10 Snacks to Balance Blood Sugar

I’m a huge proponent for keeping your blood sugar balanced! I know it might not sound like a big deal but did you know that the below symptoms can be related to a dip in your blood sugar?

• crabby
• angry
• tired
• sleepy
• dizzy
• confused
• sweaty
• shaky

Not only is low blood sugar not a good thing for your body internally but it makes you feel terrible too.  A common example is the afternoon energy crash. Although lower energy as the day goes on is normal thanks to our body’s natural cortisol curve, an afternoon crash is not. I’m sure many of us have been there…we’re working away until all of a sudden we start feeling an energy crash come on so we load up on candy, coffee, or anything else we can get our hands on to feel awake again.  Unfortunately, this just further exacerbates the issue by grabbing something processed that will hike your blood sugar right back up again. Sometimes you definitely need to get your blood sugar back up, AND FAST… I’ve been there! That’s why I try to keep a snack in my purse and at the office because sometimes it just hits me without warning but the goal is to try to keep our blood sugar balanced BEFORE this point so we don’t ever get there.

The first thing that has made a huge difference for me has been thinking of my food in terms of its macro-nutrient makeup.  For all my main meals, I make sure I have a primary complex carbohydrate (not refined), protein, and fat. I always try to add fiber to this mix too to try and slow down the release of glucose into my bloodstream even further.

The second thing that has made a huge difference for myself and my clients has been SNACKS. Eating healthy, blood sugar-balancing snacks throughout the day can really keep you going from one meal to the next, which is why I’m doing a round-up of 10 of my favorite blood sugar-balancing snacks.

Instead of combining ALL the macronutrients for snacks like I do for meals, I just aim to combine my carbohydrates with protein or fat but protein/fat don’t have to be combined with anything else and can be eaten on their own. I do this because carbohydrates are absorbed by the body the fastest and metabolized into glucose (sugar), which is the body’s preferred fuel source.  By combining your carbohydrates with a fat or protein, which take longer to be broken down by the body, you are slowing the rise in your blood sugar.

To recap:

• Fat – OK alone
• Protein – OK alone
• Carbohydrate combine + Fat OR/AND Protein

If I can fit all 3 macro-nutrients + fiber then that’s just an extra pat on the back for you!

The list is really endless but some examples you can incorporate into your life are below:

1. Fruit (banana/apple) + natural nut butter (no added sugar)
2. Energy balls (mix of nuts & oats + other add ins)
3. Hard boiled eggs
4. Egg muffin cups
5. Smoothie (if low in sugar with fats & protein)
6. Rice cracker + natural nut butter + cacao nibs
7. Trail mix (nuts & seeds, chocolate chips, dried fruit)
8. Hummus + celery
9. Avocado on Toast
10. Yogurt, granola (low sugar) with 1/2 banana

I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can snack better and keep your blood sugar balanced all at the same time.