Prenatal Diabetes... Snack & Meal Ideas Needed

For breakfast, you can do an omelette with veggies and cheese--pretty low carb. Then you can add one piece of "light" bread--it is smaller pieces and lower carbs, with higher fiber, to go with the omelette. Actually, a piece of toast with peanut butter is often satisfying for me for breakfast, and if you use the light bread, it is pretty low carb.

Raw nuts are a great snack to keep in the car or in your purse. That, and beef jerky, as a PP mentioned would be good snacks.

Good luck!

Breakfast was my favorite meal when I had GD. . . one soft boiled or scrambled egg, one piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, 2 slices bacon. Yummm! Snack of yougurt and strawberries for mid morning.

Sounds like you are right on track. I too had GD and wanted to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. Read as much as you can about GD; I also read a lot about type 2. I was able to keep my sugars in an acceptable range with diet alone and kept my weight gain at 20 lbs. I was really worried about having a large baby because I am a petite. My daughter ended up being small at 6 1/2 lbs; she surprised my Dr with how small she was. Watch your diet eat as much organic as possible; eat fruits and veggies, high protein foods, good fats, whole grains. Eat as close to the source as possible, watch your processed foods they have a lot of hidden sugars.

For snacks, I took granny smith apples and peanut butter with me everywhere. I also keep high protein granola bars with me as well for emergences. One of my favorite snacks was a couple of cups of popcorn, lightly buttered, with 8 oz of milk and tablespoon of peanut butter; celery and peanut butter was another fav of mine. For breakfast, I sometimes would break the rules with a protein shake with 1/4 blueberries (frozen is best) and banana, I paired it with a slice of whole grain toast with peanut butter.

I know getting the diagnosis of GD bit daunting; taking in all the information, do-don't, balancing your fears. The best advice I could give is relax, eat healthy, exercise daily and get into a rhythm of eating and checking your blood. Best of luck! You can have a very healthy pregnancy and a healthy little blessing despite your diagnosis.

Veggies!! You have to be careful with carrots- they have more sugar so eat them in moderation. But salads, broccoli, cauliflower, celery (with peanut butter, mmmm), etc are good.
For breakfast, how about eggs? I know you can't eat them every day. Yogurt for breakfast is good. Or cottage cheese (if you can have some fruit, get the cans in light syrup or pear juice and have that with the cottage cheese). And there's the breakfast meats. Also, cracked wheat or rolled oats take longer to digest so they may have lower impact on your blood sugar (as long as you don't dump a lot of sugar on them). You do need some carbs, just in moderation. And, my SIL who has diabetes told me that if you pair something a bit more carby with protein and/or fat it has less impact. (But if you have a list of what's ok or not, follow that over me!)

For snacks to carry with you, how about nuts? Put them in some snack-sized ziplock bags and toss one or two in your purse when you're going out. Or some freshly cut veggies. Beef jerky is another option. Southbeach or Atkins friendly bars might also work. Even some granola bars may have fewer carbs than Balance bars (Power Bars/Balance Bars, etc were developed for people who were especially active, like for hiking, or exercising a lot, and are 40% carbs). Also look into Luna Bars - they're made specifically for women. Just check the labels for total carbs (then check fiber and sugar alcohols, they don't count toward your carbs, I think).

I too had gestational diabetes with my 3rd girl. So, I hear ya. My breakfast calorie limit was 30. So, my breakfast sometimes consisted of 1/4 a bagel and cream cheese with a cup of 2% milk. I also ate veggie patty(Morning Star Original or Prime are the best flavors) with a slice of whole wheat bread. Eggs and half a tortilla with yogurt. I couldn't have cereal bc it made my numbers too high. No juice or fruit in the morning bc they are high in sugar. For snacks I ate a lot of slice whole wheat bread with peanut butter. Plus, I had a small fruit for snacks in between lunch and dinner. You can also have sugar-free jello. It was awful but totally worth it. My daughter is now a happy 5 month old. Gestational diabetes didn't affect her. She was born a healthy 7 lbs12oz. You should have your doctor (if they didn't already)recommend you to a dietician or a nutritionist to go over the things that you eat specifically to make it easier for you. They will tell you exactly what to eat within your calorie intake.

