Need some snack ideas

[Miemie]

Hi guys

So I heard the other day that snacking on 70% cocoa chocolate is a good snack idea (which I was so glad about as I love dark chocolate). But on Tuesday I had it during the day (ok, maybe I overdid it a bit). I had a piece at about 15:30 and by 16:00 I thought I was going to die. Dizziness, headache, palpitations, nausea. By the time I got home at 18:00 my bg was still 153. Don't know where it peaked at.

I recently found out that I have a peptic ulcer as well, and only more recently (like in Tuesday) found out that chocolate is not a good idea when you have an ulcer.

Can the ulcer cause the bg to be unstable? Have any of you experienced this?

Yesterday had the same sort off experience. Had a rusk with my tea the morning, and had yogurt at about 10:00. Was feeling fine, all off a sudden wanted to pass out, sweating, shivering. Went to the sister, bg was 94, bp 109/79?

But now I'm staying away from coffee, tea, chocolates and anything spicy. I just feel between my ulcer and the bg levels, I won't be able to eat anything in the near future.

[ADSOFT]

I snack on Carrots and Broccoli, fiber is supposed to be very helpful.

Walnuts are supposed to be good for HDL.

Lots of water; suppress hunger for me, till I get home and eat a regular meal. Keeps me out of the fast food drives.

I always carry water in the car and at my desk.

[fgummett]

Carrots... especially baby carrots... (along with many root or tuberous "vegetables") can be high in sugar, and are off limits for many of us here... test to see what works for you.

As discussed in this thread : http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/42848-baby-carrots-25pts-increase.html

I use nuts and cheese as my stand-by snacks and yes it is important to maintain hydration -- for which I suggest water is best... it seems that thirst can sometimes be misinterpreted as hunger... but I find no benefit from drinking when I am no longer thirsty.

[princesslinda]

I find cheese or nuts are good to keep hunger at bay, as are cucumbers and dill pickles. I also enjoy pork rinds when i'm in the mood for something "chip-like." I also always have s/f jello and jello pudding around (though s/f doesn't necessarily mean low carb, so check your BS and see how the pudding works for you).

I try not to snack much, preferring to eat 3 meals a day and then having a snack just before bedtime if I feel "peckish."

I drink quite a bit of water, as I work for urologists and they suggest it, but I don't find that it makes me feel full or helps with my hunger in the least; rather, I just feel hungry and sloshy/waterlogged.

[fgummett]

Not sure about a peptic ulcer affecting BG levels... many things, including mental and physical stress do seem to have an effect though so I wouldn't discount it out of hand.

Sorry the dark-chocolate did not work out for you... maybe try just a very small piece and let it melt in your mouth... was it too rich or was is the fat that aggravated your ulcer do you think?

[davef]

Miemie,

Diabetes and Peptic Ulcer, that's just not fair and must be a pain.

Have you spoken to your Doctor about anti-biotic treatment for the ulcer. I understand that most peptic ulcers can be healed and that the old advice of avoiding spicy/fatty/acidic foods etc, is now defunct in that avoiding such foods will ease the pain but won't actually cure the ulcer. From what I have read most ulcers are caused by a bacterium, treating with antibiotic will kill the bacterium and so allow the ulcer to heal.

My wife had a friend who suffer with ulcers (multiple) for years, when the new antibiotic treatment came in a few years ago she jumped at it and has not had a problem since.

[notme]

I think perhaps something like string cheese, sugar free pudding, or sugar free jello with Cool whip might be a better choice. You may just have to try a few foods to see what does not bother your blood sugar or ulcer.

[ADSOFT]

Btw, now that we are on snacks,

What is the story with Yougart, and how does that fit in D'. I've never been much of a yogurt fan, but I might have to be in the future.

[davef]

Btw, now that we are on snacks,

What is the story with Yougart, and how does that fit in D'. I've never been much of a yogurt fan, but I might have to be in the future.

With the huge variety of yogurts that are available, I work on the eat, test and learn approach.

Only eating/testing after checking the contents of the yogurt for high sugars/carbs.

