What kind of in between meal snacks do you give?

[Aidan'sMom]

I have been trying to get a feel for how different snacks effect Aidan's BG's. He usually eats a snack in between b fast and lunch and after he gets up from nap (which is in between lunch and dinner). Just wanting some good snack ideas that won't have that much effect on his numbers. The endo said he can have up to a 15 carb snack without having to bolus for it, but it seems that if I give carbs in the a.m. it has a bigger effect than in the p.m.!

[momofdbsdca]

Celery with peanut butter
protein bars
applesauce
peanuts
sugar free jello
popcorn
turkey roll ups
ham roll ups

[Seans Mom]

He's pretty young, so I'd say for carb free snacks stick w/ sf jello and cool whip, sf popsicles, rolled up deli meat and cheese sticks should be o.k. for him too. I found vienna sausages in a can, they are easy to eat and finger sized but high in fat, even the lower fat ones, but shouldn't affect the b.s. if he's not eating carbs w/ them. There are yogurts that are very low in carbs also, I think I read someone call them "carb smart"??

[shekov]

We do lots of cheese, summer sausage, pickles, olives, and fresh veggies(green beans, carrots, celery, cucumber) with dip, low carb yogurt, whole wheat tortilla with cheese...
My dd was a cracker snacker when dx'd but made the transition to low/no carb foods easier than I'd anticipated.

[twodoor2]

The endo said he can have up to a 15 carb snack without having to bolus for it, but it seems that if I give carbs in the a.m. it has a bigger effect than in the p.m.!

I disagree with your endo. From his numbers you posted the other day, I don't think I would give him even a 5 carb snack without bolusing for it. I don't think he's heavily honeymooning anymore. You can usually give some kids a 15 carb snack if they're heavily honeymooning, on NPH, or you give extra bolus for it at mealtime. JMO:)

We don't often give snacks between meals because Elizabeth hates pure protein (fat and obviously carbs affect her BG). I give a before bedtime snack since I bolus her at dinner such that she's in low target range by the time bedtime rolls around. I have to be careful with mid-morning and mid-day snacks because the spike that arises on top of the blood sugar that is currently trying to come down from the prior meal bolus, can cause large spikes. If she would eat some low-fat meat, I would be more inclined to give her a snack then. I just give her much larger meals instead.

[frizzyrazzy]

We always were able to keep Ian's lantus a bit higher (to combat nighttime highs) so we were always able to give a pretty good snack uncovered, but if you're seeing even low carb items mess with his numbers then it's time for a bolus at snack time. There are lots of "supposed" in diabetes - you're supposed to not see lantus drop kids more than 30 points at night, youre supposed to be able to give 15g snacks uncovered, you're supposed to be able to have the lantus hold them steady between meals. It's certainly a YMMV. Every child is different.

All that said, a good almost free but filling food for Ian is cottage cheese. It REALLY keeps his bg nice and steady. Celery, carrot sticks and ranch dressing, those are good almost free food too. Innocuous things like goldfish, they do a number on his bg even though a small serving is only about 12g of carbs.

[Aidan'sMom]

I disagree with your endo. From his numbers you posted the other day, I don't think I would give him even a 5 carb snack without bolusing for it. I don't think he's heavily honeymooning anymore. You can usually give some kids a 15 carb snack if they're heavily honeymooning, on NPH, or you give extra bolus for it at mealtime. JMO:)

We don't often give snacks between meals because Elizabeth hates pure protein (fat and obviously carbs affect her BG). I give a before bedtime snack since I bolus her at dinner such that she's in low target range by the time bedtime rolls around. I have to be careful with mid-morning and mid-day snacks because the spike that arises on top of the blood sugar that is currently trying to come down from the prior meal bolus, can cause large spikes. If she would eat some low-fat meat, I would be more inclined to give her a snack then. I just give her much larger meals instead.

Well, the thing is that I work at a day care and Aidan is in my class. We have set snack times for the kids during the day and I hate to put all the non-D toddlers in their high chairs and load them up on the snacks that their parents send and have Aidan just sit there and watch them eat. I guess he will have to learn sometime that he can't snack all day, but I just feel so bad right now because he can't understand any of this. I know the main goal is to control the BG, but there has to be some kind of medium I think.

[Aidan'sMom]

Thanks for all your ideas everyone!

[momandwifeoftype1s]

Connor's new favorite "free" food is turkey pepperoni. He also loves sunflower seeds and popcorn.

[twodoor2]

Well, the thing is that I work at a day care and Aidan is in my class. We have set snack times for the kids during the day and I hate to put all the non-D toddlers in their high chairs and load them up on the snacks that their parents send and have Aidan just sit there and watch them eat. I guess he will have to learn sometime that he can't snack all day, but I just feel so bad right now because he can't understand any of this. I know the main goal is to control the BG, but there has to be some kind of medium I think.

Well, I think some lowfat meat would be okay. I do think fat affects his blood sugars, so you might want to stray away from fat-laden things. You can also bolus for the snacks, but it is very important to take into account IOB (insulin on board). I have set up IOB charts for parents on MDI that can do calculations like the pump if they need to. If you need more information, please pm me. :)

[Lee]

We gave uncovered at first, then she got a shot at snack time also. A snack she loves is Fruitabuu

She likes the 10 gram fruit leather, but they also have good fruit roll ups. If snack is within 2 hrs of brk bolus, you can always "TRY" bolusing for an extra 5 to 10 carbs with the brk dose. Just stick close by and watch for a low.

