Low carb/Low Sugar portable snacks?

shelbyforsquares
shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to help my roommate health up his diet. He has cholesterol and sugar problems and was told by his doctor to reduce carbs.

(Edit: his sugars are too high, but natural sugars are too low)

Previously, he's had a horrible, processed white diet (bagels, cookies, and frozen pizza). We're doing very well with meals, adding in veggies, increasing protein, swapping the processed carbs for healthier carbs, but he's insanely picky, so we're having trouble thinking up snacks to bring to work.

He claims to like NO fruits or nuts, which are such diet staples for me that I'm coming up blank. He does like watermelon, but so far we've tried apples, bananas, grapes, and oranges to no avail. It's hard to believe he doesn't like ANY fruit, but I'm not sure what to try next.

He hates peanuts, but I got him to try a pistachio, which he said was 'not bad'.

He was pretty indifferent to jerky.

I'm going to try dry roasted edamame, and maybe sunflower seeds, but he needs something filling that he can just grab and go.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Replies

  • stkalcevich1
    stkalcevich1 Posts: 5
    with someone that picky i am almost tempted to say ok you do it yourself and figure it out. eat cookies
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Cheese?
  • forswearitssight
    forswearitssight Posts: 33 Member
    with someone that picky i am almost tempted to say ok you do it yourself and figure it out. eat cookies

    Agreed.
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    popcorn
  • moglovesshoez
    moglovesshoez Posts: 83 Member
    What about roasting the nuts with some spicy seasoning? Boiled eggs, bits of chicken or bacon. Nakd bars are my go to fruit/nut snack and the choc flavoured ones are lovely.
  • andthenwhatjen
    andthenwhatjen Posts: 30 Member
    My first thought... tell him to grow the heck up and manage his own intake.

    Since that isnt helpful.. I am currently low carb/ lowsugar. I take string cheese, hard boiled eggs, and flavored (chocolate, cinnamon, and smoked) almonds.
  • AmelodyAngel
    AmelodyAngel Posts: 152 Member
    Maybe yogurt, cheese, granola, carrot sticks, cucumber, baby tomatos
  • tiffanycherie
    tiffanycherie Posts: 97 Member
    I'm not a fruit lover myself and I don't like peanuts but.... I do like apples with peanut butter, plums, cheese, sunflower seeds, greek yogurt with walnuts, hard boiled eggs
  • tycho_mx
    tycho_mx Posts: 426 Member
    there's dozens of variations on nuts and seeds. Tell him ball players eat sunflower seeds :)
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Chicken drum sticks.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Dry roasted edamame. High protein, high fiber, low carbs, very low sugar.
  • jwelsh5
    jwelsh5 Posts: 2 Member
    do a weekly meal prep.
    In a baggie or small container add:

    Cheese stick and a slice or two of turkey/chicken lunch meat
    1/2c. cottage cheese
    celery and peanut butter (if you havent tried pb2, do it! Much healthier than regular creamy peanut butter)
    veggies and 2tbsp. hummus
    hard boiled eggs
    SkinnyPop popcorn (measure the servings out, though. It can be addicting!)

    That's 6 different snacks he could make on whichever day and store in the fridge or pantry and "grab-n-go" when he needs to.

    You said he doesn't like nuts, but I wasn't a fan of them until I tried Blue diamond. Their habanero bbq almonds and their butter toffee almonds are really good.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    What doesn't he like about the fruit? the taste, texture? What about berries? Dried fruit? There are 30 different variety of apples--I like honeycrisp and Lady Alice's the best, but not Red or Yellow delicious. Also apricots are so-so, but dried are the bomb. If he likes watermelon, maybe he would like honeydew or muskmelon (the muskmelons are really delicious this year).

    Sounds like his taste buds are out of whack. Too much salt in his diet if he is eating a lot of processed foods. Pistachios have a fair amount of salt. Maybe mixed nuts with some roasted unsalted peanuts, to curb the salt. Also some cheese and crackers (whole grain). He may need to be introduced slowly to good unprocessed foods.

    Good luck. I am married to a really picky eater, also.
  • shelbyforsquares
    shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
    Mobile, so excuse my not quoting here.

    I wasn't sure if cheese was OK because of the cholesterol problem. If it is he will definitely go for that, but he's lactose intolerant so probably should keep dairy limited.

    I've never heard of flavored almonds, will have to look for them. I'll also have to see if we can find naked bars locally to try.

    I wasn't sure about eggs, thought the yolks might be a problem for the cholesterol. Does anyone know if eggs, or just egg whites are OK?

    He doesn't know how to eat or cook. This is a new diagnosis, and they've put him on meds, so, having done my own 180, I want to help him through the transition, teach him how to read labels and do some basic cooking, but his health issues are different from the ones I had, so I'm a bit out of my element!

    Thanks for the ideas. Gives me a few other things to look into. I'm gluten/dairy free with GERD, so there are so many foods that just aren't even on my radar.
  • kconrad1712
    kconrad1712 Posts: 36 Member
    My favorite low carb snacks are salami/prosciutto and those little cheese wedges. They are 0 or 1 carb, delicious, and portable.
  • RosieB405
    RosieB405 Posts: 150 Member
    Unfortunately this process forces you to retrain your tastebuds and you you will learn to like things you didn't before. He will have to decide to like the taste of fruits, nuts, and veggies or enjoy the taste and side effects of medications.
  • littlefoot612
    littlefoot612 Posts: 156 Member
    He kind of sounds like some of my home daycare kids. Either the child or his parents claim that they don't like fruit but I have yet to have one that didn't eat some kind of fruit that was put in front of them. He needs to kind of suck it up and try different kinds of fruit. There are so many fruits to chose from that I find it hard to believe he doesn't like any. He's just told himself that over and over and now he believes it.
  • shelbyforsquares
    shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
    Will have to look into the cheese wedges. A lot said while I was replying!

