What do you pack your child for lunch in their lunch box? My 6 year old doesnt really like low carb lunch food and the higher carb food spikes her too much. Running out of ideas. We are on shots right now.
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How about a tuna sandwich and apple slices or Spaghetti and a meat sauce with vegetables.
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Our son is very picky. He eats the school pizza and nothing else so we pack him lunchables, yogurt sticks, salad mix sometimes and always Pepperoni’s and cheese sticks in case he is high during lunch.
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Hi.
One of the ideas my parents always followed - and something I also followed later - was that any food was okay, it was just a matter of the proper dosing and timing. Later in life, various new insulin types also became available and helped with this.
So it wasn’t really a food issue for us, it was a dosing/timing issue.
Admittedly this is harder to do for a young one, but these are good skills to develop now because they can be used later as well.
I think @ClaudnDaye follows that same philosophy with Liam.
So perhaps if you would like to discuss some of the circumstances such as timing, testing, your morning routine with dosing and breakfast, the timing of lunch, the types of insulin you are using, and things like that, it might be another way to work through it.
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Totally agree. Nothing is off limits to Liam. If he’s high, he may have to wait until he comes back down but we never make him feel like he’s any different than any other kid. Just have to figure out how to bolus for anything and everything.
The only way I could see ever depriving him of any specific food is if he was allergic to it.
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I am not sure how your child’s school snack schedule is laid out but this is what we found worked for our son. And our son still injects with a pen.
His school day is from 9AM until 3:20PM. There are 2 snack/lunch breaks, first at 11:20 and the second at 1:15.
We also do not limit him on the food he eats but what we do tell him is to try and have to more “carby” stuff on the second break.
We found that when he ate (lets say) pasta salad and such at first break and bolused for it, by the time second break came around he was still “high”.
When he eats that stuff at second break and bolused, it gives him time to come back down.
I Agree on Timing and Dosing.
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She is also very picky. She gets Humalog at 1130 for lunch and eats right away after. Anything too high in carbs she spikes very high and then comes back down within 2-3 hours. If we increase her insulin to carb ratio( currently using 1/16) ratio,)she would spike high, but then crash. We do use a 1/12 ratio at home. I agree with you all, it’s all about timing. I think it takes her longer for the insulin to work. Seems hour 3, it really kicks in. Her lunch is about 30 carbs. A yogurt, a fruit, some turkey, some popcorn and nuts. She is doing quite well on this lunch in terms of her blood sugar not spiking too high, but shes getting bored of this lunch. She gets 2 snacks a day at 10am and 230pm. She gets about 5-6 carbs which she needs, sometimes more on gym days. We are trying to go on the pump, so I know that will help with the spikes.
Is there a way to adjust the time before a meal? That could be a big help, to get it a little bit before the meal, especially if her BG is above target.
Are there any options for you there?
That would be a good idea and most likely help. She has recess right before lunch, so she would need to leave Recess a ittle early. I would have to discuss with the nurse.
Will she eat dinner leftovers? That is all my son eats for lunch these days. I would think a stew leftover or other amazing dinner eats would be a nice variety.
I also strongly agree with this. There has to be time before eating otherwise it will feel like 3 hours. For my daughter humalog begins to work after 10mins if she is ~100 and 20mins if she is around ~200
Omnipod allows lots more options like extended bolus which would also stop the crash… are you any closer to deciding on a pump?
Ed
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Audrey usually has things like pb&j on wholegrain bread. Natures own brand has 11g per slice. She usually has berries and a a few veggie chips. She will eat mini cucumber and sharp cheddar as a carb free snack but that’s usually at home. She also eats wholegrain Ritz crackers which dont send her BG very high.
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I tried chicken nuggets once, but it was hard to keep them warm, so she didnt like that. I am closer to getting her on the pump. I just had to attend an intro to pumping class( 3 hours long) as our first step. Next is meeting with the dietitian. Lots of steps before they will approve us. We really like the omnipod.
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Thank you Ed!!
PB&J is great. I wish she would eat that, but she doesnt like it. So hard with a picky kid. Yes, we also do Ritz and Triscuits. Both great.
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could be worth trying a little nutella if you haven’t. a few others are chobani yogurt sachet, mozeralla balls, gilberts chicken sausage.
we use a lunch pack that has a pocket for a slim ice pack - for yogurts, berries, cheese.
Audrey refused cheese until seeing one with frozen movie character packaging and suddenly then she started eating any cheddar really
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Nutella is s great idea.
I’m not a child, but I second the mozzarella balls suggestion. I eat them with grape tomatoes and fresh basil. It’s like a portable caprese salad.
Hummus or guacamole with cucumber slices or raw veggies can also be good. Similarly, sliced apple with sliced cheese.
If nuts become boring, Trader Joe’s has nuts coated with sesame seeds or coconut… The carbs are a little higher, but it adds some variety. I find the fat content is high enough that the increased carbs don’t cause a spike like the addition of dried fruit would. (These sound a little complicated, but I think I would have liked them as a child…)
I will give the mozzarella balls a try. Sounds delicious. And the hummus is a great idea too. Thank you!!
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My daughter isn’t diabetic (I am), but she likes hard-boiled eggs, tortilla chips (they have carbs, of course, but you can give a small portion size and choose ones with higher fiber). You can also do a home-made lunchable – slices of cheese, turkey, a few crackers. Some kids, like mine, like things when they are cut up and presented in nice little containers etc.
Susan Newman has recipes in diatribe. It strikes me that some may require a sophisticated palate, but they could be worth a try. Here’s a link to a lunch column she did:
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