Snack ideas please

[KungFuPanda]

has she tried roasted chickpeas?

[Rosie_0801]

Sweet potato chips are lower GI than ordinary. I could eat them even when I had gestational diabetes.

[Laura Corin]

14 hours ago, itsheresomewhere said:

No judgement please as we are not going to change someone who is very stuck in their ways for many decades. 

I need a little help or ideas if you have please.  I need snack ideas for someone with type 2 diabetes that meet these requirements-

Nothing that an extremely picky toddler wouldn’t eat.  They hate most things except for cheese it’s, goldfish, chips , pretzels, and cookies.  

Nothing from the sea or related to hummus. 

Fruit has to be watched as they tend to over eat at the few fruits they eat and get sick.  

I don’t even mind prepackaged foods if that helps. Or if it tastes like her childhood favorites ( her quote). 
 

Thanks for any ideas in advance and I appreciate the no judgement. 
 

I forgot to add no artificial sugars as they irritate her IBS. 

How old are they? At a certain point with my mum I just went with the flow.

[Toocrazy!!]

And no nuts at all? Those have been my low carb replacement for salty crunch foods. Pistachios, salted cashews. 

[itsheresomewhere]

2 hours ago, Toocrazy!! said:

And no nuts at all? Those have been my low carb replacement for salty crunch foods. Pistachios, salted cashews. 

No nuts at all. 

[itsheresomewhere]

4 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Sweet potato chips are lower GI than ordinary. I could eat them even when I had gestational diabetes.

Hates sweet potatoes with a passion unless it is covered in marshmallows and brown sugar. Lol.  I even mixed in some sweet potatoes chips with her regular ones and it was a no go.  

[itsheresomewhere]

5 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

has she tried roasted chickpeas?

Won’t even try them.  

[Cecropia]

I have blood sugar issues and find that Wasa multigrain crispbread doesn't spike me too much (in moderation).  I put a thick layer of cream cheese over it and then a very thin layer of regular jam, like a tsp for the whole cracker, just to give a little sweetness.  Watch the jam, because some brands have more carbs.  There's so much going on there that she might not notice how brown and health-food-looking the cracker is.  As an alternative, I spread the cream cheese, shake cinnamon liberally over it and then sprinkle a very small amount of sugar (1/4 tsp?) on top.  Something about having sugar right on top fools my tongue into thinking the thing is sweeter than it is.

[domestic_engineer]

What about crunching ice, the good ice, if this snack is a “mindless” snacking?

[Paige]

Have you tried Harvest Snap peas? They aren't health food but they're probably better than other chips and might give her that crunchy, salty fix. 

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

6 hours ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Hates sweet potatoes with a passion unless it is covered in marshmallows and brown sugar. Lol.  I even mixed in some sweet potatoes chips with her regular ones and it was a no go.  

I meant crisps, not fries.

[regentrude]

19 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I meant crisps, not fries.

What you call crisps is what we call chips in the US.

[Rosie_0801]

4 minutes ago, regentrude said:

What you call crisps is what we call chips in the US.

I don't call anything crisps. It must be the Brits and I'm messing up my dialects.

I know Americans eat sweet potatoes with extra sugar on top, but I thought that was the fresh vegetable, not the crispy things you get out of packets. Anyway, if the OP's buddy won't eat them, it's a moot point.

 

[regentrude]

3 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I know Americans eat sweet potatoes with extra sugar on top, but I thought that was the fresh vegetable, not the crispy things you get out of packets. 

Many folks in the US eat *cooked* or baked sweet potatoes, often mashed, with sugar/marshmallow. 

Edited April 30 by regentrude

[Rosie_0801]

1 minute ago, regentrude said:

Many folks in the US eat *cooked* or baked sweet potatoes, often mashed, with sugar/marshmallow. 

I didn't think anyone ate raw sweet potatoes. 

They don't open packets of these and bake them with sugar and marshmallow like, I don't know, diabolical nachos, do they?

[HomeAgain]

12 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I didn't think anyone ate raw sweet potatoes. 

They don't open packets of these and bake them with sugar and marshmallow like, I don't know, diabolical nachos, do they?

Now I kind of want to try that.....🤣

Our favorite sweet potato dish here is sliced rounds brushed with oil, baked, then topped with pickled jalapenos, salt, and cheese and broiled.  DS14 would probably be very willing to try sweet potato nachos with black beans, corn, jalapenos, and cheese.

[itsheresomewhere]

59 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I meant crisps, not fries.

 

22 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I didn't think anyone ate raw sweet potatoes. 

They don't open packets of these and bake them with sugar and marshmallow like, I don't know, diabolical nachos, do they?

I knew what you meant and she won’t eat it.  
 