[wendyc]

Well, the thing is that I work at a day care and Aidan is in my class. We have set snack times for the kids during the day and I hate to put all the non-D toddlers in their high chairs and load them up on the snacks that their parents send and have Aidan just sit there and watch them eat. I guess he will have to learn sometime that he can't snack all day, but I just feel so bad right now because he can't understand any of this. I know the main goal is to control the BG, but there has to be some kind of medium I think.

There's no reason why he can't have a snack, it's just a matter of finding one that you can give him uncovered. At some point though you will find he will need a snack bolus, and can't skip a snack. It's hard because at this age they are inconsistent eaters and some days you really need that snack. You have the added challenge that he can't have peanut butter yet, which of course is a great protien snack.
Some snacks we did:
Veggies and dip
Ham roll ups
Cheese sticks
sf jello
cottage cheese with a bit of jam mixed in
The one thing to watch with deli meats is that it is high in sodium, so I wouldn't give more than once a day.

[Andy'sMom]

We do cheese sticks and low-carb yogurt (3 carbs per yogurt) or 2 oz. of strawberries. Good luck.

[AlisonKS]

baked chips and yogurt are the favorites lately. I think some of the baked chips come in snack packs, usually those are around 15c

[Kiresten'sMom]

regular popcycles
small single serve ice creams
pretzels
chez its
gold fish
100 calorie pack choco chips, ritz, teddy grahams etc.
Turkey roll ups dipped in honey mustard
fruit roll ups
PB and ritz crackers by lance
granola bars
grapes
1/2 apple
1/2 bannana
strawberries
blueberries
watermelon or cantelope


when high or just hunger after a 15 carb snack
nuts all kinds
slim jims
pepperoni and ranch dressing
broccoli and dressing
celery and soft cheese spread
pickles
raw greenbeans or pea and dip in dressing

[Mary Lou]

I disagree with your endo. From his numbers you posted the other day, I don't think I would give him even a 5 carb snack without bolusing for it. I don't think he's heavily honeymooning anymore. You can usually give some kids a 15 carb snack if they're heavily honeymooning, on NPH, or you give extra bolus for it at mealtime. JMO:)



Having a "free" snack on Lantus doesn't have much to do with honeymooning. When Brian was on Lantus/MDI he was allowed a 10-carb "free" snack and had one nearly every morning and afternoon for the duration of our Lantus/MDI days. Brian NEVER honeymooned at all, and the free snack never increased his BG, either.

Now, he was 7 at the time and went directly out to recess in the am, so maybe the playing around kept him steady, I don't know.

I haven't read your previous posts regarding your child's BG, so I will not comment as to if this is good advice or not, but I know that we were very successful in having free snacks on Lantus and I know many others were/are, too.

Be that as it may, here are some snacks that worked well for us:

Low carb fruits, paired with a cheese stick or cubes:
berries (very low carb and also low GI, I believe 3 ounces of berries usually rolls in around 9 carbs, give or take)

melon balls (not low GI, but still a good-sized serving for 10 carbs)

unsweetened applesauce (ours are 13 carbs per container)

Half of a small apple (maybe dipped in Peanut butter if not in nut free school)

Those tiny boxes of raisin are 10 or 11 carbs each. We like the organic ones.

Annie's Cheddar bunnies (again, quite a few for 10 carbs, they also make them in chocolate varieties)

Kashi Mighty bites cereal (look like little stick men and very yummy, high in fiber and protein, my boys love them, and I bet a little one would like to pick them up and eat them dry)

Smooshed Fruit leathers (organic, plus the "flats" are 9 or 10 carbs each)

Stoneyfield farms organic yogurt tubes, I don't have any in the house right now, but I think they are 13 carbs. We freeze them and can't keep them around.

Anyway, I remember this being a real challenge for us. Good luck and I hope you get it all figured out soon.

[twodoor2]

Having a "free" snack on Lantus doesn't have much to do with honeymooning. When Brian was on Lantus/MDI he was allowed a 10-carb "free" snack and had one nearly every morning and afternoon for the duration of our Lantus/MDI days. Brian NEVER honeymooned at all, and the free snack never increased his BG, either.

Unless I give Elizabeth extra bolus insulin at meals, I cannot give her any free snack. Her blood sugar will rise around 6 to 7 points for every gram of carb, so if I gave her 10 grams, she'll rise around 60 to 70 points. However, excercise does come into play and you can give free snacks for high energy as long as the BG isn't too high (then the carbs and the exercise both compete for insulin).

We use free snacks when the bolus is too high to compensate for potential hypoglycemia later on. I think this may be a YDMV sort of thing. I do know some children that are heavily honeymooning can have free snacks because the pancreas helps to make that blood glucose to carb ratio a bit smaller. In Elizabeth's case, it was 7 points, and that's quite a bit of a rise for 1 gram of carb. Perhaps your children had a smaller BCR. BCR also has some relationship to body weight as well. For a 150 pound adult, the BCR is usually 4 to 5 mg/dL points.