I need some suggestions for what kind of snacks to give Gavi for school. His school does not allow any peanut product, otehrwise I would give him crackers with peanut butter, which he loves. I tried doing some google searches but all I found were recipes for snacks, not just regular ideas. We try to balance his snacks out as much as possible, carbs with some protein, but he will either just eat the protein (usually a cheese stick) or the carbs. His doctor recommended maybe giving him crackers with cream cheese, but I could use some more ideas. His numbers have been all over the place lately, so I want to try and pay more attention to what we give him to see if that would make any difference.
some things that I use to snack on are cereal bars. ones with fruit are good since he cant bring peanut-types. those work good so that my bg doesn't drop during the day and they are light and easy to store in backpacks. hope it helps a little :)
Here are some of the things my daughter regularly takes (that don't include peanut butter):
Slim Jims for protein (and can be added to any snack)
7oz watermelon = 14grams of carbs (this is pretty much the only fruit I let her have without eating a protein because it doesn't seem to spike her)
Crackers and cheese (not the best cheese in the world, but if you need something that doesn't need to be refrigerated, they have those little packs)
Pretzel sticks (the small packages are about 11 grams of carbs)
Cereal bars
Small baggies of crackers
Okay, and this might be a really stupid question, but what about substituting almond butter for peanut butter? I assume a peanut allergy wouldn't be affected by this?
Not having peanut butter really limits kid friendly snacks. You might ask if the school will make an exception if there are no kids with allergies in his specific class. Would you son eat almonds or some other nuts (most kids won't, but you might try). Maybe a half sandwich with bread and lunch meat?
Kind of a weird protein snack is to take unwrap a Krafts single and place it on the plastic wrapper and microwave for about 30 seconds. It puffs up and kind of browns. When it's cool it can be used in place of bread. Found this in an Atkins recipe book. They are a good source for low carb snacks, but most of the suggestions aren't kid friendly.
Yogurt isn't as good as protein, but it can extend blood sugar a bit longer than carbs.
My son is almost 10 and he mainly eats a cheese stick and pepperoni as his school snack.. or sugar free jello..
Pudding. Cottage cheese with a little fruit. Yogurt. Not tons of protein in any of these but some.
You could ask but I seriously doubt the school will allow a peanut product in. You could ask about a different nut though - Nutella is chocolate and hazelnut or look for almond butter.
Snacks that I would recommend would be any form of fruit snack like grapes, banana, pears. You can change fruits and vegetables every other day. Trail mix is also a good idea also.
Orange and Chocolate Chip Bread, and Pumpkin Muffin
Try wrapping thin slices of lean deli roast beef around short bread sticks. Cubes of lean ham or turkey breast are also good for kids along with a little packet of mustard or ketchup for dipping from a fast food restaurant. Turkey dogs cut into small pieces can be dipped into ketchup (again from a fast food packet.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 12 but even before I was 12 I enjoyed lunchables because it had crackers ham, turkey ,cheese with it. Its simple not messy and low in carb. Good protein.
I hope this helps a little!!!
Chelsey, do you find you are able to eat fruits without having a major spike? Sarah is really picky about fruit, she'll eat apples, bananas, pears, and watermelon - but unless she has a protein, they all make her blood sugar majorly spike, so I've stayed away from them for school snacks (except the watermelon, she takes that to school every day). At home she loves pears or apples with peanut butter, and I often give her 1/2 banana if she's running a bit low.
My son eats a lot of carrot/cucumber sticks dipped in hummus, those drinkable yogurts (the adult ones because the kids' ones have all sorts of gross additives...), dry breakfast cereal with sliced almonds -- if you can send other nuts -- like a fake trailmix.
If fruits are spiking her high, how about a few berries. Like, throw in 5-6 raspberries? But, if she's picky, maybe it won't work?
Thanks everyone. I tried soynut butter and he likes it, but not the biggest fan, and almond butter is on my shopping list, I'll try anything! The school is a peanut free school, I don't think there's a problem with almond or cashew butter, so I do need to ask the school nurse.
I would give him cereal bars (he loves the Kashi ones, they're really good!) but they tend to make his blood sugar spike. Those and granola bras make it spike (he ate a choc. chip granola bar for snack today and 2 hours later his number was 258).