    Peanut butter he hates (even my organic peanut butter, even the smell bothers him, but he does like carrots and cucumbers.

    I told him the same about apples. He definitely hates red and gala. We also bought a golden and granny smith to try, but based on the face he made over the gala (even when I added cinnamon) I don't expect great results.

    I agree that his taste buds are bound to change, and he's already noticing more energy. He does like the brown rice crackers I eat.

    Hummus I definitely plan to try, but it's dry 'desk drawer' snacks he seems to be missing most right now.
  • shelbyforsquares
    shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
    Littlefoot6- exactly what I said! He has been trying what I put in front of him, but 6 fruits in, the 'ew' face hasn't gone away. Not sure which to try next. Maybe berries and melons?
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    As someone who is fighting high cholesterol, I can assure that diet may not help that much if his problem is genetic high cholesterol.. Back in the day, eggs were considered the "bad guy" and now there is a total turn around and the rule of thumb is to limit the eggs. An awful product called "egg beaters" was invented--not sure if it is still around. I know a lot of people cut out the yolks due the cholesterol and high calories, but also the "good fat" is in the yolks. I eat them, limit my intake to 2 or 2.5 at the most per day, if that.

    There is a lot of new information about cholesterol---and research on it and how it affects one's arteries. Particle size of lipids is the new thing, as well as good vs. bad (HDL and LDL). The large particle size of LDL is okay, but the small particle size is a "killer" and adheres to the artery walls, inviting inflammation and damage.

    The best thing to include in one's diet is cold water fishes, like salmon and mackerel, and taking daily fish oil supplements. Also high fiber diets help decrease the cholesterol numbers. Did his physician start him on a statin?

    I myself am on a water soluble statin and have just recently had my blood drawn. I have a genetic predisposition for high cholesterol. Ironically, no one in my family, male or female has ever had heart disease and usually live well into their 90's. My grandfather's sister died recently at age 104. I have tried to explain this to my physicians, to no avail. My concern is the frigging Alzheimer's disease which is strongly exhibited in my family. Because there is a correlation between high cholesterol and Alzheimer's, I am trying to get my "numbers" to a normal level.

    Sorry about the lengthy post.
  • empireman85
    empireman85 Posts: 114 Member
    Some folks that don't like apples in general do like Fuji apples. Crunchy and sweet.
  • shelbyforsquares
    shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
    Thanks for the cholesterol run down! My family never had cholesterol issues, so I don't know about it (diet related heart disease, though).
    I know roomie's brother has a heart issue. I don't know the details, but I know everything for the roomie was 'bad is high, good is low', so it sounds like diet is a major contributing factor here, and better habits will improve things, and getting some exercise in. (He's started a daily walking routine).

    I'm not sure what they put him on. Two pills, he said, and he has to go back in 6 weeks.
  • shelbyforsquares
    shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
    Will have to try fujis then. Thanks!
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    Thanks, I digressed from the snack question. If he needs something to keep in his desk drawer for a "go-to" snack, then maybe peanuts (already shelled) or pop-corn. He could also pack a protein bar and maybe eat it with a glass of milk. Apples are great--I pre-splice them. He may try microwaving the apple with a little sugar and cinnamon (does he like apple pie?).

    If his brother has heart disease, he may have a genetic pre-disposition to high cholesterol. Definitely diet change and exercise will help him, but he still may need to take medication. Also don't throw a lot of info at him--there's a lot to take in. Is he shell-shocked? Is he motivated to make a lot of changes?

    Be patient with him. It's so hard to change one's lifestyle as you know.
  • shelbyforsquares
    shelbyforsquares Posts: 20
    He asked for my help, having seen me drop 100 lbs since my own health diagnosis. So while I think he's motivated, he's never cooked more than a burger and I think has a bit of shock and a lot of questions. Very normal with a major change! I was there a few years ago, myself. I'm trying to get a bit more educated, too, since I want to have answers to the questions he's asking, without always consulting Dr. Google.

    I did try the baked apples just yesterday, and I think he likes them baked even less than raw. Lol.

    It's good to know popcorn is alright though. I wasn't sure about that one, because of the carbs. I have an old fashioned air popper that I use myself and he thinks is just the coolest thing. Lol.

    Peanuts I won't try, I know he hates them. Can't even stand the smell. I do want to get him to try some other nuts, though.

    I wasn't sure if protein bars were alright because of the sugars and high carb content. I guess it would depend on which one.

    At the moment diabetes is as much of a worry as the cholesterol. He doesn't have a family history of diabetes, so I think we're still at a stage where that can be turned around before it's too late.

    We're only a week into this diagnosis, so I'm trying to gather as many ideas as I can to get him through the transition period. His biggest complaint so far is that he needs to eat more often, since the new foods are lower in calories than the old ones.

    He's doing well, though, just snacks are a hang up, and I'm not sure how low carb he needs to go, or if healthy carbs are sufficient. (Veggies, whole grains, and brown rice, rather than white breads and the like, which is where we are right now)

    Even if you digressed, it was very helpful info, since it's not something I have experience with (on the other hand if you want to know about gluten and acid reflux, I am totally your girl. Lol)

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