And they do have nachos made out of them.  It is delicious.  They had a cinnamon sauce, ice cream and whipped cream.  Lol

[Rosie_0801]

:svengo:

[Miss Tick]

31 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

:svengo:

Just when you think you've got us Americans down, we undershoot your expectations. 😄

[City Mouse]

What about the baked version of common chip varieties? I know they are only slightly healthier than the regular variety, but the Cheetos, Lays, Ruffles names may be more acceptable to a person who is extremely picky. Or Sensible Potions brand https://www.gardenveggiesnacks.com

Would portion control packaging help? Lots of snacks come in multi-packs of small individual bags that are holiday themed. Halloween has the most, but valentines and Easter have some too. I have gotten Goldfish cracker, pretzels, cheese balls, Sensible Portion chips, rice crispy treats, granola bars. (Not all at the same time)
Since you bring her fruit on a daily basis, maybe the crunchy snacks could be given out that way too so that she doesn’t eat too much at one time. 

[itsheresomewhere]

1 hour ago, City Mouse said:

What about the baked version of common chip varieties? I know they are only slightly healthier than the regular variety, but the Cheetos, Lays, Ruffles names may be more acceptable to a person who is extremely picky. Or Sensible Potions brand https://www.gardenveggiesnacks.com

Would portion control packaging help? Lots of snacks come in multi-packs of small individual bags that are holiday themed. Halloween has the most, but valentines and Easter have some too. I have gotten Goldfish cracker, pretzels, cheese balls, Sensible Portion chips, rice crispy treats, granola bars. (Not all at the same time)
Since you bring her fruit on a daily basis, maybe the crunchy snacks could be given out that way too so that she doesn’t eat too much at one time. 

Hates the baked chips. 

The snacks are left there each week.  She was not happy with it otherwise.  The way I get away with the fruit is that it taste better fresh cut daily. 

[PeterPan]

Does your person like shrimp? Kroger runs bogo deals that can make them surprisingly affordable. They come in trays of various sizes, so you can pull off just a small amount (4-6) to defrost and enjoy.

[itsheresomewhere]

8 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Does your person like shrimp? Kroger runs bogo deals that can make them surprisingly affordable. They come in trays of various sizes, so you can pull off just a small amount (4-6) to defrost and enjoy.

She does not eat anything from the sea.   

[Innisfree]

I was thinking about this. Does she have company during the day, especially someone she cares about? Or even a hired caregiver? Am I remembering correctly that there may be some incipient dementia?

If someone is with her, even just part of the time, I might try a different approach. Drop the issue, for starters. Either give her what she wants or, if it’s something you just can’t bring yourself to offer, find that it’s not available. No more discussion, no pleading to try new things, no argument.

Then have her companion sit with her at snack time and munch on something reasonably healthy and tasty: not something she has a history of despising, but something new. Don’t have a package available for inspection. Don’t comment, except maybe an offhand “oh, my friend gave me these, they’re good.” No discussion of ingredients. Ignore any negative reactions: the snack isn’t for your person, it’s for her companion. Repeat as appropriate, with a variety of snacks. Allow plenty of time (weeks…). See if she expresses any interest.

Dementia might or might not make a difference. My mother forgot her lifelong distaste for football when her caregiver was engrossed in the games. She also adopted a new vocabulary (😳🫢). Things can change, especially if you don’t reinforce her current preferences with any attention.

Aside from this, I’d be inclined to focus on quality of life if we’re talking about someone in, say, her eighties or beyond, or with a shorter life expectancy for whatever reason. She gets to make some choices of what’s important to her, even if they shorten her life, if she’s basically competent.

[Halftime Hope]

On 5/2/2024 at 8:49 AM, Innisfree said:

Aside from this, I’d be inclined to focus on quality of life if we’re talking about someone in, say, her eighties or beyond, or with a shorter life expectancy for whatever reason. She gets to make some choices of what’s important to her, even if they shorten her life, if she’s basically competent.

This can go both ways, though. And please don't take this as my being argumentative; it's not intended in that spirit. 

If the elderly or disabled person is making choices that take advantage of or directly cause danger or substantial hardship for their loved ones or caregivers, maybe we eliminate that choice. As just one of many similar examples in our lives, our elderly relative would light a fire in the fireplace, one of his favorite things, and then directly end up with pneumonia. Every time, I would lose a full day or night sitting with him in the ER until he got admitted and settled into a room, as he was unable to communicate effectively with medical personnel. We could not let that continue, not for his sake, nor for ours.

On the other hand, my brother and I enabled my father to have ice cream for supper every night for the last few months of his life. He wasn't diabetic, and he was enjoying the freedom of eating whatever he wanted because it wouldn't make a whit of difference in his short or long term well-being. I think we would have had a harder time agreeing to that if it would have resulted in a hospital visit every time.

I think the key word in your statement is "she gets to make SOME choices..."

[Halftime Hope]

@itsheresomewhere Would she like homemade, slightly rustic crackers? There is an award-winning Pillsbury Bake-off cracker recipe that my family made, a lot, when I was a kid. It was a bit like a wholewheat cracker with all the fixins, like you'd have on bagels. (but you could definitely switch up the toppings) I remember making those with a fairly simple bit of rolling pin action, then baking.  If you think you'd like to give it a go, let me know, and I'll look up the recipe. (I'm pretty sure I still have the Best of the Bake-offs cookbook.)