I did, and now I have a cup of water, with a tree root floating around in it, that tastes mostly like water, and I have no idea how much cinnamon I am actually taking in.
So.... I wonder if anyone is drinking cinnamon tea, and would be kind enough to tell me how you do it, and how you know the qty of cinnamon you are getting from one "tree root" worth?
If you can help me, pretend I am like, seven years old, and talk to me at that level. I will not be offended :-)
If there is another way to get a tsp into me each day, I am up for it, but what I eat is not conducive to cinnamon, so I wouldn't mind learning some new foods that would allow it to be a part of the meal or snack.
There are some things that I now just eat because I know they are good for me, so I get em down the t throat, no matter what, but cinnamon doesn't slide down like say, a tsp of sugar :-) I really can't afford to go and buy pills at the GNC store or wherever. Prefer to just buy it at the market and make it part of something else that I eat. I have read that some folks "roll their own" into capsules, but again, cost, and effort make me question that.
Much obliged for any suggestions, or comments.
John
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steven Miller on -
Hey John,
Yeah, one of the things I miss the most is cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch was a favorite). I don't eat that much cinnamon, but there are few ways that I do eat it and neither of these methods will give you a teaspoon a day, but it could maybe add to other suggestions by forum members.
1. Sometimes I add cinnamon to toast (made from low-carb bread) with a little bit of peanut butter. This is my usual breakfast which is supplemented by an apple about an hour later (which would probably be good with cinnamon, too).
2. Whenever I eat squash I always add butter and cinnamon.
Like I said, I don't eat cinnamon on a regular basis. Hope these suggestions can help, though.
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Permalink Reply by Sophie on -
for dessert I chop up an apple into slices, put some sweetner on and exactly 1 tsp of cinnamon (because I love it so much) and pop it in the microwave for a couple minutes until it is stewed yum yum!
maybe try putting it in a smoothy or small parts in each meal (so you can't taste it) which will eventually add up to 1 tsp at the end of the day?
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Permalink Reply by Zoe on -
I'm not a tea drinker, but I do love my coffee drinks. I make them at home with an espresso machine but you might get them at Starbucks or somewhere and there is always a shaker of cinnamon that you can put on top of the foam.
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Permalink Reply by Teena on -
I sometimes put some cinnamon on hot chocolate drink (hot water, skimmed milk, sugar free cocoa, and splenda). And I also highly recommend Sophie's apple dessert. (Slices of apple, cinammon then baked for about 10 minutes)
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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on
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Well, if you have not given up all carbs, you could consider oat meal. Try some steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon and splenda. I get my cinnamon in a big quart container at the international store. I can cook the steel cut oatmeal in a big batch on the weekend and then just reheat it in the morning during the week. Steel cut oatmeal is a whole grain complex carb as opposed instant oatmeal which is a processed simple carb.
I know that everyone thinks that cinnamon is supposed to be good for diabetics and I use it, but realize that all the claimed benefits are for ceylon cinnamon as opposed to cassia cinnamon. Ceylon is markedly more expensive, although if you look you can probably find it on-line for $20-30/lb. Also remember that cassia cinnamon contains coumarin and you should avoid large quantities as it is an anticoagulent and could cause liver and kidney problems.
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Permalink Reply by Marie B on
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John, we have had several discussions here about cinnamon. Here is one. I buy all my herbs and spices from Penzey's. click here for the cinnamon page - Their prices are great, and you can buy in plastic bags, which saves even more. they have a large selection of many different types of cinnamon. It's much fresher and better quality, too.
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Permalink Reply by John Brush on -
Thanks Marie.
I went and read that thread, and you know what? I sure don't like it when people condemn or make negative comments, simply because it didn't work for them. Every one of us is different, and every one of us reacts to things differently. Those who call it BS, and those who think that only one type is effective, need to open their minds, and let individuals decide what is right for them.
anyone who expects that taking some cinnamon, and then testing to see if the BG goes down, isn't paying attention to how their body works :-)
It worked for me to the tune of about six or eight points in my fasting numbers when I was being very tight and precise with my diet, as I started out with this disease.. I am sorry that no one else has had it do them any good, but then, I can eat things that many cannot, and vice versa for sure.
I was just seeking suggestions as to how to get it in me, and for all those, I am grateful. I still don't get the idea of the sticks and making tea. As the subject says, this idiot doesn't seem to be able to make the stick dissolve, so all I have is a tree root in a cup of steaming hot water lol! Not very inviting at all.
Thank you for the link to the store. I will be checking it out.
John
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Permalink Reply by Dori S on -
If you do an internet search for cinnamon recipes you will get plenty of them ranging from meats to desserts. You can also go get a bottle of cinnamon capsules from your drugstore. You can use cinnamon on carrots with a little butter, sweet potatoes (if you can eat them), anything that has chocolate in it, fruits and breads (if you can handle them as well), meats (pork is very good with some apples and cinnamon).
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Permalink Reply by Eydna Helena Mortensen on -
Hi John,
I have never made cinnamon tea myself, but just tried to google it...I think you should try this:
1 sauce pan with cover, fill it with a cup of water.
Throw in a few cinnamon sticks....everyone's taste is different ...heavy taste throw more...liter taste throw less.
keep it on very low heat, covered leaving enough open to circulate the air. Let it simmer there while you finish up some work on your PC or whatever. In a few minutes you begin to smell the scent of the cinnamon,...your tea is now ready!
I would then drain it through a piece of cloth or something to get the pieces of cinnamon sticks out. Then I would add a normal tea bag to give it a tea flavour. Dunk it in the water a few times. (the more you dunk the tea bag the stronger the tea flavour). You can then add sweetener and/or milk. I use both milk and sweetener in my tea. However milk can not be used in tea that has sitrus fruits in it, it will get all lumpy and nasty. But if your not used to drinking tea I find it tastier with milk and sweetener.
Hope this helps
Eydna
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Permalink Reply by Don Kelly on -
Hi John, have you tried cinnamon in oatmeal ? I eat oatmeal a bunch when the cold weather hits. The other thing I do is cinnamon in my smoothies. Yummie good !
Good Luck !
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Permalink Reply by Mark Gombrich on -
This maybe the most absurd way, try taking a 8 ounce glass of water adding 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon stir briskly and chug. I've done this many times in the past. You have to drink it real quick or the cinnamon floats back to top. Just make believe it's a beer. LOL
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Permalink Reply by Jean on -
Hi John! We all have to get creative sometimes. I really restrict my carbs, but want something sweet pretty much every day. (usually after dinner). I've taken to squirting some sugar free (Land 'O Lakes brand) whipped cream on a spoon and sprinkling cinnamon on that and lapping it up. YUM! That's just me! Some people might not like that idea, but it works for me. 3-5 heaping spoons-full, should get you about a tsp.-worth of cinnamon! Think outside the box!
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