An outsider’s perception of a pregnant woman is that she can eat whatever she wants,
whenever she wants. And for some pregnant women this is the case but not for the one
that has diabetes in pregnancy. There are still many healthy foods to choose from but
there is not going to be any tales of you polishing of the carton of ice cream or how many
chocolate bars you ate.
For any pregnant women, with or without gestational diabetes, the foods that are eaten
should be of the highest quality and nutritional value to give your baby the best start in
life. You don’t want to get bored with your snack choices or you are more likely to
indulge in something you shouldn’t. Try to mix up the snacks you choose and use some
of the suggestions from the list below to add more variety.
Snack suggestions:
* A small fruit (such as an apple or orange) and a ¼ of mixed nuts
* Celery sticks with natural peanut butter spread in the center
* Half a sandwich made with whole wheat bread and lunch meat and/or cheese
* A handful of baked tortilla chips with salsa and shredded cheese (this can be
mixed together and warmed up in the microwave too)
* A banana milk shake made with ½ banana, ½ cup of milk, 2-3 ice cubes and 2
tablespoons of natural peanut butter
Using left-overs from your main meals in small portions work well for snacks too. Make
your snacks something to look forward to. If you enjoy eating your food you are going to
make it easier for yourself to stick with your diabetic diet. There are also protein mixes
that you can buy to add to milk that are nice for a bed time snack. Something that is light
and provides protein to help with your blood sugar level until morning.