• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 1 - Snack, flavouring and sweetner ideas???

C

conormurphy8991

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all. I was diagnosed with T1 just over a year ago. I've a huge appetite and have always been bad with portions but i would generally have a good balanced diet outside of that. I'm never full and always looking for more so just wanted to start a thread to ask people for suggestions on snacks, drinks and general tips they have

I like to lift weights a bit. So does anyone have tips on any protein supplements that work? Any sugar free or low carb that can be drank by themselves?

Anyone have flavour drops, sweetners or any other hacks they use day to day?

Any comments on zero calorie drinks? Is there any issues?

For me, I have found...
1. Coke Zero and vodka my go to drink on a night out and it works for me
2. Low calorie/sugar free jelly my go to snack.i usually use Hartley's sachets to make my own.
3. Black coffee ( I haven't notice the effects of caffeine on my sugars ever)

Any suggestions from your experience are greatly appreciated
 
Hi for me I love meats, such as salami, pepperoni, Parma ham, smoked cheese, peanuts which are low carb. I find the kp ones the best, I drink flavoured tea. You can get twinnings all different flavours.

The brand ‘skinny’ have a chocolate spread which is relatively low carb (5g carbs in a serving I think) or somewhere around that.

You can also get the skinny bars too, I use them instead of chocolate bars etc.

Skips crisps are low carb
 
Also, bratwurst sausages are amazing. I always have them with the sugar free tomato sauce Heinz. There really filling.
 
Pork scratchings, high in protein and low in carbs, handy to push up your protein if you're low on it that day. Cook up some chipolatas and leave them in the fridge for those times when teeth get itchy, do the same with chicken drumsticks or thighs. Cheese is a good standby, as are those Tuna fridge pots.
I indulge in a double cream with a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa, that satisfies my sweet tooth.
 
If you are going to make major diet changes, eg switching to more protein for snacks, don't forget to ask your team about your insulin dosing.
I know some T1s do low carb - and that doing low carb means you don't need to be hungry while losing weight but it could affect the amount of basal insulin you need so please get advice if this is the route you want to take.

One thing included in low carb advice is to try to avoid heavily processed foods. Fats such as police oil, butter, cheese, and double cream fill me up.
 
Hi. This is a great point and something I haven't considered!

I'm a teacher and have been travelling most of the summer so I haven't been managing my sugars as well as I would have hoped but I'm still "honeymooning" somewhat so I don't have to be too strict.

Thank you for that. I'm getting back into a routine now so that will be great to ask and think about in my planning!
 
That double cream and cocoa seems like a tempting snack for me!!!

I do tuna and mayo as a snack already! I love it (I'm not fussy). I'll have to do some chipolatas or chicken breasts to snack on. I was travelling a lot during summer and moving around (I'm a teacher) but now I will have a lot more routine to get into better habits.

Pork scratchings is something I have never had but I know I'll love them I'll have to try source them!

Thank you for your help!
 
I must give the flavoured teas a go! When I'm sitting around I'm always looking for something out of boredom and I drink to much coffee as is so would be a good alternative and stop me snacking!

I'll order some of the 'skinnny' products and give them ago. I use a lot more peanut butter these days... Too much. I was use good organic ones but someone bought me squeezy PB which isn't as good and has more sugar and additives which I need to stop using!
 
If you are considering going low carb, please remember that you will have to start insulin dosing for your protein. This can be complex as the timing is different than fir carbs and the insulin to protein ratio can vary for different types of protein.
For this reason, I would not encourage low carb until you have got to grips with carb counting and insulin dose calculation as well as basal testing and bolus calculations for different times of the day. Dosing for protein adds another layer of complexity.
For me, the return on this mental investment was not worth the effort.
Some will quote Dr Bernstein as a supporter of low carb approach for Type 1 management. Bear in mind, he proposed this dose with older slower acting insulin than available today and dictates a pretty strict lifestyle to minimise BG variation such as women should avoid menstruation as hormones will adversely affect BG. Today we have the tools to manage natural hormonal variations.
 
@conormurphy8991 , I'm a bit puzzled as to what type of snacks you're looking for.
You posted in the 'Low Calorie Diets' sub-forum but from your post it looks like you are looking for low carb type snacks and aren't looking to reduce your calories?

Your title asks for T1 snacks etc. but T1's don't really have dietary restrictions, even though many of us found that adjusting some things makes dosing easier for us.
What kind of snacks are you looking for?
 
@Antje77 Hi there. I was looking for general snacks throughout the day when I don't have any insulin in my system. Snacks I can eat late at night or between meals if I'm hungry and snacking. I'm a bit of a grazer so snack out of boredom and trying to move away picking on crackers and other carbs that will rise my sugar.

Or even low and slow release carbs when I notice my sugars creeping towards a low that will sustain me until my next meal but not spike me.

I think I just had some general dietary questions as well.
 
Thank you. That was very interesting to read. I haven't been managing or educating my BG as well as I should the past 6months but you're giving me lots of things to consider, to read up on and to talk to my diabetic nurse about. I try manage things myself with my limited knowledge without seeking external help. Thank you so much for sharing this information.
 
I lifted heavy upto a year ago and loved carb killa protein shakes. Pork scratchings are a great source of protein and collagen, peanut butter spread on an apple.
 
 
Helen40 said:
I lifted heavy upto a year ago and loved carb killa protein shakes. Pork scratchings are a great source of protein and collagen, peanut butter spread on an apple.
Click to expand...
I'll look at the carb Killa products. I know if them. I assumed they still weren't great. I'm not a fussy eater, did you ever come across the any other proteins or non flavoured proteins that are good. I wouldn't care about taste even if it is awful
 
conormurphy8991 said:
I'll look at the carb Killa products. I know if them. I assumed they still weren't great. I'm not a fussy eater, did you ever come across the any other proteins or non flavoured proteins that are good. I wouldn't care about taste even if it is awful
Click to expand...
Hard boiled eggs? Bacon and eggs? Egg mayo? Pork scratchings? A burger, no bun?
 
No I would have a glass of red in the evening, no insulin needed as it's low in carbs (malbec usually)
 
conormurphy8991 said:
I'll look at the carb Killa products. I know if them. I assumed they still weren't great. I'm not a fussy eater, did you ever come across the any other proteins or non flavoured proteins that are good. I wouldn't care about taste even if it is awful
Click to expand...
Afraid not as I always liked carbkilla
 
I thought CarbKillas would be a great low carb snack that would not require me to bolus for.
I was wrong. They would cause some pretty big spikes.
I decided I would rather have "real food" (I found they had a chemically taste probably from the fake sugar) if I needed to bolus anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…