For those living with diabetes, snacks are an important part of the daily food experience. Snacks help to ensure that diabetics keep their blood glucose levels stable in between meals. When done right, snacking can enhance one’s daily experience by keeping him or her alert and energetic.
The best thing about diabetes snacks is that they are essentially healthy snacks, which can be eaten by non-diabetics. They are low in sugar and fat content and should be kept at a maximum of 150 calories or less. Healthy snacks for diabetes are those that incorporate natural, minimally-refined ingredients. A quick smoothie made from plain, low-fat yoghurt and some fruit comes to mind. So does a fruit salad or a handful of homemade trail mix.
It is important for diabetes diet snacks to be snacks and not full-fledged meals. Hence, the portions should be kept small. One should keep the temptation to overindulge at bay by preparing just enough to snack on, and keeping the rest of the food away in the fridge or pantry.
Diabetes Snacks Recipes
If you are looking for recipes for healthy, homemade diabetes snacks, you should consider this recipe for pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are both delicious and healthy, but many people do not realize this and simply dispose of them. Instead, they should rinse them in water and separate them from the pumpkin fibers. Subsequently, they should lay them between two paper towel squares to dry. Next, the seeds should be spread out in an even layer on a microwaveable plate. This plate should be put into the microwave and the seeds should be microwaved at maximum power for 5 or 6 minutes. The seeds should then be allowed to cool for 5 minutes. They are ready to eat and can be salted to taste.
There are other easy-to-prepare diabetes snacks, which take no more than a few minutes to put together. A perfect example is a quick vegetable dish, including tomato slices, red and green peppers, cucumbers, and carrots. These may be munched on as they are, or they may be dressed with 2 tablespoons of hummus or non-fat yogurt.
Another option is to have a few wholegrain crackers spread with almond butter, peanut butter, or another nut butter. Ideally, the nut butter should have no extra sugar or oil from external sources. Putting this kind of spread on the wholegrain cracker ensures that one is getting more than just carbohydrates from the light snack. The nut butters have some protein content, and are also rich sources of important minerals and healthy fats.
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