[notme]

I eat small amounts of Greek Yogurt (Fage) with berries and Splenda. Doesn't bother my blood sugar much if I only use berries and keep it to about 1/2 cup.

[ADSOFT]

So what types of yogurts do you recommend or seem to work for you?

[Miemie]

Sorry the dark-chocolate did not work out for you... maybe try just a very small piece and let it melt in your mouth... was it too rich or was is the fat that aggravated your ulcer do you think?

You don't have to feel bad, you couldn't have known, (I didn't know). I have an idea that it might be the cocoa, my friend's mother have an ulcer as well, and she says if she eats anything with cocoa in, it really aggravates her ulcer. So trying to stay away from it for a while and see what it does.

[Miemie]

Miemie,

Diabetes and Peptic Ulcer, that's just not fair and must be a pain.

Have you spoken to your Doctor about anti-biotic treatment for the ulcer. I understand that most peptic ulcers can be healed and that the old advice of avoiding spicy/fatty/acidic foods etc, is now defunct in that avoiding such foods will ease the pain but won't actually cure the ulcer. From what I have read most ulcers are caused by a bacterium, treating with antibiotic will kill the bacterium and so allow the ulcer to heal.

My wife had a friend who suffer with ulcers (multiple) for years, when the new antibiotic treatment came in a few years ago she jumped at it and has not had a problem since.

I know, I'm feeling very sorry for myself at this stage :D, I will definitely ask my doctor about that. I am on Nexiam 40mg per day at the moment, but it does not seem to help, maybe I'm looking for results too quickly, have been on the medication for about 3 weeks now.

[Miemie]

Thanks so much for all your replies guys, I really appreciate it!
I have nuts with me all the time, so do snack on them during the day. I try to drink water, but are not a very big water fan, and must really force myself to drink it. At the moment it's not too hard, because it's very warm here by us (24 - 28 degress C) during the day, so it's a bit easier in summer.

With the ulcer, I can't drink gassy coldrink (like coke zero/ sprite zero), so drinking fruit juices (but can't drink anything with orange in), but now the juices influence the bg again. I've tried to dilute it with water, but it doesn't really make a huge difference.

[Miemie]

So what types of yogurts do you recommend or seem to work for you?

I can (at this stage still), really eat any yogurt. You do get a sucrose free yogurt, which is the best, and then plain yogurt with no colourants or flavourants.

I usually have breakfast, and then at about 10:00 will have a fruit and a small container of yogurt. I've read somewhere that you must have fruit with the yogurt (or the other way around:confused: ), as it helps it to digest easier. I got this idea from a dietitian about 3 years ago when I started to struggle with my bg.

[jps]

For the ulcer, as was mentioned, many are caused by heliobacter pylori. Treatment with a simple antibiotic would take care of those cases. Hopefully it's the one you have. Because it's gotta be extremely difficult to slash what you can eat because of pre-D, and then slash more things because it irritates the stomach. Ugh.

South Beach makes a nice snack pack that I use. 160 calories - a mix of cashews, almonds, peanuts, and dark chocolate covered soynuts (very little dark chocolate overall). Carb friendly too (only 6 net carbs). Good fats in there too. Pretty nice, balanced snack for me.

Glucerna and Atkins (read the labels) both make decent snacks that you can find in the health specialty aisles. Not bad at all and many are very diabetic friendly, but you have to read the labels. And they are expensive.

I also like peanut butter or cream cheese on celery sticks for a quick snack. Cheese is always terrific.

[Miemie]

For the ulcer, as was mentioned, many are caused by heliobacter pylori. Treatment with a simple antibiotic would take care of those cases. Hopefully it's the one you have. Because it's gotta be extremely difficult to slash what you can eat because of pre-D, and then slash more things because it irritates the stomach. Ugh.

South Beach makes a nice snack pack that I use. 160 calories - a mix of cashews, almonds, peanuts, and dark chocolate covered soynuts (very little dark chocolate overall). Carb friendly too (only 6 net carbs). Good fats in there too. Pretty nice, balanced snack for me.

