Living with diabetes can be difficult, as the disease requires constant diligence and self-management.
“You have to check your blood sugar before meals, give yourself insulin with your carbs, and you’re constantly on edge making sure that everything’s okay,” said Kristen Walcher, an Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist specializing in diabetes care at INTEGRIS Health.
Due to the nature of the disease, it can be challenging for individuals with diabetes to find snacks that don’t spike their blood sugar – especially ones that actually taste good.
Balance vs. Restriction
“It’s easy to get ‘diabetes burnout’ when you have to maintain a strict diet with low carbs,” Walcher told FI.
“You can also get burned out from feeling like you’re unable to enjoy things like other people are, such as birthday cake or ice cream, but restriction almost always makes people want that thing more because it’s like forbidden fruit.”
This can be a fast track to a binge, in Walcher’s experience – and the blood sugar spike that results from inhaling a dozen donuts will be far more severe than any glucose shifts that occur after enjoying a single donut.
Because of this phenomenon, Walcher recommends for her patients to focus on incorporating certain foods into their diets instead of completely taking them away.
“I tell my patients it’s okay to enjoy some cake on occasion, but daily, I’d like for them to add some more protein, fiber, and whole foods because that will make them feel better overall,” added Walcher.
When it comes to diabetes nutrition, achieving the right balance of macronutrients is crucial. That’s why Walcher recommends combining any carbohydrates with foods that are high in both protein and fiber, which can help stabilize blood sugar and prevent rapid spikes.
“It actually makes you feel terrible when you have rapid ups and downs in your blood sugar, so not only do patients feel better if they have that stabilization; they also have more energy.”
In terms of healthy snack combinations, Walcher provided the following examples:
- Greek yogurt with berries
- Cheese with crackers
- Peanut butter with an apple
The new 10g Protein Snack Mix by Catalina Crunch is another good option, which was developed by Krishna Kaliannan, who has type 1 diabetes.
“As someone living with type 1 diabetes, I can say firsthand that finding savory snacks that don’t spike your glucose is very challenging. Many snack options on the market, even those that seem ‘healthy,’ are really loaded with unnecessary carbs that cause extreme blood sugar spikes,” Kaliannan told FI.
“When I was first diagnosed, I felt like I had to choose between taste/crunch and health. That challenge is what led me to start Catalina Crunch. I wanted to create snacks that both align with my dietary needs and are actually satisfying.”
From Sweets to Savory Treats
Starting out, Catalina Crunch stuck to sweeter products like cereals and cookies. Then, the brand discovered that people were eating the cereal as a snack rather than a breakfast.
“Our stand-up pouch makes it very easy for people to eat it all day, whether that’s in a bowl with milk or a handful in the afternoon when walking by the pantry,” said Kaliannan.
“Since many people prefer savory to sweet snacks, this naturally led us to make a savory-snack version of our cereal (i.e. our Snack Mix). We found many consumers were looking for high-protein, great-tasting snacks that didn’t feel like workout supplements. By delivering bold flavors, craveable crunch, and real nutrition, we’re making it easier for people to prioritize health without giving up the fun of snacking.”
The Food Institute Podcast
Just how difficult is it to scale a better-for-you snack company? Rebecca Brady, founder and CEO of Top Seedz, shares how she turned a homegrown idea into a rapidly scaling snack brand and breaks down the strategy behind her growth, from bootstrapping production to landing national retail partnerships.
