Five Great Snacks for When You’re Not Wanting to Administer More Insulin
We like to keep an eye on carbs around here. And not for weight-watching reasons. Though we aren’t crazy or restrictive, it just seems a little healthier to have a meal or a snack that doesn’t require a bolus of twelve units of insulin. Today’s Wednesday Tip is Five Healthy Snacks That Are Low- or No-Carb:
- Nuts! We have an entire kitchen shelf devoted to nuts. Almonds, pistachios, peanuts (though they’re a legume, not a nut), walnuts, even macadamias. Nuts have important vitamin E and fiber and some protein. Though they’re high in calories, active kids can down them by the handful and parents can feel good that they’re getting a non-processed, beneficial, low-to-no-carb snack.
- Cheese! Though cheese is high in fat and calories, it’s also packed with calcium and has protein, both of which are important. We have a whole drawer in the fridge dedicated to cheese sticks, cheese slices and blocks of the cheddar that I personally love, toasted, on sourdough.
- Beef jerky can provide your sodium content for about a week, but if you’re twelve, who cares! Jerky is excellent to keep in backpacks and handbags and even in the car, given its nonperishable qualities. The stuff, too, is pure protein!
- Edamame. These quick-to-prepare pea-pod-like snacks are a soy-protein powerhouse. My Will, a picky picky eater, rejected them at least fifteen times. Now, though, my three fight over them. I think half the fun is popping them out of their pods. We do these as a side-dish a lot for dinner. The fact that you can keep them tucked away in the freezer and serve them when your kids will eat precious little greens, makes them a healthy staple.
- Celery. As kids, we lived on the stuff. Of course, it was slathered with sugar-loaded, hydrogenated-fat-laden Skippy-brand peanut butter. Though my T1D kid will have nothing to do with the stalks, my other two like their celery (which I cut up and leave floating in a bowl of water in the fridge, often with a few carrot sticks as well, to be sure they stay crisp and seem easily accessible). They are especially popular with ranch dressing. “Delicious” might be a stretch when describing celery, but if a kid wants a crunchy snack that requires no extra insulin, this is a good one to try.
Readers, what are your favorite low- or no-carb snacks?