Healthy Snacks For Pregnant Women With Gestational Diabetes

Pregnant women with gestational diabetes need safe snacks. A good snack has protein and fiber together. Eat roasted chana with cucumber. Eat one boiled egg. Eat half bowl plain yogurt with jeera. Eat two small paneer cubes with capsicum strips. Eat one small apple with two walnuts. Never eat fruit alone. Never eat packaged juice or sugar free biscuits. Eat every two to three hours. Always eat a small snack before sleep. Drink water many times. These snacks keep your blood sugar stable. Your baby stays healthy. You stay healthy too.

Why I Had To Change My Snacking?

Before pregnancy I ate anything. Samosa. Chai. Biscuits. But after diagnosis my sugar used to jump like anything. One time I ate a small pack of glucose biscuits. My sugar went to 190. I got scared. Then my dietician explained one thing. She said your body cannot handle sugar alone. You need to add something with it. That something is protein or fat.

So I started testing. I bought a small glucometer. I pricked my finger many times. Slowly I found safe snacks. I am sharing that healthy snacks for pregnant women with gestational diabetes.

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What I keep in my bag all the time?

I carry a small box everywhere. In that box I keep four things. Roasted chana. Few almonds. One small cucumber. One spoon of flaxseed powder. These things never go bad. They dont need fridge. If I feel hungry outside I eat from this box. This habit saved me many times.

Snack number one that never fails me

Take one small katori of curd. Not the sweet one. Not the one that comes in small plastic cups. Take homemade curd or buy plain greek curd. Add one spoon of roasted jeera powder. Add a little salt. Eat it with one small cucumber cut into pieces. This snack fills my stomach for three hours. My sugar stays between 100 to 120 after this. I tested it five times. Same result every time.

My evening snack that feels like cheating

I love chat. But most chat has sweet chutney and sev and potato. All bad for sugar. So I made my own version. Take one small bowl of sprouts. Add chopped onion. Add chopped tomato. Add green chilli if you want. Add lemon juice. Add black salt. Mix well. Do not add imli chutney. Do not add sev. Eat it as is. It tastes fresh and tangy. My husband ate it once and he said it is good. So it is not boring.

The one snack I eat before sleeping

This is very important. I learned this after many high readings in the morning. My morning sugar used to be 130 even after eating good dinner. I asked my doctor. She said you are not eating bed time snack. I said what. She said yes. Eat something small before sleeping. Now I eat half cup of plain yogurt or one boiled egg at 10 pm. My morning sugar dropped to 100 in three days. Try this. It works.

What I do when I want something sweet?

Some days you really want sweet. I get it. On those days I eat one small apple. But not alone. I cut the apple into very small pieces. Then I take four almonds and crush them. Mix the apple pieces with crushed almonds. Eat slowly. One small spoon at a time. The sweetness of apple is enough. The almonds stop the sugar from rising fast. I also tried this with half a pear. Same result.

My quick snack when I have no time

Some days are busy. You have doctor visit. You have house work. You have rest. On those days I make a very simple thing. Take one glass of water. Add two spoons of curd. Add salt. Add half spoon of roasted jeera. Drink it. That is it. No cutting. No cooking. No cleaning. This drink gives protein and water. It keeps my sugar calm for two hours.

One snack I buy from store

I do not like buying packaged things. But sometimes you are outside. On those days I buy a small pack of roasted makhana. Not the flavored one. The plain one. I check the label. There should be no sugar. No malt. No corn flour. Just makhana and salt. I eat half the small pack. Then I drink water. Makhana is light. It does not raise sugar. Keep a small pack in your purse.

The snack that surprised me

I thought I cannot eat chapati as snack. But my dietician said you can if you make it small. So I take one small leftover chapati from morning. I cut it into thin strips. I put it on tawa with no oil. I roast until it becomes crisp. Like a khakra but softer. I eat this with a small bowl of curd. The chapati gives some carb. The curd gives protein. Together they work fine. My sugar after one hour was 125. Not bad.

What I completely stopped eating?

I stopped eating bananas. Even small ones. Every time I ate banana my sugar went above 160. I stopped eating packed fruit juice. One small glass of packed orange juice gave me 180. I stopped eating ready made poha from outside. They put sugar and potato. I stopped eating sweet lassi. One glass of sweet lassi is like drinking sugar water. I stopped eating white bread sandwich. Bread is maida. Maida is bad.

Some days I eat this when I feel lazy

On lazy days I just take a handful of roasted chana. Maybe fifteen to twenty pieces. I take a small tomato. I eat the chana first. Then I eat the tomato like a fruit. Bite by bite. This takes two minutes. No plate. No spoon. No cutting. I sit on my sofa and eat it while watching tv. That is my lazy snack.

My mother in law made this for me

She does not understand diabetes. She thought gur is healthy. I told her no. But she made one thing that works. She took one spoon of til. One spoon of dry coconut grated. One spoon of roasted peanuts. She crushed everything together. No jaggery. No sugar. Just these three things. She gave me one small spoon of this mixture. I ate it. My sugar did not go up. So now I eat this when I want something rich.

