Any quickie Healthy/Diabetic Snack suggestions?

Procrastinated the hell out of getting my dad a birthday gift. It's tomorrow! My brother called today and asked if I got him anything yet, and when I said no he said "Well when yu do, I want to go in on it." So, crap.

I talked to him the other day and he said he's still not smoking (yay!) but is putting on weight. I thought a Healthy Snacks basket might be a good idea. Here's what I have on my list to look for at the grocery store (on the way down to his house - how's that for procrastination?):

Laughing Cow cheese wedges
Individual Bags of pretzels
Hummus
Dole Jarrred fruit
Sugar-Free Chocolates and/or Cocoa-Via Bars
Healthier Chips

Ineed to check out brands and read labels unless anyone has a suggestion on the chips. I love Pop Chips, but doubt if I'll find them at Meijer. Any other suggestions are welcome! I want to avoid the obvious fresh fruit and veggies because it's only him and they would probably go bad before he ate them.

When I was pregnant I had gestational diabetes. I loved popcorn with Parmesan cheese added (so there was a protein with the starch) and also I'd eat a quarter of a bagel with fat free cream cheese. The fat free kind actually tastes more like cream cheese than the low-fat kind, and it's higher in protein, so it's a healthier snack. As I recall from the diet, the key was to eat proteins every time you ate starches so that it wouldn't metabolize as rapidly and cause a spike in your blood sugar. With that in mind, you might also look at getting him some lean deli meats like roast beef or chicken or turkey. As long as it's not too salty or fatty, deli meats are great healthy snacks for a diabetic.

I don't know much about diabetic diets, what about dried fruits? They are healthy and will keep a lot longer than fresh fruit- plus they have the added bonus of feeling like a real snack not as boring as eating an apple.

Tara, they're an OK snack, but the serving size is tiny because it's the same amount of sugar concentrated down. Like if you can eat 15 grapes, then you can only eat 15 raisins. It's frustrating. That's why I liked popcorn. It's not dense, so you feel like you're eating a lot.

Sugar free candy is available in a wide variety, chocolate, life savers etc. I would say get him some he won't buy for himself, or even some diabetic socks or slippers.
Russell stover sugar free candies are the best IMO.

edbson wrote:
Russell stover sugar free candies are the best IMO.