Diabetic Snacks

Diabetic snacks are a great way to dabble with some simple raw foods. No I don't mean carrots with ranch dressing either. I mean tasty foods that pack a nutritional punch that are easy to prepare.

GUACAMOLE - single serving

*1 Ripe avocado - chopped
*2 Tomato - diced
*1 Green onion - sliced
*1 Jalapeno, serrano pepper (optional and use less if preferred)- minced
*1 small garlic clove. Use half if you don't like garlic. - minced or smushed.
*1 Lime (Can use lemon, but lime is more traditional)
*Salt to taste
*Lettuce, chips, or sheets of nori for dipping or to use as a wrap

Prepare the ingredients. Chop the avocado last so it has less time to turn color. If you choose to use peppers, slice them and remove the seeds and white veins if you don't like it very hot and mince them very small. Be careful to handle them by their outer skin and try not to touch their flesh or you may have burning hands later. You could also use canned green chilis if you want.

Mix everything together except for the lime, salt, and last ingredient. Hopefully the avocado is kind of soft so it mixes well. Slice the lime and put the juice of half or all of it, to taste. Sprinkle with salt and stir.

Play with the ingredients to find the right mix for you. This is a great for diabetic snacks because it is low carb (unless you choose to eat it with chips). However, be aware the avocado has a good amount of fat so don't eat this every day.

PICO DE GALLO FRUIT SNACK

This is also great for diabetic snacks - be sure if you use a very sweet fruit to mind the serving size and count carbs.

This is a popular snack in Mexico. It is traditionally made with jicama, coconut, pineapple, mango, and watermelon. It is often served from street carts with the sliced fruit spears served in a big plastic cup and the extras sprinkled on...from pinched fingertips that resemble a rooster's beak - hence the name Pico de Gallo (Beak of the Rooster).

The ingredients I have suggested below are to keep it lower in sugar. You can play around with the ingredients, but always watch serving sizes and carbs on your diabetic snacks.

*1 Apple
*1 Jicama (about the same size as the apple)
*Small amount of other fruit - mango, pineapple, melon, etc.(optional)
*Chili Powder
*Lime
*Salt
*Agave nectar or sugar

Slice the fruit into long spears or into thick French-fry shapes. Place them on a plate or into a cup. Sprinkle on chili powder and salt to taste. Add a small amount of agave nectar or sugar. If you use sugar, use just a small pinch or two and just sprinkle it on give a little balance to the flavors. Remember to count them as a carb. Then squeeze lime juice over the entire thing. Enjoy!

SIMPLE KALE CHIPS

*Note: These are great for diabetic snacks, but if you are taking the medications coumadin or warfarin, dark leafy greens high in vitamin K will interact with these medications and can cause clotting.

*1-2 bunches of kale - any kind
*olive oil
*salt
*a dehydrator

If you have a dehydrator, it is worth it to break it out. Believe me, this does not sound very good, but it is fantastic for diabetic snacks. I don't use the dehydrator very much, but I love to make these. Plus it's very easy clean-up.

All you do is clean and dry your kale. Tear out the stems if they are thick. If you have large pieces, tear them up to large tortilla chip size. Double the size is good too. If I have flat-leaf kale, I often don't tear it up.

Drizzle on a little olive oil (a little goes a long way) and sprinkle a little salt (this goes a long way too, you'll be surprised). Mix it around so most of the kale gets coated.

Place the kale on your dehydrator tray and dehydrate. Check them after 2 hours. Some of them should be ready by then. I personally use a cheap Ronco dehydrator with no fan - and after about 2-3 hours most of them are done.

They will be crispy like a potato chip. If you have a Bamboo Club in your area and like the fried spinach, this is similar. You can even do this with spinach...but don't eat too much spinach as you don't want to overdose on oxalates.

NOTE

I hope you enjoy these diabetic snacks. I'm sorry my measurements are so vague and not very precise. I used to hate it when my grandma did the same thing...but I find relaying recipes that way and encouraging others to experiment with measurements and ratios is really the best way to get a recipe how you want it. Food can have different flavors according to season and region. So play with it. :)

I also apologize if I have left out something - make sure and let me know if I have and let me know how the recipes worked for you.