Last Updated on April 24, 2024
Summer is almost here! It’s time for enjoying the sunshine, warm weather, and longer days. It’s also a time to shed those winter coats and eat some tasty summer treats!
Before you start digging into the hamburgers hot off the grill or a big bowl of ice cream to cool you down, consider eating a few healthy summer snacks that won’t make your glucose levels shoot up. There is nothing wrong with a delicious snack from time to time, but if you keep eating them all summer, it could turn into a sweltering nightmare. Of course, those who have been diagnosed with diabetes, need to pay extra attention to what they are putting into their body.
Fruit
You know that we couldn’t have a snack list without including fruit first, but before you skip to the next one, hear us out. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a nice bowl of mixed fruits while you sit by the pool.
Making a bowl of fruit is quick, easy, and healthy. For summer, you can slice up a watermelon, add blueberries, raspberries, and some sliced strawberries and you have yourself an incredible and refreshing snack to get you through the summer months. Adding watermelon to your poolside snack is not only yummy but also helps keep you hydrated. The fruit is 92% water and has very few calories.
Corn
You can’t have a traditional summer dinner without a side of corn on the cob. Not only is corn on the cob the perfect side dish, but it’s also great for your diet. Corn has tons of iron, vitamin a, magnesium, and much more. It also has a high concentration of fiber. You may have heard that diabetics are supposed to eat corn because of the starch carbs, which is true, but as long as you are eating corn in moderation and with an excellent protein-rich main dish, you can enjoy a delicious corn on the cob during those warm summer nights.
There are several different ways you can cook your corn on the cob. You can put it on the grill to get those grill marks; you can put on the stove and boil it, or even bake it in the oven.
Iced Coffee
Looking for a delicious drink to cool off? Avoid the sugary soft drinks and reach for an iced coffee instead. We don’t mean going to a coffee shop and ordering some sugary iced coffee drink that takes you 3 minutes just to pronounce. Instead of getting a drink loaded down with whipped cream, sugar, and syrup, go for a traditional iced coffee without all the added frills. If you do want to get something a little sweeter, go with a smaller size, ask for nonfat milk, and tell them to keep the whipped cream.
Cucumbers
Okay, we know we already talked about fruits, but you didn’t think we would get through a whole list without mentioning, at least, one veggie, did you? Cucumbers can make the perfect summer time snack.
One of the best benefits of cucumbers is you can eat a whole cup of them and only have five carbs. They also have plenty of vitamin K and C, as well as potassium. There are dozens are ways to enjoy a cucumber while you’re soaking up the sun.
You can slice up a whole cucumber and dip it in hummus or low-fat ranch for an easy and quick snack. You can add a few slices onto a lean turkey or ham sandwich on whole-grain bread, and even add a little hummus on the sandwich for an extra kick. Don’t forget to toss a couple of slices on the fresh salad you eat for dinner!
