Diabetes and pregnancy: extra snack ideas

This leaflet aims to provide some additional snack ideas for you to consider between meals. The list has been divided into two sections:

• carbohydrate-free snacks
• carbohydrate-containing snacks

Carbohydrate-free snacks

This type of snack has little or no impact on blood glucose, and can be enjoyed at any time of day.

• Antipasti – sun blushed tomatoes, roasted vegetables (such as peppers and courgettes)
• Olives
• Avocado
• Pickled onions or gherkins
• Cheese cubes (ensure pasteurised and avoid mould-ripened soft cheese)
• Quorn slices
• Cocktail sausages
• Salad (thoroughly washed)
• Cold meats (avoid all pâté and deli meats, and ensure well-cooked)
• Seeds
• Cooked fish such as sliced salmon, mackerel, prawns and seafood sticks
• Small corn on the cob
• Eggs (avoid undercooked or raw eggs without the Lion Code)
• Sugar-free jelly
• Grilled asparagus wrapped in cooked ham
• Sugar-free lollies (homemade or bought)
• Grilled mushrooms with cheese (or other spreads or dips inside)
• Tofu (without the sugar-rich marinades such as Hoisin)
• Lettuce roll-ups with cooked meat, bacon, egg, tuna, cream cheese or another filling
• Tomatoes (cherry, plum or salad tomatoes)
• Nuts (unless otherwise advised)
• Tuna and sweetcorn with shop-bought mayonnaise (limit tuna to four medium-sized cans per week)

Vegetable sticks – should be thoroughly washed. They can be served alone or with a dip.

• Carrot
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Peppers

Dip ideas

• Cottage cheese
• Guacamole
• Houmous
• Shop-bought mayonnaise
• Sour cream
• Nut butters (unless advised otherwise)

Carbohydrate-containing snacks

These are best eaten 90 to 120 minutes after breakfast and lunch.

• A cup of berries with or without a spoon of crème fraîche (when made with frozen fruit can be an enjoyable substitute for ice cream)
• 3 or 4 plums
• 1 small apple
• 2 oat cakes
• 1 small banana (fun size/kid size)
• 2 whole-wheat crackers
• 1 or 2 clementines
• 1 slice of wholemeal bread
• 10 to 12 grapes
• 1-2 plain digestive biscuits
• 1 peach
• 1-2 plain hobnobs
• 1 nectarine
• No added sugar Angel Delight®
• 1 pear
• 1 small glass of pasteurised milk
• 1 orange
• 1 small glass of oat milk
• 1 kiwi
• 1 yoghurt (14g or less total carbohydrate)
• 70% dark chocolate: one large square or three smaller squares
• Small bag of crisps (Kettle or Walkers are best as cut from the potatoes and less processed)

Drink ideas

• Diet soft drinks (you are advised to limit caffeine in pregnancy – note that Cola has caffeine)
• Sugar-free squash
• Unsweetened soya milk
• Unsweetened coconut milk
• Unsweetened almond milk
• Unsweetened pea milk
• Cadbury’s Highlights
• Cocoa powder

Please continue to avoid foods not recommended in pregnancy. Refer to the NHS advice on 'Foods to avoid in pregnancy' (opens in a new tab), or ask anyone from the diabetes in pregnancy team.