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.

Grilled Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Proscuitto, And Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Sandwich

When I see fresh mozzarella my mind almost immediately goes to prosciutto. Prosciutto and scamootz (smoked mozzarella) sandwiches and subs were something I didn't discover until my very early 20's when I lived in south Philly in the Italian neighborhood (Marconi district, Saint Monica's parish for any of you who are interested in the specifics.)

On my most recent trip to the grocery store I saw some and was unable to resist. I picked up the mozzarella and on my way over to the prosciutto I saw bread that screamed, "I'm perfect for sandwiches!" Awesome sauce.

My prizes.

I still had a little caramelized onion and mushroom left from a few days before and had no desire for it to go to waste.

Having just cleaned the George Foreman grill, everything was pretty much ready to go.

I buttered my bread like I did with the last sandwich I posted about.

Layered onion and mushroom

proscuitto

and fresh mozzarella slices.

Then I closed the grill and waited for it to cook. Cook however long it takes for your sandwich to toast in the way you most prefer.

Slice the sandwich in half if you like.

Don't forget to pop a wet paper, or in my case, UnPaper towel onto your grill to clean it before you feel too lazy.

Then enjoy your sandwich!