Even though I ate well I did eventually have to take insulin bc my numbers were high despite exercising and eating well. So that is okay. The only bummer when I was on insulin was I had to go to the doctors twice a week(to check for baby's well being) sometimes 3 times a week to see my diabetes doctor too. So I hope you have help with your 2 year old when you get closer bc it does get tiring. You will be fine. Congrats on your bundle of joy coming.

Beef jerky was my very favorite snack. It is easy to carry and it is really low on carbs. I have a great recipie if you are doing it yourself but you need a dehydrator and so message me if you want it.
The organic disney animal crackers from costco were great to. I could have 12 of those with some nuts, raw almonds were my favorite.
I have a great Raw recipe for something called Patte. It is made with sunflower seeds and lots of other good stuff. I craved it when I was pregnant. If you have a food processor then let me know and I will get you the recipe. it is a longer process but so worth it.
Grapes are great because you can bet on one carb per grape.
My meal plans when I was diabetic were 30 carbs breakfast, 30 for snacks, 45-60 for lunch and dinner. So I could get away with an apple the size of my fist for a snack or a small nectarine. Then make sure you have a string cheese or something like that to even out the carbs.
Good luck. Diabetes is a pain but so doable for 10 weeks. And your baby being healthy is the most important thing. Although I have to tell you that by the time I was done I was so sick of eggs I could scream. Now my baby is sensitive to them and 10 weeks with eggs every morning is almost as bad as having to go without them for 5 months...lol.
For breakfast try a open face sandwich with whole grain toast, a fried egg, cheese and some patty sausage. It makes eggs more palatable and it will fill you up.
Good luck and know that "this too, shall pass".

Check out the Diabetes Association web site, I can't remember the address. I found alot of awesome recipes there. The South Beach diet bars, granola type, worked for snacks when I had the Gestational Diabetes. Also, nuts of various kinds, just not too many because of the fat content. Veggies in a baggie are good too, Celery and PB became a favorite of mine. Pre-cook chicken and freeze it, this way you can quickly use for a salad or something that needs to be quick. There is some Sara Lee low carb bread tht is really pretty good. For my sweet tooth I ate sugar free cookies and candies, only eat the serving size on the package, though. Much more than that could throw off your levels or you'll spend alot of time in the bathroom.

I also had gestational diabetes and something I ate when I wanted some fatty stuff was cheese and low sugar peanut butter. These are great to put on bread (whole grain of course! and veggies.

My daughter is diabetic and we have picked up a few tricks. The trick is to think about snacks in a different way. Instead of looking for pre-packaged items, put some snacks in baggies. Good snacks are nuts, carrot sticks, and other fresh veggies. You can also use string cheese or other individually packaged cheeses. Beef jerky and lunch meat are also good snacks. You can keep items cold by putting a small blue ice or small baggie of ice cubes in your purse with the food.

Herbalife shakes and protein bars are awesome for this. I know several women who loved these nutritional shakes while pregnant. I have it for breakfast every morning. These shakes and protein bars are low on the glycemic index. You can check out my website www.shopherbalife.com/O. or email me at ____@____.com.

I had gestational diabetes, and I did a lot of what you mentioned above. My go-to snack was an apple cut up with cheese slices. I had that many many mid-mornings. I was able to keep my sugar levels in control with my diet, and it sounds like you're on a good track with it too, so I bet you'll do ok. Exercise is also really important and helpful - a good walk every day will help you keep your levels under control.
Good luck and take care --
sk

I'm dealing with GD myself. I had it with my last pregnancy but was able to control it with diet. I'm not as lucky this time and am having to take medication. I found this website and it has helped with snack ideas, etc.

www.dlife.com

Good luck!

Hi. I am a Certified Post Partum Doula. Your concerns are going to be watching weight gain which can lead to delivering earlier than due date. Therefore, really eat the healthy things. Protein, vegtables, nuts and beans. There are lots of beans out there and tons of ways to eat them. From taco salads to chile and burritos to eggs and black beans.

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S for you and baby, listen to your OB/GYN and study a little, like you are doing. You will do great in your pregnancy. There could be a chance of C-Section if baby is BIG. Don't worry, its gestational diabetes is common and nutrition and weight gain can be monitored you sou d like u are doing great. June is right around the corner. You can email me directly at ____@____.com or feel free to call 303/979-5263
D. M.