Calling all diabetics! Food/snack ideas?

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wittlelacey
wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My AP Psychology teacher is one of the best people I have ever met. She's also a diabetic. She's 41 years old, drives an hour to and from her job everyday, puts everyone else before her (including her cats-her prized possessions), and follows very strict health/fitness rules religiously. It saddens me that on her bad days she'll sneak in a comment about just wanting a slice of pizza or an ounce of cake, etc. We all know those cravings, but not as much as she does.

So, diabetics, I can't accurately sympathize, but I can try to understand better! What foods are and aren't allowed? The reason that I ask is because my teacher's birthday is in a week. I plan on getting a basket with 4-5 little snacks that she can enjoy that are diabetic-friendly!

But I need more ideas! I know of these chips that taste like Ruffles (they're called Plantain Chips) at Trader Joe's...low in calorie, high in sodium that I'm considering. Does sodium change anything? Is it strictly sugar that needs to be monitored? When reading the nutrition label, what should I look out for? Should all sugar levels be 0g? This may sound lame, but what about sugar-free gum?

Seeing as how this is basically my only idea, what other possibilities should I look into? Preferrably at Trader Joe's but all suggestions are very much welcome :))

Thanks so much <3

Replies

  • skywa
    skywa Posts: 901 Member
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    nuts are great. pistachio especially.

    so are veggies. like baby carrots.

    she needs to watch carbs as well. high protein and low carb diets are best for diabetics.
  • antdaman725
    antdaman725 Posts: 4
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    When reading the nutrition label, I would not even look at the amount of sugar. What I tell my diabetes patients is to ignore the sugar content and just focus on the amount of carbohydrates per serving. An acceptable snack for a person with diabetes is 15g-25g of carbs. So the sugar level doesn't necessarily have to be zero!

    What is also usually listed under the carbs on a nutrition label is fiber. Fiber is a person with diabetes friend! You can subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrates (a practice that is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association). So if a food has 25g of carb and 5g of fiber, effectively I would only count it as 20g of carbs for a person with diabetes.

    In terms of the diabetes, carbohydrates is the only thing to worry about in terms of the blood sugar. Fats do raise the blood sugar, but take 2-3 hours to do so, so its not as much of a concern but still something to look out for.

    As for snacks - I like to recommend nuts (and peanut butter too!) because they are low in carbs and are a really tasty snack! Certain popcorns aren't too carb heavy. Anyway, hope this helps to point you in the right direction!
  • wittlelacey
    wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
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    Why thank you Sky, I'll definitely consider nuts :D

    antdaman725, you are so helpful! Popcorn is a great idea! Wow, this helps me to understand nutrition labels so much better, thanks again :)))
  • thompson000
    thompson000 Posts: 38
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    Sodium is not good for diabetes, look for low sodium snacks, whole roasted almonds, pistachios, Nut-thins (sold at wal-mart) and of course sugar free!
  • radosti1
    radosti1 Posts: 198 Member
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    I would throw in a container of PB2 peanut butter powder in there. Yummo!!!
  • wittlelacey
    wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
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    I would throw in a container of PB2 peanut butter powder in there. Yummo!!!
    I'll keep an eye out :)
    And If I find some I might have to grab a container for myself :D
  • mazomomma
    mazomomma Posts: 14
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    My 19 year old has had diabetes for 18.5 years - yeah, like a long time. Cheese sticks - the low fat kind are one of his favorites. Low sodium pickles, not the sweet pickles. If you want to go the route of something really special, an angel food cake with the low fat whipped topping. We served the angel food cake as a birthday cake for years. Fresh fruit is always good too. Schwans used to have these fat free sugar free chocolate fudge sticks and they were to die for. I have tons and tons of ideas, especially for kids of course, and could write forever. Let me know if you need additional ideas.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    check out dlife.com
  • LReneeWalker
    LReneeWalker Posts: 213 Member
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    cheese, popcorn, sugar free gum, flavored tea bags, more cheese lol
  • shellybean826
    shellybean826 Posts: 44
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    any of the kashi protein bars are good too ..they are alittle high in carbs but the fiber and protein help with that ..im diabetic and on no meds so i have to watch what i eat ....i can have one of those everyday :) ...sugar free is good .always ...but just remember if something is high in carbs ..but has protein ..you can still get it :) ...
  • LReneeWalker
    LReneeWalker Posts: 213 Member
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    any of the kashi protein bars are good too ..they are alittle high in carbs but the fiber and protein help with that ..im diabetic and on no meds so i have to watch what i eat ....i can have one of those everyday :) ...sugar free is good .always ...but just remember if something is high in carbs ..but has protein ..you can still get it :) ...

