I will be doing Blog Posts reviewing various general categories of products and items that people with diabetes and/or lactose intolerance may need or use, and I will try to store those Blog Posts here once they fall into the “older” category. But things change all the time and thankfully new products come on the market all the time. So on this page, I will be posting impressions and reviews of individual products that I love (or don’t) as I come across them. I’m hopeful too that some readers of this Blog will introduce me to some new products so please make suggestions to me via the “Contact Me” page and I will surely check out what you send. I will post my impressions below as I go along
think! High Protein Bars
I carry these bars with me wherever I go. I keep a couple of them in my purse and a few of them in my bedside table. I use them to keep my blood sugar in check. If I find myself feeling signs of low blood sugar between meals, I have a bar. If I wake up in the night with low blood sugar I have some glucose tabs and a bar. If I am traveling or stuck in a meeting and can’t get to lunch on time, I have a bar. If I’m at the gym or on a hike and have exercised but haven’t eaten enough and I feel my blood sugar getting a bit too low, I eat a bar. If I’m rushing out the door on a busy day, I have them for breakfast. These things have saved my hide (and probably my life) more times than I can count. They have about 240 calories, no sugar (10g of sugar alcohol), and about 23g of carbs. They are not dairy free, but they must not have much dairy because they do not effect me at all in that regard. And they are deelicious. I especially like the Chunky Peanut Butter and Brownie Crunch flavors, but I have tried many flavors and most of them are good. There was a short period during the pandemic when I couldn’t get these bars in stores and I literally panicked. It caused me to try a bunch of other types of bars like them and most of the other ones were tasteless and chalky. These are not. Thankfully, it turned out to be a short-term supply chain problem and I can now get these again in most supermarkets or I can order them online from think! directly or from Amazon. I’m so grateful for these bars that I actually wrote to the company when I was having trouble finding them to plead with them not to stop making them. I didn’t hear back, but that’s ok. Note that it’s the High Protein Bars that I love so much. They make other products but they may not have the same calorie or sugar count or taste as good. Try these. They are wonderful.
Silk Greek Non-Dairy Yogurt
The search for a delicious, flavored non-dairy yogurt that is relatively low in sugar has been a long one for me. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I switched to plain yogurt because at that time there were few flavored yogurt choices that were not high in sugar. Those eventually did hit the market, but about same the time I had to cut out dairy. I was able to find good plain non-dairy yogurts that are low in sugar and so for many years was content to simply provide my own flavor to them. I would add cinnamon, some nuts and a few berries and would satisfy myself with that. Occasionally I would find a yogurt brand that was both non-dairy and low sugar but generally it was a brand that was too cost too high to justify eating every day. Things are getting better and better and although availability is sometimes spotty, I have recently found a brand that fits the bill perfectly for me. Silk now has a coconut milk based Greek Style yogurt alternative that has 9g of sugar per container. By way of comparison, the Silk Almond milk yogurt alternative has 13g of sugar and the Soy milk yogurt alternative has 12g (I compared the strawberry flavored ones for consistency). Some other non-dairy yogurts can have as much as 16g of sugar so I think 9g is pretty good. Not to mention that personally I find the Silk Greek non-dairy yogurt delicious! I don’t feel deprived at all. At only 190 calories and 13g of carbs, I add a handful of raw sliced almonds and its a great breakfast.
Honorable Mention: Siggy’s Plant Based Coconut Blend
Siggy’s is also delicious and even lower in sugar (7g for the Strawberry flavor). However, it is generally a little more expensive and harder to find. I have not been able to find a store near me that carries more than two flavors.