# Snacks suggestions



## scotcaz22 (Jul 7, 2021)

I am doing okay with the main meals....I think! The only problem is between meals - especially in the afternoon and late evening, I find myself hungry and wasn't sure what snacks I should have. The last few days I've been tempted to buy Doritos (cheesy tangy) crisps as it is my number one favourite snack but didn't give in to the temptation and it was hard! 

Instead, I had plain biscuits and some fruit (pears & apples - although I'm sad to see that pears are high in sugar as I had one then had a blood sugar check some time later and it spiked! ugh!) this past week.

I would like some ideas/suggestions for snacks which are quick to make or can be shop bought. 

Thank you in advance


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## rebrascora (Jul 7, 2021)

Cheese... good quality hard cheese not the processed stuff. 
Boiled eggs with or without s spoon of full fat mayonnaise
Nuts... ideally brazils, hazelnuts or walnuts as these are the lowest carb. Peanuts and cashews are higher carb so be careful with those..
Veggie sticks (peppers/mushrooms/cucumber/celery/tomato/carrot) with a sour cream and chive/garlic dip... Ideally from the chilled counter not the highly processed Dorritos stuff in a jar.
Cooked meat with or without coleslaw... I like cheese coleslaw... full fat, not low fat.
Cooked high meat content sausages or salami 
Pickles... A few pickled gherkins or silverskin onions or slices of beetroot.
A packet of pork scratchings... watch your fillings!!
A tub of olives with or without feta cheese.

Hopefully some of those might appeal to you. I know a few are an acquired taste!


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## Leadinglights (Jul 7, 2021)

If you increase the fat content of your meals you may find you don't need any snacks. Otherwise things to try are nuts, piece of cheese, Nature Valley do some protein bars which are 10g carb or Aldi do similar protein bars or some carrot or celery sticks with a dip. A drink may take the edge off any hunger.
Good suggestions there from @rebrascora, she types faster than me.


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## Kath Newman (Jul 7, 2021)

Hi, sorry nothing to add as only recently diagnosed but really interested to read the answers.  I’m trying to snack on cherrries, strawberries, hard cheese and almonds - are they bad?  It’s a minefield isn’t it


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## Leadinglights (Jul 7, 2021)

Kath Newman said:


> Hi, sorry nothing to add as only recently diagnosed but really interested to read the answers.  I’m trying to snack on cherrries, strawberries, hard cheese and almonds - are they bad?  It’s a minefield isn’t it


Cherries are quite high carb but the rest of the things are pretty good.


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## Sharron1 (Jul 7, 2021)

scotcaz22 said:


> I am doing okay with the main meals....I think! The only problem is between meals - especially in the afternoon and late evening, I find myself hungry and wasn't sure what snacks I should have. The last few days I've been tempted to buy Doritos (cheesy tangy) crisps as it is my number one favourite snack but didn't give in to the temptation and it was hard!
> 
> Instead, I had plain biscuits and some fruit (pears & apples - although I'm sad to see that pears are high in sugar as I had one then had a blood sugar check some time later and it spiked! ugh!) this past week.
> 
> ...


I have almonds. May be an oat cake. If the urge to snack is too strong, i tend to have some water. That usually solves the problem


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## adrian1der (Jul 8, 2021)

I make flaxseed crackers from Tom Kerridge's Dopamine Diet book. 1g of carbs per cracker. I can eat them plain, with butter or with butter and cheese. His almond soda bread is also pretty good although I tend to reserve it for cheese on toast


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## scotcaz22 (Jul 11, 2021)

These are great suggestions! Thank you for taking time to type these down, really appreciate it!


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## scotcaz22 (Jul 11, 2021)

Leadinglights said:


> If you increase the fat content of your meals you may find you don't need any snacks.


I’m not sure what you mean by this? Could you clarify please and give some examples? I would appreciate it, thank you


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## scotcaz22 (Jul 11, 2021)

Kath Newman said:


> It’s a minefield isn’t it


Yeah for sure!


