6 healthy snacks to beat back diabetes

For people living with diabetes, the three-meal-a-day plan just won't cut it. To keep your blood sugar steady and avoid those roller coaster highs and lows, healthy snacks need to be part of the program. You can still have a goodie that's good for your waistline and blood glucose levels. Read on and enjoy these six great low-calorie snacking treats.

1 frozen fudge bar is only 80 calories. Although it seems like an indulgence (go ahead — let yourself think of it as one), a frozen fudge bar contains remarkably few calories for the amount of chocolate enjoyment you get. Choose a sugar-free brand to cut the calories in half. 

A 30 g (1 oz) fat-free string cheese is only 80 calories. Whoever invented string cheese was on to something. These portable snacks are satisfying and full of protein — and they have absolutely no carbs.

800 g (4 cups) of air-popped popcorn equals a measly 100 calories. Who says popcorn is only for the movies? Take popcorn out of the multiplex and have it as a light snack. Why not? It's low in calories and high in fibre.

20 red seedless grapes nets you only 100 calories. Grapes are full of water, which makes them automatically low in calories. Twenty grapes register in your brain as lots of separate items, and popping them into your mouth one by one makes you feel that you're getting more food than you really are.

This is really low in calories with just 35 for 250 to 500 g (1 to 2 cups) of sliced raw vegetables. Think of vegetables as sociable foods; they hate to be alone. Even when you snack, you'll have a livelier time if you throw veggies together and let their tastes mingle. Soft and crunchy, watery and dense, combinations make for a pleasing mix.

30 g (1 oz) peanuts is packed with protein and only 165 calories. The bargain lover in you will appreciate the dense, filling nutrition you can get from a relatively small serving of peanuts. Full of protein and "good" fats, nuts actually appear to help people lose weight. Feel free to substitute a palmful of almonds or 15 millilitres (1 tablespoon) of peanut butter.

Having diabetes means watching what you eat but it doesn't mean restricting everything that's tasty.  Use these snack suggestions to stay full and healthy.