As you’re probably aware, quick snacks for us diabetics these days ain’t great:
Not cheap (especially nuts)!
Not a lot of variety
Annoyingly come non-standardized (some packages have 7g carbs, others 20g, with varying glycemic loads) hence requiring counting / portioning
Long story short, I’ve been talking to a food manufacturer to see if we can put in a big order and save a ton of $$. They said they can take a few of their low carb snacks where they have excess capacity, re-portion them into 1 carb-serving packages (15g of carb “grab and go” packs) and sell to us at wholesale prices (about 40% off retail) if we buy in bulk.
Me and a few T1 friends here in NYC are going to put in an order and we are looking for others to join us to meet the min purchase requirement.
More details below. Please PM me if you have questions or want in! (USA only).
Thanks!
Krishna (T1)
Snacks:
Mixed nut trail mix (2 options: spicy or mild)
Low-carb protein bar
Baked whole-wheat crackers
Oatmeal
Baked cheese crisps
Paleo (low carb) cinnamon cereal
Nut/seed/oats mix
Amount: we each get 2 weeks worth of snacks (14 packs - 1 snack per day for 14 days)
Retail price: $16.32 Our price from manufacturer: about $9.90 (assuming we can get 50 people) Our savings: ~40%
Each “grab and go” package contains:
15g of net carbs
Low glycemic load (no overly processed grains, refined sugars, etc…)
This actually sounds really good! How would we deal with shipping (I live in Idaho)? And is it a set lineup of snacks decided by the manufacturer, or can people pick and choose?
As for shipping, the manufacturer is going to ship the snacks in one huge crate to a truck stop near me just outside NYC. I’ll then pickup, put in individual boxes and fire them off at the post office for those of you not in NYC.
As for the snack choices, the manufacturer said they’d want to do the 7 snacks I listed above for the first order (mixed nut trail mix, low carb protein bar, baked whole-wheat crackers, oatmeal, baked cheese crisps, paleo cinnamon cereal, and a nut/seed/oats mix).
But in the future, they have other options like jerky, other mixed nut flavorings, low carb peanut butter cookies, etc…So hoping if the first order goes well, we can do another order with more options so people can mix and match like you suggested - great idea!
Hrmm, with postal prices, I’m not sure it’ll work out economically for me out here in the boonies. But keep me in the loop (if, for example, you price retail ground from USPS).
I really like the idea, but I’m not sure how some of the snacks would work for me (the wheat crackers, oatmeal, and cereal would definitely not work for me).
I know oatmeal and whole wheat crackers both definitely spike my blood sugar, as much as most other carbs.
For people looking for good deals on nuts and other things shipped directly to them, I strongly recommend nuts.com. You can buy things in bulk, and they do free shipping over something like $50-60.
Thank you for the nuts.com reference. Like you, any grains spike my BG, and there “isn’t enough insulin” to chase it, I’ve tried. I wish I could have oatmeal and crackers.
Yep, wheat flour based items (of any variety, including whole wheat), oatmeal, and anything with the word “cereal” tend to make my BG spike just by looking at them. I’m a nuts, seeds, and cheese snacker because of that.
Interesting - thanks for the feedback guys! I don’t experience BG spikes from whole wheat grains but then again, I still have a tiny bit of natural insulin production.
How do you guys do with nut-flour based recipes? Eg crackers using almond flour as a substitute for wheat flour, etc…
FYI David the Paleo cereal is actually cheese based.
I could go back to the manufacturer and see if they are open to substituting almond flour for wheat flour in the crackers and find a sub for oatmeal.
Personally, I do fine with nut flour and seed-based recipes. I tend to make my own breads with combinations of almond flour, vital wheat gluten (I definitively do not have Coeliac disease), and fiber binders (flax and chia seeds soaked in water do wonders, as does xanthan).
Cheese based “cereal” sounds fascinating and horrifying at the same time haha!
it is an interesting concept, but I never participate in things like this because I can’t control what I am getting. I am a Costco and Sprouts/Fresh Thyme shopper and can buy bulk for various foods and nuts that work for me. If required I can repackage things and often do.
Good luck with your venture but I don’t quite understand how it will be a great deal for most people.
I’ve been afraid to try alternative “flours”. I guess I should just go ahead and “do it”.
I have a cookie recipe that requires only a tiny bit of sugar, 1/4 cup for 100 cookies, but the flour caused my BG to go sky high. The cookies only have walnuts, butter, flour, vanilla and 1/4 sugar. Maybe almond flour might work for that.
If I make them and they turn out good, I will post the recipe.
I did order from nuts.com today, looking forward to getting the package!
Many “alternative” flours are anything but low-carb. Gluten free flours, for example, are often full of rice flour and tapioca flour, which are more or less pure starch and sugar (and guaranteed to destroy blood glucose). Most nut and actual “low-carb” flours are very high fiber, high fat, and with moderate amounts of protein and low amounts of digestible carb. That being said, some diabetics seem to be sensitive to commonly added soluble fibers like inulin.
Long story short is that nut and seed based flours or mixes don’t spike my blood sugar at all. They do require a lot of recipe adjustment since they are almost never 1 to 1 replacements for wheat flour. I’ve found the following ratio of “flours” to make a pretty good low carb substitute for wheat flour in most recipes (by weight, rather than volume, then equalized to volume): 0.65 almond flour : 0.25 coconut flour : 0.10 vital wheat gluten.
Almond flour on its own is traditionally used to make cookies in many cultures, so it may work just by itself.
