Healthy snack ideas for diabetes patients

Snacks with 16-30 grams of carbohydrate

• One small banana with one tbsp. nut butter (25 grams)

• Two Eggo Nutri Grain whole wheat waffles topped with sugar-free syrup (27 grams)

• Three graham cracker squares with two tbsp. reduced fat strawberry cream cheese (21 grams)

• Nature Valley Oats and Dark Chocolate Crunchy Granola Bar (28 grams)

• Five dried apricots (26 grams)

• Stonyfield Farms fat-free yogurt (28 grams)

• Stonyfield Farms six-ounce Yo Baby drinkable yogurt (23-25 grams)

• One Eggo Nutri Grain blueberry waffle (16 grams)

• Two fig, raspberry, or strawberry Newtons (21 grams)

• One Thomas whole wheat mini-bagel with one slice turkey and cheese (22 grams)

• 3/4 cup Kashi Berry Blossoms cereal (25 grams); adding ½-cup lowfat milk will take the total to 30 grams

• 15 tortilla chips with ¼-cup salsa (28 grams)

• 16 Wheat Thins with one slice cheese (22 grams)

• Fiber One Chewy Strawberry PBJ Bar (20 grams)

• Kashi cereal bar (23-24 grams)

• English muffin pizza: 1/2 English muffin, two tbsp. pizza sauce, two tbsp. cheese (17 grams)

• 100-calorie pack Chex cheddar crackers (17 grams)

• ½ peanut butter or nut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread made with one tbsp. peanut butter (16 grams)

Snacks with 15 grams or less of carbohydrate

• 10 Quaker cheddar cheese mini-rice cakes (11 grams)

• ½ ham, turkey, or cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread (13 grams)

• One small apple (15 grams)

• Four-ounce sugar-free pudding (14 grams)

• 100-calorie pack Goldfish Crackers (14 grams)

• One Eggo Nutri Grain whole wheat waffle with one tbsp. nut butter (15 grams)

• Yoplait Go-gurt (13 grams)

• One cup milk (12 grams)

• Glucerna mini-snack nutrition bar (10 grams)

• One large rice cake with one tbsp. nut butter (10-12 grams)

• Two graham cracker squares (11 grams)

• Handi-snack cheese and crackers (10 grams)

• Two cups light popcorn (13 grams)

• One cup fresh veggies (celery, carrots, cucumber, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower) and low-fat dip (10 grams)

• ½-cup blueberries (10 grams)

• One clementine (9 grams)

• Breakstone snack-size cottage cheese (6 grams)

• ½-cup strawberries (6 grams)

• Celery sticks with one tbsp. peanut butter (5 grams)

• Two slices turkey luncheon meat (2 grams)

• String cheese (0.5 grams)

• Snack pack peanuts (0.5 grams)

• Four-ounce sugar-free gelatin (0 grams)

• Hard-boiled egg (0 grams)

• One cup Crystal Light (0 grams): you could freeze and make into a popsicle

Snacking tips

It is important to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Check to make sure you are snacking because you are hungry and not because you are bored.

If you are truly hungry, it is fine to eat a snack with carbohydrate and protein. You will need to count the carbohydrate and take insulin.

If you want a snack that is more filling, add protein. Some good sources of protein include string cheese, peanut butter or other nut butters like soy, almond, cashew, and sunflower seed, peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin), lunch meat (lean turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef), tuna, eggs (the protein is in the egg white!), yogurt and milk (don’t forget to count the carbs) cottage cheese and turkey jerky.

If you are eating a snack with lots of protein or fat in order to avoid giving insulin, know that too many high-fat foods are not good for your heart and eating a very high protein snack (20 grams or more) without taking insulin may cause blood sugar levels to rise.