[Diabetes-talk] ideas for non refrigerated snacks

[Julie Kline]

Hi Terri,

 

I was on vacation so didn't get a chance to respond to the message you sent
out, but here are some things I've found regarding snacks:

If you don't like plain water, putting a crystal light packet in it isn't
bad.  Just make sure that it says sugar free.  So far as I know, the crystal
light drinks are, but there are other brands that have similar packets of
drink mix that are not, so it's a good idea to make sure of what you are
getting.  As an alternative, there's another mix you can put into water
that's made by maio.  Caution: a little of this goes a long way.  That I
know of, all of these are sugar free as well, no calories either but it's
good to still check.  They come in a variety of flavors.  In addition, you
might want to consider Fruit 2 O.  They're really good.

 

If you like tea, there's a couple of ways you can go here.  Lipton makes
some diet cold teas that are really good and already prepared for you.  I
like the diet citrus myself.  Arizona makes a diet de caff with Ginseng
that's sweetened with splenda that I like.  In addition, if you have a glass
of water or a water bottle, Lipton makes a product called Cold Brew which is
plain tea that you drop the tea bag into water and let it sit.  If you want
to add flavor to this, torani makes some good sugar free syrups: raspberry
and peach to name a couple.  You can find the torani products either on
amazon.com (same with the maio), or at your grocery store with the coffees.

 

For food, I'm still learning this one.  Both handi snacks and Jell-O make
sugar free puddings that are already made and in cups.  If you can buy your
own milk, there's sugar free fat free pudding mixes that you can use, and
they really are pretty good.

 

There's granola bars, but watch these because just because it's a granola
bar doesn't mean it's always healthy.  A lot of them are high in sugar and a
lot of your granolas are high in fat.  Adding nuts and raisins to these only
ups the sugar they have, not necessarily healthy if you're trying to watch
that.  Fiber One makes a lot of varieties of granola bars, several under 90
calories.  The Slim fast bars are good too.

 

Another option you have is no sugar added applesauce.  Keep in mind no sugar
added doesn't mean sugar free (I had to learn that the hard way) because
there is naturally occurring sugar in the fruit, however, if you can find
one that's already made, the cups are sealed and you don't have to
refrigerate them until after you open it.  I eat the whole cup in one
setting.

 

If you can get it, packing fresh fruit is a good idea.  They make already
cut up apple slices and you can just skip the dip.  Grapes are good, or Del
Monte makes a canned fruit cocktail where the fruit is packed in water.
Your sugar content will get higher if you buy the ones packed in syrup, so I
avoid those.  If you find fruit packed in it's own juice, drain and rinse
the fruit first before you eat it.  These cans do not require refrigeration
to store until after you open them.

 

Hope this helps; I'm out of ideas.

 

Julie