What I drink when I feel hungry at night?

Sometimes at 11 pm I feel hungry. I dont want to eat food that late. So I take one small glass of warm water. Add a pinch of haldi. Add a drop of ghee. Mix and drink. This stops my hunger. It also helps with sleep. No sugar. No carb. Safe for night.

One thing I learned about portion

You can eat anything if you eat less. One small piece of dark chocolate is fine. One spoon of rice is fine. Two bites of roti is fine. But you have to stop. That is the hard part. So I started using small bowls. Small plates. Small spoons. When my brain sees a small bowl I feel full faster. Try this trick. It helps.

My sugar went low once and I panicked

One afternoon I did not eat snack. I was busy. Suddenly I started shaking. My hands were cold. I felt dizzy. That is low sugar. I quickly drank half a glass of water with one spoon of sugar. Then after ten minutes I ate a boiled egg. Do not let this happen. Eat your snack on time. Set alarm on phone. Do not skip.

I asked five doctors the same question

I went to five different doctors. Not because I dont trust. I just wanted to see if everyone says same thing. They all said the same. Eat small snack every two to three hours. Snack should have protein. Bed time snack is must. Drink water. Walk after eating. No doctor said stop eating completely. So do not starve yourself.

What I eat when I travel

Last month I went to my village. Train journey was twelve hours. I packed a small bag of food. Roasted chana. Four apples. A small box of cut cucumber. A spoon of flaxseed. A small box of plain curd in a cold pack. I ate every three hours. My sugar stayed normal. No problem. So travel is possible. You just have to plan.

A small mistake I made with nuts

I thought nuts are super healthy. So I started eating a lot. One day I ate almost twenty almonds. My sugar was fine but my stomach felt heavy. Then I read that too many nuts give too much fat. Fat is not bad but too much fat slows digestion. That can cause sugar to rise later. So now I count. Four almonds. Two walnuts. That is enough. Do not over eat nuts.

One easy snack for office

If you go to office keep these things in your drawer. One small pack of roasted chana. One small bottle of flaxseed powder. One spoon. A box of cut cucumber. At snack time take half cup of water. Add two spoons of curd from canteen. Add one spoon of flaxseed. Mix. Drink. This takes two minutes. No one will even notice.

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My favourite snack in summer

Summer is hard. You want something cold. I take half cup of curd. Add half cup of water. Add crushed ice. Add salt and jeera. Blend for two seconds. Drink it like a smoothie. It is cold. It is filling. It does not raise sugar. I drink this at 4 pm every summer day.

What I eat when I have no curd at home?

Sometimes curd finishes. On those days I take one small cucumber. Cut it into pieces. Sprinkle black salt and red chilli powder. Eat it as is. Then after that I drink one glass of water with lemon. No sugar. No salt. Just lemon and water. This is not very filling but it works for one hour. Then I eat healthy snacks for pregnant women with gestational diabetes.

A word about timing

Do not eat snack just before meal. If you eat snack at 7 pm and dinner at 8 pm that is fine. But if you eat snack at 7.30 pm and dinner at 8 pm then your body gets too much food at once. Keep at least one hour gap between snack and next meal. This helps your sugar stay stable.

I still struggle some days

I will be honest. Some days I eat wrong. Some days I feel sad. Some days I eat a piece of cake at a family function. That is okay. One wrong snack will not kill you or your baby. But do not make it a habit. Next snack go back to safe food. Do not feel guilty. Do not cry. Just continue.

Remember this one line

No snack is bad if you eat small amount. No snack is good if you eat too much. Even healthy snacks like sprouts and curd can raise sugar if you eat three bowls. So keep your portion small. Keep your plate small. Keep your mind calm.

Conclusion

You are growing a human inside you. That is hard work. Do not punish yourself with food. Eat good snacks. Drink water. Walk a little. Take your medicine if doctor gave. You and your baby will be fine.

FAQs

1. What is the best bedtime snack for gestational diabetes?

The best bedtime snack is one boiled egg. You can also eat half a bowl of plain yogurt or drink one small glass of buttermilk. These three have protein. Protein keeps your blood sugar stable through the night. Your liver does not release extra sugar at midnight. Your morning sugar stays normal.

2. How do I know if a snack is safe to eat

Eat a small amount of that snack. Wait one hour. Check your blood sugar with your machine. If the number is below one hundred and forty, the snack is safe for you. If the number is above one hundred and sixty, that snack is not safe. Do not eat it again. Every woman is different. You have to test for yourself.

3. What should I do when I feel very hungry between two snacks

First drink one full glass of water. Wait ten minutes. If the hunger goes away, you were only thirsty. If the hunger stays, eat a small cucumber or one small tomato or four almonds. These foods have almost no sugar. They will not raise your blood sugar. Do not eat biscuits or namkeen or chips.