When you have type 2 diabetes, it can be difficult to find healthy snacks that won’t mess up your blood sugar or complicate your carb counts. Fortunately, there are some tasty and healthy options. Whether your looking for something to keep with you at work for when you get snacky or you’re wondering what things you can nibble on from a party spread, consider these 5 healthy snacks for people with type 2 diabetes.
- Nuts And Seeds
Nuts and seeds, provided they were prepared right, are a delicious and nutritious no-carb snack that travels well in a resealable plastic bag or container.
Nuts and seeds are full of protein and healthy fats that your body can use to rebuild cells to keep your body healthy. They also contain vitamins and minerals that can be hard to find in other places.
Watch out though, as some nuts come sweetened through methods like honey roasting. This can add extra carbs and sugars. - Hardboiled Eggs
Hardboiled eggs are another protein-rich snack that doesn’t pack any carbs or sugars. To make them, just put them in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes, and then let them cool. To cut down on mess if you’re travelling, take the shells off at home before you package them to go. Put a little salt on them too if you like salty things.
Be careful though. Eggs need to be kept cold. See if you can get them into a refrigerator once you get where you’re going, or keep them in an insulated bag with an icepack. - Vegetable Sticks
Vegetables are another no-cab, no-sugar snack that you can feel good about. Depending on the vegetable, these offer all kinds of healthy vitamins and minerals. They also offer dietary fiber, which is hard to find in foods that don’t bring carbs along for the ride.
Carrot sticks, snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower are only a few options that taste good and won’t get too funky if you can’t manage to keep them cold. Keeping vegetables cold isn’t as important as keeping eggs cold but they’ll retain that crunch and snap better if you are able to keep them chilly.
You may be tempted to add some salad dressing as well, but these are also full of carbs and sugars. If you have to dip them, try to do so in a yogurt with no sugar added, or in a soft cheese like cottage cheese, which is also free from carbs and sugars. - Cheese
Cheeses are another no-carb, no sugar snack. They’re not the best thing for you on this list, though. They do provide calcium, protein, and things that can help you stay regular. They also have lots of fat — the kind that’s not so good for you.
If you have to get your cheese fix with cubes or sticks of string cheese, that’s fine from time to time, but a healthier option for this snack might be to have a little cheese with your hardboiled egg or vegetable sticks. - Meats
Most meats have no carbs or sugars and are full of protein. Lunchmeats usually come in easily resealable containers that keep them safe longer in your fridge at home or a community fridge at work. A lot of stores will also have meat snacks that don’t need to be kept cold at all, but these are usually loaded with salt and other preservatives, so read the label before you pick one up, and save these items for emergencies.
Sometimes it can seem like everything has carbs, and that’s more or less true of things that we usually think of as snack foods. Look a little closer at some labels, however, and there are quite a few tasty, good-for-you items out there with little or no carbs and sugars.
