Food replacement products

[Jeff]

Does anyone use the food replacement products that are marketed to people with diabetes? This would be things like Ensure, the various "meal bars," and stuff like that.

I'm just curious.

[nantomsuethom]

Thomas doesn't.
Before he started using the pump we would buy sugar free/ low carb bars and drinks. Now that he has a pump he eats what everyone else eats.

[AmberO]

You know for a country that has the highest incidents of JD in the world, Diabetic products are below sub par. I think the only sugar sub they have is something called Candelaria and like sweet n low, you certainly can't bake with it!

I'd actually have my mom send sugar free candies, cookies and Crystal light from the States, because it's just a pitiful selection. Now that my daughter is on the pump, I don't worry so much about sugar free stuff. I can calculate carbs easily. But she still likes to send Crystal light to the kids. :)

However 4 years ago when we first moved here and pre-pump it was very frustrating! I did use as much sugar free as I could as far as most treats and goodies.

sorry I've gone off topic a bit. :p

[ctwetten]

I was diagnosed a year and a half ago and since then my mom's experimented with splenda in different recipies. It doesn't work for everything, but she makes these really good brownies, chocolate mousse and a pumpkin flan that tastes totally normal. If you put in 3/4 splenda, 1/4 sugar the little bit of sugar hides the aftertaste that sometimes appears.
As far as drinks go, I love minute maid light. It comes in cans and a variety of flavors. Lemonade is my personal favorite. I discovered it because I have friends who drink it because it tastes better than the sugary kind, not because they need to. I also like light hot chocolate. It has 4 grams of carbs per cup and is very good, especially with light whiped cream.

[rileysdteam]

My 4 year old son eats glucerna bars sometimes. We keep them in his backpack so if we are ever out somewhere and he won't eat we have something to give him that will keep his sugars level. He seems to like the chocolate glucerna bars but he won't drink the glucerna chocolate drinks.

[Ellen]

We don't use any of them. We may grab a Cliff Bar to keep in a backpack but nothing geared for people with diabetes. We also don't use sugar subsititutes, although my son will drink diet soda in an emergency. He craves Diet Coke when bg is high.

[jlwilts]

No.

I do use sports energy/food bars occassionally.

2 good products have been 1)a sports recovery drink used immediately after exercise when at cycling training camp with later set meal times and 2) during 100 mile races this year a sports gel (used like a hypo stop) but which doesn't cause a dry mouth.

[faithe113001]

I like to drink Propel and diet sodas sometimes, but nothing that is really made for people with diabetes. However, with the Atkins revolution, there have been some very good lower carb stuff out. Sometimes I use those, but not so much just because they are expensive.

[thebestnest5]

I used to shun artificial sweeteners for my kids; but I have loosened up a bit...allowing sucralose and aspartame in some foods. We do try to avoid anything with sugar alcohols. I finally found Glee gum at Trader Joes with only 1 carb from sugar per piece. We do however make a lot of foods/meals from "scratch". So, I will choose almond/pecan flour for homemade cookies/brownies/muffins instead of a wheat flour. This lowers the carbs and makes the baked goods so yummy. Forgot, to mention, we don't do the bars/shakes for meals.

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Sheree

[BrendaK]

We only use Splenda occasionally and Crystal Lite. I bought some ice cream yesterday and was so disappointed with I realized it was sugar free with malitol, sorbitol, etc. I meant to buy the regular kind.

I am very cynical when it comes to how food is marketed. If it's in a box or package, it's processed and it can't be very good for you, no matter what it says on the box.

[Momof4gr8kids]

My kids tried the pediasure before Julia was dx'd, and they didn't like them much.

[Jen Jen]

I like the Zone Perfect bars, especially the chocolate gram and the strawberry yogurt. Have a decent amount of protein and I don't believe they have artifical sweeteners in them, but they're not bad on carbs. I tried them in desperation while I was working for a lady that is a nutrition bar/drink nut, my purse was stolen, and I went low, so she gave one, it worked perfectly, and tasted pretty good, which I found rather surprising. Occasionally, for a meal replacement drink, I will drink slimfast, just cause I developed a taste for the chocolate ones when I was young(only thing to drink in my aunt's house for years) and want that taste once in a while, and they fill me up really well, carbs are high, but it is a meal replacement drink, and taking that into consideration, it's actually not that bad.

[Connie(BC)Type 1]

I use natural foods, I try never to buy anything with a word that's not understandable. My husband will eat some potato chips with MSG, but I won't. No diet, no additives, no lite, no modified. I just use moderation(most of the time)

[rickst29]

When I don't want to count carbs and shoot up, one of "natashas health nut cookies" is just the thing for me. They're low-carb, NOT low calorie. She makes them from ground almond meal instead of flour, no added sugar, so the nutritive carbs are down in the single digits. And they're also Celiac-OK!!! Great texture, and they taste really great.

Only problem: they're REALLY expensive, about $1.50 *EACH*. But a "Zone Perfect" bar costs about the same, I guess, and these are made by hand and don't sit on shelves for months at a time. I understand that she sells them at a few health food places around San Jose/San Francisco, but since I live hundreds of miles away, I have to buy them on Internet. If the price doesn't scare you too much, just Google for them.

Mmmmm, it's hard to talk about these things.... I'm gonna go raid the freezer RIGHT NOW :D