Since he's in such a strange state right now, he has good days and bad days with his numbers. He's only on Lantus right now and not on Novolog, so I want to try to be careful not to give him anything that may cause his number to spike. But I did get some good ideas from everyone, thank you.
another "nut butter" that is not peanut butter that my kids love is sunflower butter - put that or cream cheese on celery.
I[quote user="rakgyk"]
I would give him cereal bars (he loves the Kashi ones, they're really good!) but they tend to make his blood sugar spike. Those and granola bras make it spike (he ate a choc. chip granola bar for snack today and 2 hours later his number was 258).
Since he's in such a strange state right now, he has good days and bad days with his numbers. He's only on Lantus right now and not on Novolog, so I want to try to be careful not to give him anything that may cause his number to spike. But I did get some good ideas from everyone, thank you.
[/quote]Because he is just on Lantus, I think you need to expect some spikes. Even when he starts Novolog, he may still have some post meal spikes. My son is high every day - in the 200s - 2 hours after breakfast. That is with Novolog. But if we change it too much, he is crashing low (in the 50s) 3-4 hours after breakfast. Imitating a pancreas is not an easy task. :)
Just saying that for me, I wouldn't consider going into the 200s a 'spike'. It would have to be consistently going over 300 for me to avoid a food for my son if we were using your current treatment plan. But again, that's just me, and I'm not a doctor.
I am a high school senior and what i have always used throughout the years was the miniature bag of skittles for my fast acting when i was low and i would use Quaker granola bars which have 14 carbs for a snack or long lasting. They are easy to access and don't need any preparation and the multiple flavors are nice too so I don't get sick of eating them.
[quote user="haleyk"]
another "nut butter" that is not peanut butter that my kids love is sunflower butter - put that or cream cheese on celery.
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We LOVE sunflower seed butter at our house, too. Yum!
How long has he had T1? If he is spiking it may be time to look for a pump or add Novolog. I know when we are first diagnosed everyone is sensitive to the amount of shots we are given. I also see many parents who give their kids alot of non-food items to keep their blood sugars in place. If you are finding you have to follow an Atkins diet then your son would probably welcome another shot for the chance to eat more. after being diagnosed we are starving to make up for the muscle and fat wasting ketosis brings upon us. We also need to make up for weight lost. It doesn't mean you have failed if you need to add in fast acting insulin. I personally love the pump for my daughter and I. We eat a well balanced healthy diet with sizeable snacks if we are hungry. I believe in feeding the body when it talks to you- that is the beauty of the pump. Sugar free foods are ok but not in moderate to large amounts. They can be very hard on the gut. I find apple slices to be a low glycemic fruit. We love many kinds of energy bars. Look into Can Do Kid Bars they are split in 1/2 and have a great blend of carbs and protein with minimal rise in blood sugars for snacks. They can be found on Amazon and if you like them you can sin up for shipping every 1-6 months and then shipping is free and you get a price discount too. Popcorn is another as you can eat alot and it has minimal carbs for the look of the bag.
Technically he was diagnosed in April of last year. He went for a blood test while he was on prednisone and his blood sugar was 350, and while he was in the hospital he was tested for antibodies, and a few weeks later we found out they were all positive. We've been monitoring his numbers since then and whenever he gets sick, his numbers go higher and higher. He just got over bronchitis a few weeks ago and since then we've been seeing too many numbers in the 200's and 300's. His doctor told us he does need carbs because he is 4 and he needs them to grow properly. We were told his snacks should be around 15 carbs, but to give him more if he's still hungry. We let him eat when he's hungry, but if he's already ahd about 15/20 carbs, we try to give him something light, like sugar free jello, string cheese, cottage cheese. His endo. isn't ready to start him on novolog because his numbers aren't consistently high. He will have a few days with great numbers, then have a few days with really high number, so it's very unpredictable. He has an appointment with his endo. in a few weeks so I guess we will see what happens then. But I will definitely look into those bars you mentioned, thank you.
You're all over it- you sound very well educated, your Son is so lucky to have you as his parent! Yes, I would still be asking about short acting insulin even though some days are great. If he is having multiple days of highs he's probably heading in that direction. Once the honeymoon ends it's actually easier to manage the numbers! Consistent ratios for carbs to insulin and the ability to manage more carbs if they're hungry for them is so nice. Yes, you are so right the kiddos need carbs for growth and the growing brain needs them too. Just why hypoglycemia is so important to manage, as the growing brain needs that sugar to thrive.