Diabetes-Friendly Snack Ideas
I’ll start this off by saying - with diabetes, you can still eat anything you want. However, it is important to consider how much, how often, how you pair it with other foods/nutrients, and how it will impact your body.
One person with diabetes may be able to eat a medium banana alone with almost no noticeable impact on their blood sugar, while another may need to take insulin for that same banana.
One person may decide that a rise in blood sugar from their birthday cake is not a big deal as they are typically in range the rest of the time; while another may work very hard to prevent any and all rises.
How you manage your blood sugar is a personal choice and sometimes it’s just a struggle to find the right approach, particularly if you take insulin. If you feel you need more personal support, you can book an appointment or we can help you find resources in your area, like a diabetes clinic or primary care dietitian.
However, we also know that incorporating slower-digesting protein and fibre into our meals and snacks can help slow that rise in blood sugar for many individuals. These foods are often more nutritious as well, helping us to manage or prevent other co-existing conditions.
So if you’re looking to start somewhere, give these protein & fibre-rich snack ideas a try! We’ve organized them into single foods, that you can enjoy on their own or in combination with something else, and combination/recipe ideas that require a few extra steps to prepare.
We’ve tagged them as P for protein, and F for fibre, to help highlight which nutrient the food is contributing. We aimed to highlight Fibre if there was 3g in a typical serving, and Protein if there was 4-5g in a typical serving.
These foods will contain other nutrients, and particularly if you take insulin, you will need to consider portion size & total carbohydrate content as well.
Depending on how much prep you’re willing to do or if you’re looking for on-the-go, aim for lower-sodium options when available or choose these higher sodium options less often.
Individual Foods
Cottage cheese (P)
Jerky or beef sticks (P)
Canned fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, etc) (P)
Eggs (P)
Deli meat (turkey, ham, chicken, roast beef) (P)
Protein bars (RxFood, Kind Protein, MadeLocal Protein, others) (P, possibly F)
Hard cheese, cheese strings (Aim for 6-8g per portion) (P)
Nuts or seeds (P, F)
Edamame (P, F)
Trail Mix (nuts, seeds, cereal, popcorn, dried fruit) (P, F)
Roasted chickpeas (P, F)
Hemp hearts (P)
Toasted quinoa (P, F)
Chia seeds, flax seeds (F)
Popcorn (F)
Greek yogurt (P)
Soy yogurt (P)
Berries, fresh or frozen (F)
Apples or pears with the skin on (F)
Kiwi, dragonfruit, passion fruit, prunes (F)
Combination Snacks - Assembly or Prep needed
No-bake energy balls (F, P depending on your ingredients)
Hummus and veggies (F, trace P)
Peanut butter and celery or apple slices (F, trace P)
Chia pudding (F, P depending on your ingredients)
Chickpea or lentil salad (P, F)
Overnight oats (F, P depending on your ingredients)
Whole grain toast with avocado (F, P)
Greek yogurt-based dip (sweet or savoury) (P)
Greek yogurt parfait with chia, all-bran buds and fruit (P, F)
Baked egg muffin cups (P, F depending on your ingredients)
Smoothies made with source of protein and/or fibre (P, F)
*Some foods like hummus and peanut butter are often highlighted as great sources of protein. However they are higher in fat than protein or carbohydrate proportionally, and may not provide enough protein to balance the rise in blood sugar coming from what they are paired with - often crackers, bread, or other potentially low-fibre options.
Remember that snacks are meant to tide you over until your next meal; just because something is considered “healthy”, does not mean that we can eat unlimited portions of it without something else becoming unbalanced. This is often where we spend time working with clients individually; to figure out how to balance not just our food and nutrient intake, but how to fit it into our overall life - meal timing and meal prep, sleep, activity, stress, work schedules, kid’s preferences and activities, etc.
Since you know we love to talk, we’ll leave it here and invite you to reach out with your favourite snack ideas, questions, or whatever else comes to mind!
If you’d like a printable version of this list - just fill out the form and we’ll send it over!
Comment below, email us, or follow us on social to continue the snack conversation :)