    Agree...High fiber is great also!
  • Sharonks
    Sharonks Posts: 884 Member
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    How thoughtful of you.

    Since she is bemoaning cake and pizza I suspect she is like me. I am seriously carb intolerant and even 15 grams will send my blood sugar soaring.

    Nuts are good but make sure any flavored nuts only have a few carbs per serving.

    Cheese is always good. Some meat products are good but look at the label. Things like terriyaki jerky are high in carbs.

    Many diabetics can eat sugar free candy, look for ones where the sugar alcohol grams come close to equaling the total carbs.

    Tea bags or other 0 carb drink mixes.

    Atkins bars, make sure whatever bar you buy has only a few carbs.

    If she is very low carb or just above that level, salt isn't very relevant and fat is actually important to have.
  • ctprofessional
    ctprofessional Posts: 63 Member
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    Wow, I'm a new Diabetic, and I love some of these ideas! I LOVE the sugar free gum in dessert flavors, and sugar free candy is a life saver when I need a sweet fix.

    I am trying to bring my cholesterol also, I think I'm gonna make a new topic!
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Type 2 Diabetic here (diagnosed in 2009) I eat 25-30 grams of carbs at my snacks and 70-80 grams a my main meals... I live on Nuts especially Almonds and Pistachios (just finished a bowl of Pistachios lol)... All Natural Jiff Crunchy peanut butter is on my menu everyday as well. I use the PB2 ( bought it off Amazon) but prefer the real thing. I use pretty much all Kashi products from bars to cereals..... Nature Valley has quite a few bars that I use as well... I don't watch sugars much at all my main focus is on Carbs and make sure they are mostly complex carbs (carbs that take longer to break down like veggies, nuts, lentils, etc) Hope that helps..... Good Luck!!
  • ctprofessional
    ctprofessional Posts: 63 Member
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    Type 2 Diabetic here (diagnosed in 2009) I eat 25-30 grams of carbs at my snacks and 70-80 grams a my main meals... I live on Nuts especially Almonds and Pistachios (just finished a bowl of Pistachios lol)... All Natural Jiff Crunchy peanut butter is on my menu everyday as well. I use the PB2 ( bought it off Amazon) but prefer the real thing. I use pretty much all Kashi products from bars to cereals..... Nature Valley has quite a few bars that I use as well... I don't watch sugars much at all my main focus is on Carbs and make sure they are mostly complex carbs (carbs that take longer to break down like veggies, nuts, lentils, etc) Hope that helps..... Good Luck!!


    Just took a nutrition class and that is pretty much what I learned! Only women want to stay on the low end of that scale for the carb intake.
  • islandsnowgirl
    islandsnowgirl Posts: 6 Member
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    wow - all great ideas! and what a sweet thing to do for your teacher! i've been told that another good snack if you're looking for something sweet is jello. or hummus and veggies.
  • waldenfam2
    waldenfam2 Posts: 203 Member
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    Hummus and veggies is an excellent snack and the sugar free jello is also a good one. Myself, 60+ carbs at a meal and my sugar just soars (I'm controlled through diet also), so a snack for me needs to be max 15grams of carbs.

    Hmmm, Angel food cake is a great idea that another poster had, and there are sugar free angel food cakes too. I had one a month or so ago, with some fresh strawberries, yummy. Fruits are also great, except bananas and grapes can really get some diabetics. They are high in carbs. It is soo sweet of you to be so thoughtful, and good luck!
  • RachelsReboot
    RachelsReboot Posts: 569 Member
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    You could look up some recipes on www.yourlighterside.com and make something for her then show her the recipes. I LOVE Jamies gluten free pizza crust (I make mine with chicken breast, flax meal and egg), I don't know if I could live without my pizza!

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