Need Ideas On A Snack Bar (or Similar)

[brigala]

My mom is Celiac, diabetic, and sensitive to corn, soy, and nuts. She needs something she can throw in her purse that doesn't need to be refrigerated & won't go bad quickly so she's not tempted to take risks with fast food while she's out running around...

It can contain small amounts of corn, soy, or nuts, but can't be heavy on those things. Corn starch is generally OK. No added MSG and no artificial sweeteners.

It must be suitable for a diabetic. It should be balanced in favor of protein not just carbs. It can't have a whole lot of sugar.

Of course it must be gluten-free.

It can be either pre-bought pre-packaged or something that can be assembled or baked at home and will still have a reasonable shelf-life. In fact, we could probably even vacuum seal something at home.

Does anybody have any ideas?

[Jestgar]

meat jerky?

[brigala]

meat jerky?

Most of that has MSG and a lot of it isn't gluten-free (soy sauce). Any brand ideas?

[ravenwoodglass]

I make up a bag of 'trail mix' to carry. I use Wylde pretzels (gluten and soy free) for sure gluten-free nuts, some dried fruits and some dark chocolate gluten-free chips. You could make this sort of thing up with any combo that she tolerates.

[Crayons574]

Have you tried Whole Foods? Your best option would be something that is nut and fruit based if you are looking to avoid all the other food allergies. I have found it hard to find food bars that are soy, corn, etc. free and low in sugar. Larabar is always a safe bet, because it is just nuts and fruit. Does fruit raise insulin too much? I want to say it's about 15g of sugar per bar, or around there.

[mindiloo]

the Larabars are good but can be pricey, i tend to stock up when they're on sale. they're gluten, dairy, and soy free, vegan, kosher, unprocessed, raw, and have no gmo or added sugar....yet they still have flavor, it's pretty amazing!

[brigala]

I haven't looked too closely at the Lara bars because they have dates in them, which I'm allergic to, and frankly I'm allergic to almost everything that's raw. My mom doesn't have that problem, but she does tend to react to nuts if she has too many of them, or eats them more than once in a day. Are there any Lara bar flavors that don't have a lot of nuts in them?

15 grams of sugar is probably too much for her to eat in one little bar. This is the hard part. Dried fruit is only marginally better than refined sugar when it comes to blood sugar. My mom's diabetes is controlled entirely by diet, so she has to be very very careful (she's allergic to most medications). What she needs is a good protein that isn't a nut, isn't soy, doesn't need refrigeration, and isn't loaded with MSG. Does such a thing exist?

She also suspects an allergy to Fava beans, since she seems to be allergic to the Bob's Red Mill breads. Is there anything out there based on more mundane beans, maybe?

I did suggest the trail mix to her. Still, the trouble is finding things that aren't just carbs but which she isn't allergic to.

-Elizabeth

[hannahp57]

What about gluten-free oats? Those are well tolerated by some

I bet you can make some granola bars with that... just that and maybe a small amount of fruits, chocolate, or nuts like peanut butter. i have seen many recipes with just oats (or a granola mixture with rice cereals and such) and dried coconut and raisins. then there is a mixture with corn syrup and brown sugar. I will have to look up the specific ingredients and amounts if it sounds do-able. of course there are so many ways to adjust a granola bar.

and rice chex have many posiibilities as as well. granola and bars. I can only imagine how tough all these different intolerances must be.

I also just found a sugar n spice pan bar mix from 123Glutenfree

its gluten, corn, dairy, nut, and soy free. it sounds more like a desert though...so maybe thats not what you're looking for? probably quite a bit more sugar

[brigala]

Unfortunately, she doesn't tolerate oats, either.

Rice Chex would make a decent base for a trail mix, but it's still a simple carb and would need a protein to balance it out for blood sugar purposes.

The pan bar sounds delicious and is probably worth investigating as a dessert. It's one thing to have a little sugar as part of a high-protein meal (alongside eggs or meat) and quite another to have it as your entire meal or snack.

I have quite a few intolerances myself, but not nearly as bad as my mom. I do fine with oats, for example, not to mention corn and most nuts.

-Elizabeth

[hannahp57]

Open Original Shared Link

just found this...good review at least!

and the enjoy life bars are good and mostly allergen free...i think they'd be suitable except they do contain dried fruits. i read there are 8g of sugars per bar and they're pretty yummy

[Juliebove]

Goraw pumpkin seed bars! 24 grams of carb per bar. I am diabetic and they work for me. They do make other flavors but I didn't care for them.

Another thing she might consider doing is making up her own trail mix using seeds and just a small amount of dried fruit mixed in for some carbs but not too many.

Or just some lower carb fruit. I currently have some unsweetened dried cranberries that I got from my health food store. I also like freeze dried fruit, Just Apples and Just Strawberries. They do make other fruits but they are higher in carbs. And they make freeze dried vegetables, but I prefer them in cooked foods and not eaten as is.