Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition For Dummies
Book image
Explore Book Buy On Amazon

Who doesn’t love crunchy snacks? If you do, it’s best to share your love only with the snacks that love you back, and that means studying the nutrition labels for fat, carbohydrate (both potatoes and corn are carbohydrate foods), sodium, and added sugar.

About 12 to15 potato or corn chips make a 15 carbohydrate gram carb choice, and those few chips can come with 10 grams of fat or more, and 10 percent of your daily recommendation for sodium.

Better choices for snacking would include nuts, but even though carbohydrates aren’t an issue, added salt can be, and the fat content of nuts keeps the recommended serving size modest.

Your best option for snacking may very well be popcorn. You can eat 3 cups of air-popped popcorn for the same carbohydrates you’ll get in 12 tortilla chips, plus popcorn is a whole grain. The small amount of oil added for microwave cooking gives you a couple of grams of fat, and if you select non-salted popcorn you put the sodium amount in your own hands.

Other snacks may work well in moderation, but moderation and snacking often aren’t compatible concepts. Give popcorn a try.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Toby Smithson, RDN, CDE, has managed her own diabetes for more than 40 years, and founded DiabetesEveryDay.com to share her insights into diabetes self-management. Alan Rubin, MD, is the author of several successful diabetes books, including Diabetes For Dummies and Diabetes Cookbook For Dummies.

This article can be found in the category: