Sunday Snack - Chia Seed Pudding

 Today's snack comes via this pin and the information found here.

You will need:
  
2 1/2 cups almond milk (or 1 1/2 cups almond milk + 1 cup Thai canned coconut milk for more coconut flavor) I used what you see underlined
1/3 cup chia seeds

2 tablespoons agave, honey, or liquid sweetener of choice (optional)
zest from 1 orange

1 cup chopped orange segments, from about 3 juicy oranges (can also use canned mandarin oranges)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh ripe pineapple
1/2 cup toasted large flake coconut, garnish
1/4 cup chopped pistachios, garnish
honey for garnish (optional)

Place almond milk (coconut milk if using), chia seeds, (liquid sweetener if using) and zest from one orange in a large glass jar or glass bowl.

If using a jar, fit it with a lid, shake to combine, then refrigerate.

If using a bowl, mix together with a spoon, cover with plastic and refrigerate.

Allow to chill for a few hours, shaking the jar or stirring occasionally, until chia seeds are plump and soft.

Mixture should not be too thick.

If you’re using it as a breakfast treat, mix orange and pineapple to combine then refrigerate again until you’re ready to eat.  Garnish with coconut and pistachios before serving.  If making dessert, fold coconut whipped cream into plumped chia seeds then add fruit.  This will last a day or two tightly covered and refrigerated.

I made enough that I was eating it longer than just two days. It ended up liking it a lot better without the pieces of fruit in it and was usually so hungry that I didn't bother with the pistachios. I might skip the orange zest if I were to make this again. This was pretty tasty, very light, and not overly sweet. The little lamb even seemed to really enjoy it the first few days.

Sunday Snack - Hot Dogs

Alright so there's nothing healthy about a hot dog but for the time being I didn't have any gourmet or nitrate free hot dogs, there wasn't a ton of money until pay day, and I was really hungry!

Doing a search about if a diabetic is allowed to have a hot dog or not can feel confusing. Important matters when it comes to eating hot dogs:

The fact that what you just ate can turn into sugars that will spike your insulin
Can you eat the bun?
What condiments are okay?

You may be able to avoid your body metabolizing your hot dog or hot dogs as sugar by checking your levels first. I didn't have anything to do this but keep very, very, very, close eye on what I was eating throughout the day.

A hot dog cooked on a grill or a grill pan is preferable over one that's been cooked in a pan (like mine was) because of the extra oils you're now just adding on.

When it comes to hot dog buns, basically the answer is no. If you're going to eat just one like so many people urge then it seems eating half of the bun is permissible. There was no way I was going to eat only one hot dog.

You should generally steer clear of ketchup because it contains high fructose corn syrup, which will of course leave you with an insulin problem. Mayonnaise is another sugary danger to you. If you really feel you really must have ketchup or mayo - go very, very light on it! 

Mustard is a great condiment to use and you can load up on veggies that haven't been sauteed. Grilled veggies would be okay but you need to steer clear of the oils that in the end would rob your veggies of extra vitamins you need anyway.

The relish you see here was made by me, not pre-packaged.

How to solve the bun issue? I peeled leaves of red cabbage off and did my best to keep them as whole as possible and used those as a bun.

How was it? Not the same as if I were allowed to eat a bun but still pretty good.

Saturday Snack - Corn, Black Bean, and Avocado Salsa

Lunchtime for me and nap time for the little lamb. I needed something quick, nutritious, and delicious.

What you will need:
Corn
Black Beans
Green Pepper
Avocado
Cilantro
Cumin
Coriander
Lime
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

It's always best if you can have fresh ingredients but I need to work with what we have. And what we had was canned corn and canned beans.

As usual I didn't do any specific measuring. I just started putting forkfulls of corn and black beans into a bowl until I thought they had a nice mixture.

Then I sprinkled it with a bit of coriander, cumin, and cilantro.

Drizzle a little olive oil and a very healthy squeeze of lime. This really is a dish better with lime than lemon I must say.

 Add as much or little avocado as you like. I used about 1/4 of an avocado. At this point the bowl I was mixing this all in was getting really full.

Now for some green pepper (red pepper would also be great but I didn't have any)

Cut it up into bite sized pieces.

I didn't think this was looking too appetizing in the new bowl. I decided to finish up anyway by adding a bit of salt and pepper.

 If you're still adjusting to a new diet, having your food look appetizing is even more important. I'd rather wash these three bowls then stare forlornly into a bowl of unappetizing looking food. Switching bowls worked.

And the dish was really yummy too! I enjoyed it so much I had seconds but without the avocado because I was feeling stingy before grocery day.

Still good, but better with avocado ;p

Sunday Snack - Cinnamon Popcorn, Peanuts, and Cheese

I actually had this the evening before.

When I was looking for snacks that were okay for a diabetic, the Livestrong website had this to offer:

Eating low-calorie carbohydrates like popcorn can help reduce the risk of obesity and other potential complications of diabetes. Popcorn is a whole-grain food, and the fiber content helps modulate blood glucose. For diabetics following a glycemic index diet, popcorn is a low-glycemic food, which indicates that it doesn't cause rapid spikes in blood glucose.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/391619-can-diabetics-eat-popcorn/#ixzz2JxQDnZtE

The article also mentions the addition of healthy fats or protein with this sort of snack.

I popped the popcorn in a pot on my stove using grape seed oil because of its low smoke point. When it finished popping I left it in the pot and added some of my home-made butter. Use the residual heat from the pot to melt the butter onto your popcorn and spread it around.

Then I added cinnamon and a dusting of sea salt. The popcorn was now finished.

To add a little protein and fat I plated some fresh mozzarella and some peanuts (making sure to have enough peanuts to share with my husband whom I was certain would be stealing some.)

Saturday Snack - Avocado Chicken Salad Cucumber Sandwiches

I really want to make sure I help get as many of my trials in creating dishes and snacks that are gestationally diabetic friendly so I've decided to at least occasionally post a Saturday and Sunday snack for you.

It's both hard to remember and hard to think I haven't mentioned my intense love of avocado but if it hasn't managed to come up yet - I absolutely adore avocados.

Today's snack is relatively quick and easy.

You will need:
Cooked or canned chicken - it's really your preference. Either way your chicken will need to be shredded.
Avocado - the amount you use is again up to you. I had half of an avocado cut and didn't use it all.
Salt
Pepper
Lemon or lime juice
Cucumber
Optional - Tomato
Optional - Fresh mozarella

Place a small amount of shredded chicken in a bowl. Add a little avocado and mix. Only you know how "wet" you want your chicken salad to be. I only used a few fork fulls of avocado - so maybe about 1/4 an an avocado.

Add a healthy squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

Salt & pepper to taste.

Set that aside and slice yourself a bit of tomato and/or fresh mozzarella. I only had mozzarella.

Wash and slice off a few pieces of cucumber.

Plate your noms and you're good to go!

You can either eat these as an open-faced sandwich.

Or a regular sandwich.

Ultimately I preferred to have it as an open face.