Ok, so Angie and I have a new doctor....she is a little...ok....A LOT on the holistic side of things...
she spent an hour and a half with me this week going over my blood work results....
One of the things she brought up was that I am borderline pre-diabetic so she wants me to have a protein snack every 3 hours for a few months then retest....
she started to tell me where I could find good sources of protein and lower calorie protein snacks.....since she had already spent over an hour with me at that time...and there were people still waiting to see her, I cut her off and said...
"I know just the place to find those answers!"......
peanut butter or nuts
string cheese and other cheeses
pudding or yogurt
milk
hummus
cold cuts
jerky
eggs
That's about all I can really think of for now.
I like the hummus with pita chips but I've heard it's good with carrots too. The pudding and yogurt can be tricky so make sure that you check which brands have the least amount of sugar added. I do love to use whipped cream in a can b/c it can add a good amount of yum for only 1 gram of sugar and it's so yummy on yogurt or pudding. No sugar chocolate pudding with a squirt of whipped cream is really not bad at all. I am sure we're all pretty much familiar with jerky, cold cuts, and the hard boiled egg.
When I was a gestational diabetic, making sure to have enough protein to balance out the carbohydrates was important to keeping my blood sugars regulated. I think that's what she's recommending you do.
Greek yogurt's good stuff to some people, but others hate it. I've found that if I don't like it sweet, it makes a great savory vegetable dip if I mix in some hummus, garlic, lemon juice, or other tasty dippy things.
Another possibility is edamame, although those do have some carbs along with the protein. They're quite high in fiber, though, so that kind of offsets their carboliciousness.
Hard-cooked eggs are a staple high-protein snack, as are cheese sticks. If you find sticks boring, look into some other cheeses; some varieties have similar nutritional profiles, but a lot more flavor than the relatively bland mozzarella sticks.
I hope you find some snacks you like and that a few changes to your diet will knock that pre-diabetic condition right in the head!
I love it sweet and savory. A serving of my plain fage is 120 calories and 20 grams of protein. I do mix in a little agave or stevia and some defrosted raspberries or other berries. The single serve containers are a bit sweet for my taste, but still good. I also use it instead of sour cream or as a salad dressing mixed with salsa. Good stuff.
Don't forget canned or pouched tuna - or any fish for that matter. Canned sardines or smoked oysters are good.
Keep an eye on the sodium or fat that come with some of the choices.
Other beans besides the edamame or hummus. There's a roasted chickpea recipe on the site somewhere that makes for a portable snack that doesn't need refrigeration.
ETA: It's always nice to have several pre-portioned ready-to-eat snacks, at least one more than you need, so you have choices. It also makes the good choices as easy or easier than other choices.
Thank you ladies I am going shopping for some of these tomorrow!
One thing I remember her saying was to use a drop...just a drop of Stevia in my coffee...I told her I did not eat sweet snacks ever and I drink my coffee black....
She then went on to tell me the benefits of Stevia...but heck if I remember why?
I may have to call her in less someone here knows what she may have meant...
Like I said I was with her for 1 1/2 hours so I remember a lot but also forgot a lot....
Thanks Allison I did use turkey lunch meat as a snack..along with almonds...yogurt...apple sauce for the fruit the doctor wanted me to start including daily...and some protein bars....
Angie had a lot of hummus that I forgot to take to 90210 with me..lol
Greek yogurt is full of it! Kefir has a decent amount to (you can buy it at Trader Joes), around 12 grams versus Greek's 20, but Kefir has far more probiotics and good bacteria. It will do wonders for your digestive track and keep all the bad stuff out so you might consider incorporating it.
La Tortilla Factory tortillas are awesome, around 110 calories, 11 grams of fiber, and 11 grams of protein per serving. Or something like that, might be 9 grams of fiber and 12 grams of protein. Tons for such a big tortilla though, and they come in flavors. I like the Tomato Basil best, and they are very portable.
Black beans, lentils, and pinto beans are great sources of lean protein. If you like them, a can of sardines has around 26. Loads of salt though, so read labels carefully. And you can't beat a good ol fashioned egg, for high protein, high b-12 content, and cost effectiveness. As a starving graduate student, I rely on eggs, beans, lentils, and sardines for all of my protein needs. Weekly grocery bill clocks in at around $30, even though I insist on organic/cage free/wild whatevers.
EZ, you might want to note the sugar content of the apple sauce. It's generally loaded with sugar, sometimes as much as a soda. My dad is pre-diabetic and we had big problems with applesauce. Is she putting you on a low-GI diet? Grapefruit and cherries tend to have a lot less sugar and might be better in the fruit compartment, although admittedly less fun!
Definitely going to check in on the those tortillas as I often use then for my sandwiches instead of bread, especially when working out of town since they pack easier. My doctor wants me to make a few changes then re-blood test in two months, at that time she may change my diet. Right now I am instructed to lower the carbs and alcohol, add protein every 3 hours, take blood pressure twice daily.
I did get the no sugar added applesauce and have one a day...or not if I forget. She wanted me to add more fruit to my diet and veggies, although I don't think veggies is really a issue...I always have them. I got the applesauce instead of apples because, again, it packs easier in a construction guys lunch pail when cramming stuff in to work out of town for a week...lol....bruised apples suck!
I love grapefruit but can't have it with my lipitor....but I do like cherries too!
Thanks again for the ideas...
oh and GALS....really learning to love this Greek yogurt!
I eat multiple meals a day (5-6 small meals) while counting my calories and I try to get high protein in all my meals. I love beans, lentils or anything like that (even quinoa) has a great amount of protein. Also, eggs! I can't sing the praises of eggs enough.
Your getting a ton of carbs in some of those recommendations.
If you don't want to gain weight then avoid the deli meats and the tortilla wraps and go easy on most of the beans.
Have hard boiled eggs always available. Cook a turkey or a chicken.....the real thing....and cut it up so you have cold meat always available for snacks. Cheese is good but keep it limited as it has a high calorie count. Use celery with peanut butter or cream cheese filling in a limited amount.
Cook a roast and slice it so you have that to grab for anytime of day.
You don't want to kill your diet while you're doing this high protein snack thingie........remember if you're doing this 6 times a day you need to have only a very very small snack each time.
Last edited by Timlin; 03-20-2011 at 04:01 PM.
Reason: typo corrected!
Protein Snacks? HELP!
I am going shopping for some of these tomorrow!
