I'm from the heartland, and I will always be a midwestern girl even as the years I've been living in Dallas fly by. These are my daily musings and interests for my family in Ohio, who I see far too little of, and for anyone else who cares what I had for dinner. Feel free to email me at jecgirlie@gmail.com.

You Can't Take the Ohio Out of the Girl

OH, MAAAATTHEWWWWW….I know you check in on this blog from time to time, so here is some nutrition info for you and your high blood sugar….

Yes, there will be a quiz. :)

nutritionista:

Allegra says:

My boyfriend’s doctor recently told him he needed to majorly cut back on carbs (his blood sugar is pretty high). Dinner and breakfast are fine (lean proteins and veggies, yogurt/eggs), and we don’t drink a lot, but he’s having a hard time with lunch and snacking. He isn’t much of a salad guy (that’s basically my go-to lunch), and our main in-house snacks are pita chips, whole wheat crackers, and hummus or cheese. What do you recommend forlow-carb lunches and snacks? This is the hardest area for us to figure out.

Low-carb snacks can still be high-energy. Think nuts/nut butters (hence the photo), low-fat cheeses and yogurts, lean meats, etc. Here are some low-carb snack ideas that are somewhat portable and tasty:

Hard-boiled eggs. They’re portable and you can make a batch ahead of time for easy on-the-go snacking. You can also make egg salad. I like this recipe because it uses less yolks and low-fat mayonnaise.

Tuna. You can buy it pre-portioned in small cans (don’t buy pre-made tuna salad! It’ll probably be higher calorie and have added sugar). To make it more of a meal, eat it on a piece of low-fat mozzarrella or cheddar instead of bread or make one of these tuna salad recipes.

Greek yogurt. Buy the plain stuff and add fresh fruit since regular yogurt often has a lot of added sugar. Berries are a good low-carb option.

Make your own trail mix. Add a variety of nuts and a small amount of dried fruit (it’s higher in carbs).

Cottage cheese. Add berries to make it sweet.

Lettuce roll-ups. Roll your favorite lean deli meat (try to find meat without added sugar) and cheese or tuna/egg salad in a lettuce leaf.

Peanut butter or cheese on an apple.

Low-carb “bagel”: Smoked salmon and light cream cheese on cucumber slices.

Turkey bacon or pepperoni. Zap some in the microwave until they’re crispy for instant “chips.”

Spinach/artichoke dip with raw veggies. Find recipes that use low-fat yogurt as the base, like this one or this one.

Protein shake. Combine protein powder with milk and frozen berries (my recipe is here).

That should get you started. Any other low-carb snacking ideas? Email!