Glucerna and Atkins (read the labels) both make decent snacks that you can find in the health specialty aisles. Not bad at all and many are very diabetic friendly, but you have to read the labels. And they are expensive.

I also like peanut butter or cream cheese on celery sticks for a quick snack. Cheese is always terrific.

Hi JPS, my dr is holidaying (is that a word?) in Mauritius at the moment, but as soon as he's back I'm definitely going to ask him about the antibiotic treatment.

I am really struggling at this stage to find things to eat that won't irritate my stomach, and that won't influence my bg too much, but finding it quite difficult, because I either end up eating too little or eating the wrong foods (I have a bottle of gaviscon with me permanently)

I do snack on nuts as well, and will try the peanut butter one. It's just so nice to talk to people who actually understand how difficult it is. As my husband is a great support, I don't think he realizes everyday how difficult it is to eat correctly.

[jer.lawrence]

I used to have AWFUL stomach problems (not an ulcer, but indigestion, acid reflux, etc). Since my Dx, it's pretty much gone away. I don't know why, but I'm very happy about it.

Anyway, the puffy cheetos only have about 13g carbs per serving and are pretty BG friendly for me. Soy Crisps have 9-13g carbs per serving as well. I've just found these in the last couple of days and got my "chip fix" taken care of. :)

[lark 27]

My go to low-carb snacks are almonds (raw unsalted I tend not to overeat. if I have salted mixed nuts I eat way too many), cheese, dill pickles wrapped in a piece of lunchmeat with mustard, a piece of low carb bread with nut butter on it, veggies (celery, brocolli, some carrots), water and green tea (I know they're not snacks, but as mentioned it does provide some minimal sense of filling up). I also have taken to the dark chocolate so sorry that doesn't work for you. I go with the 85% and it's a strong enough flavor that I don't eat a full serving since so it's only 2 - 4 net carbs.

Good luck.

[Kimbber]

I find cheese or nuts are good to keep hunger at bay, as are cucumbers and dill pickles. I also enjoy pork rinds when i'm in the mood for something "chip-like." I also always have s/f jello and jello pudding around (though s/f doesn't necessarily mean low carb, so check your BS and see how the pudding works for you).

I try not to snack much, preferring to eat 3 meals a day and then having a snack just before bedtime if I feel "peckish."

I drink quite a bit of water, as I work for urologists and they suggest it, but I don't find that it makes me feel full or helps with my hunger in the least; rather, I just feel hungry and sloshy/waterlogged.

What type of nuts do you get that do not have a lot of salt in them?

Kimberly

[jer.lawrence]

I love the Planter's lightly salted Peanuts. They also do make unsalted and they still have a good flavor.

I also LOVE raw Pecans, unsalted. They're a little more pricey, but very good.

[Granny Shanny]

What type of nuts do you get that do not have a lot of salt in them?

Kimberly

Raw almonds, unsalted peanuts . . . look in the baking aisles . . . the walnuts, pecans, etc., in the baking aisles are not salted. I'm like Jeremy, I love raw pecans - I buy the halves, not pieces.

[foxl]

Raw almonds, unsalted peanuts . . . look in the baking aisles . . . the walnuts, pecans, etc., in the baking aisles are not salted. I'm like Jeremy, I love raw pecans - I buy the halves, not pieces.

My husband is a huge fan of the MISSOURI Pecans -- they are little and sweet and low low low!

[Miemie]

I used to have AWFUL stomach problems (not an ulcer, but indigestion, acid reflux, etc). Since my Dx, it's pretty much gone away. I don't know why, but I'm very happy about it.

Anyway, the puffy cheetos only have about 13g carbs per serving and are pretty BG friendly for me. Soy Crisps have 9-13g carbs per serving as well. I've just found these in the last couple of days and got my "chip fix" taken care of. :)

Your problems probably went away because you've eliminated fine foods that can cause stomach problems. Mine, unfortunately I think is not that simple. As I have eliminated these to a large extend, and still sit with the problem.

[Miemie]

What type of nuts do you get that do not have a lot of salt in them?

Kimberly

I usually just buy unsalted. I find them at any health shop. And sometimes at our grocery store.