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## scotcaz22 (Jul 11, 2021)

Sharron1 said:


> I have almonds. May be an oat cake. If the urge to snack is too strong, i tend to have some water. That usually solves the problem


Yeah water does help sometimes! I think I’m too used to eating all day with so many junk food but am trying my best to cut all that down and keep to 3 meals a day with a couple of snacks here and there! Oatcakes are lovely! Thanks


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## scotcaz22 (Jul 11, 2021)

adrian1der said:


> I make flaxseed crackers from Tom Kerridge's Dopamine Diet book. 1g of carbs per cracker. I can eat them plain, with butter or with butter and cheese. His almond soda bread is also pretty good although I tend to reserve it for cheese on toast


Thanks for the suggestions!


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## rebrascora (Jul 11, 2021)

scotcaz22 said:


> I’m not sure what you mean by this? Could you clarify please and give some examples? I would appreciate it, thank you



When you cut down on carbohydrates in your diet you reduce a large portion of the fuel (calories) from your diet. Carbs are broken down pretty quickly and hit the blood stream usually within a couple of hours. Fat and protein take longer 2-8ish hours to break down and produce much less glucose so it is slow release energy. This means that it sustains you for longer, helping to prevent you from feeling hungry and keeping your Blood Glucose levels more stable. 

This is why most of the snacks that I have suggested (cheese, nuts, eggs, pork scratchings) are high in fat or a mixture of fat and protein. These will help to fill you up and stop your hunger cravings much better than a packet of crisps or a biscuit.


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## scotcaz22 (Jul 12, 2021)

rebrascora said:


> When you cut down on carbohydrates in your diet you reduce a large portion of the fuel (calories) from your diet. Carbs are broken down pretty quickly and hit the blood stream usually within a couple of hours. Fat and protein take longer 2-8ish hours to break down and produce much less glucose so it is slow release energy. This means that it sustains you for longer, helping to prevent you from feeling hungry and keeping your Blood Glucose levels more stable.
> 
> This is why most of the snacks that I have suggested (cheese, nuts, eggs, pork scratchings) are high in fat or a mixture of fat and protein. These will help to fill you up and stop your hunger cravings much better than a packet of crisps or a biscuit.


Oooh that makes sense now - thank you!


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## AngelSprings (Jul 12, 2021)

Hi adrian1der, 
Just made Tom Kerridge's flaxseed crackers on your recommendation, and they are so good. They've just come out of the oven and I couldn't resist trying one.  Ideal for snacking and I know I shall soon be having another one with some Cambozola cheese.  As you mention, at 1 carb each they are ideal for low carbers.  The recipe made16, enough to keep me going for a week. And I like the fact that they are made of flaxseed, very healthy.
I've been into healthy eating for many years, and got rid of my rolling pin because I wasn't into making pastry.  So before I could start the recipe I had to go out and purchase a new rolling pin!  But I feel sure  I shall be making more of the crackers so it will be used.
Thank you for the recipe!


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## Ratbag (Jul 13, 2021)

Kath Newman said:


> Hi, sorry nothing to add as only recently diagnosed but really interested to read the answers.  I’m trying to snack on cherrries, strawberries, hard cheese and almonds - are they bad?  It’s a minefield isn’t it


Yes cherries are bad and can only really have a couple of strawberries
Think you'd be better with an apple with peanut butter. An egg. Protein yoghurt.  Kvarg protein are lowest sugar.


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## helli (Jul 13, 2021)

AngelSprings said:


> got rid of my rolling pin because I wasn't into making pastry. So before I could start the recipe I had to go out and purchase a new rolling pin!


As a student, wasting valuable beer tokens on a rolling pin was considered sinful. So, I used a bottle to roll out pastry and the like - we always had one or two of them in the house


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## Leadinglights (Jul 13, 2021)

Ratbag said:


> Yes cherries are bad and can only really have a couple of strawberries
> Think you'd be better with an apple with peanut butter. An egg. Protein yoghurt.  Kvarg protein are lowest sugar.


