Recipes for diabetics and healthy snacks

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Recipes for diabetics and healthy snacks
By CHRIS ROSENBLOOM
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/24/08
ajc.com

Q: Do you have any very good and tasty recipes for diabetics?

A: There is an abundance of cookbooks for everyone's tastes and cooking abilities from the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org. Some of my favorites (all of these are published by the American Diabetes Association) are Quick & Easy Diabetic Recipes for One, second edition ($14.95); The 4-Ingredient Diabetes Cookbook ($16.95); The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook ($18.95), Diabetic Desserts ($18.95); The New Soul Food Cookbook ($14.95) and Mix 'n' Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes, second edition ($16.95). If cookbooks aren't your thing, check out the nutrition and recipes link on the Web site for recipes — you can even load them into a recipe box to keep your favorites available online.

Q: Can you please help me supply my household with healthy snack suggestions to benefit our family? I'm looking for snack suggestions that are healthy and that kids will eat.

KATHERINE JACKSON, Lawrenceville

A: Here are several suggestions that might work for your family. I suggest getting the kids into the act with preparation of snacks. Kids who invest in the preparation are more likely to taste new foods. My criteria for snacks are ease of preparation and nutrient-rich.

Crunchy snacks

• Homemade popcorn sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese (skip the microwave variety and buy popcorn kernels and pop on the stove top in a bit of oil in a large pan with a lid; kids might find it amazing that popcorn doesn't come from a microwave bag.) Another bonus for popcorn is that it is a whole grain snack.

• Celery sticks with low-fat cream cheese and raisins.

• Go beyond baby carrots and try other varieties of refrigerated pre-washed vegetables like green beans, sugar snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower with a low-fat ranch dressing dip.

• Cut up whole wheat pita bread into pie-shaped wedges and bake in oven for a few minutes until crispy and serve with roasted red pepper or sun-dried tomato flavored hummus

• String cheese with whole grain crackers.

• Homemade snack mix with unsweetened Chex cereals, dried fruit and unsalted peanuts, almonds or walnuts

Sweet snacks

• Mini cinnamon-raisin bagels with low-fat flavored cream cheese.

• Peanut butter and jelly on graham crackers.

• Natural applesauce (no added sugar) sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg.

• Dried fruits, like cherries, apricots or cranberries stirred into low-fat vanilla yogurt.

• Fruit chunks threaded on skewer and served with low-fat fruited yogurt.

• Fig Newtons with low-fat flavored milk.

• Frozen fruit juice bar (raspberry, pineapple or orange).

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