Weight for weight Strawberries are half the carbs of apple. Yes I like the Kvarg deserts (low carb, low fat but high protein)


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## AngelSprings (Jul 13, 2021)

Sorry, I've got to retract my enthusiastic comment yesterday about the flaxseed crackers.  When first out of the oven they tasted really good, however when they'd cooled down not so good, very dense and doughy.  Perhaps I didn't get the egg whites stiff enough. They need some work doing on them, must get my thinking cap on.  In essence they are ideal for low carbers, l gram per cracker, perhaps other contributors can offer a solution?


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## Paulbreen (Jul 13, 2021)

Kath Newman said:


> Hi, sorry nothing to add as only recently diagnosed but really interested to read the answers.  I’m trying to snack on cherrries, strawberries, hard cheese and almonds - are they bad?  It’s a minefield isn’t it


Cherrie are pretty packed with sugar, strawberries in moderation, cheese and almonds are good


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## helli (Jul 13, 2021)

I notice a few comments about certain foods being "bad". 

For me language is important to manage the mental health issues often associated with diabetes.
I think about "managing" diabetes because trying to "control" it will lead to failure. 
Likewise, I avoid describing food as good or bad. Eating "bad" food can lead to guilt. 
Instead, I consider why some food may not be suitable for me such as "cherries are high in carbs" and then I can chose to eat them or not without the guilt of doing or eating something "bad". 

Maybe I am more sensitive to this than others but as, mental health issues are more common in people with diabetes, I hope these little tweaks can help if only by a small amount.


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## grovesy (Jul 13, 2021)

When this conversation has happened before, differnt people have different tolerances.


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## Drummer (Jul 13, 2021)

AngelSprings said:


> Sorry, I've got to retract my enthusiastic comment yesterday about the flaxseed crackers.  When first out of the oven they tasted really good, however when they'd cooled down not so good, very dense and doughy.  Perhaps I didn't get the egg whites stiff enough. They need some work doing on them, must get my thinking cap on.  In essence they are ideal for low carbers, l gram per cracker, perhaps other contributors can offer a solution?


They might need to be cooked for longer at a slightly lower temperature to dry them out - ovens do vary so yours might be a bit high and so things look cooked when they could actually do with a bit longer to be heated through.


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## Molly M (Jul 13, 2021)

Just trying these - M&S have 2 flavours - one is Serrano and Chorizo is the other one - 0.2g carbs per packet and cost £1.50 - 25g total weight of the packet. They are good I would say but you couldn't eat several packets as they are very filling. They do have some crunch to them - some are thicker than others. They are nothing like pork scratchings - nowhere near as hard.


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## Molly M (Jul 15, 2021)

Just new at this so not sure if you would say these are a good snack/treat or not - I was just going by the carb amounts which is 7.6 per bar


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## Molly M (Jul 15, 2021)

Along the lines of my post above - these are a different flavour and slightly higher in carbs - 9.6g per bar

These bars all taste great but some of the others are much higher in carbs


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## Leadinglights (Jul 15, 2021)

Molly M said:


> Along the lines of my post above - these are a different flavour and slightly higher in carbs - 9.6g per bar
> 
> These bars all taste great but some of the others are much higher in carbs


They look pretty good and not too bad on carbs, generally they are quite filling. The Nature Valley protein bars are about the same but I just have a quarter with the afternoon cuppa.


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## JJay (Jul 15, 2021)

Molly M said:


> Along the lines of my post above - these are a different flavour and slightly higher in carbs - 9.6g per bar
> 
> These bars all taste great but some of the others are much higher in carbs


Just a note - those figures are for the 40g bars. They also do 30g bars (often found in the "Free From" section) which are 5.7g for the Caramel, almond & sea salt and 7.2g for the Dark Chocolate, nuts & sea salt (my 2 favourites!). I find them just as satisfying as the larger ones and every little helps!


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## Molly M (Jul 18, 2021)

Just had this jelly which was good and I think the numbers seem OK.


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## Janis Blondel (Jul 28, 2021)

I love this jelly too and find it helps when I am craving something sweet.


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