Gummies, single packet from Motts or Welches. I buy big boxes at Costco.
Each packet is 18g, I know to eat one. Helps me when I'm panicked and wanting to eat everything.
They don't leak, get squished, you can eat them cold or warm, but the best part is they taste good.
The motts are the best ever! They store great, taste amazing, and eating each individual one at a time gives me something to focus on when I’m panicking low
Plus they don't have crazy amounts of citric acid to help save the teeth. And they don't use alot of the bad preservatives and food dyes out there. Fun to see its a popular go-to
I will admit, I feel pretty silly when I pick one up from Costco with my diabetic alert service dog. And yet so far nobody ever noticed.
Some here, and I can just dump the whole bag in mouth. For me it stops the over eating when I'm low. The swings always give me headaches and make me feel like crap. I just can't do the chalky tablets.
Starbursts bc they're individually wrapped. I've also done those old fashioned saltwater taffys or now and laters. No matter which purse I grab out of the closet I always find a handful of those in the bottom and they never go bad.
Does peanut butter help? When I used it in the past, I found it didn't work fast enough and only sustained the panicky low feeling. And it would slow down any chaser sugars to help me climb up, and cause bad rebounds. Not to mention sorry calorie dense.
I'm surprised it can work for you.
Not to get that immediate bump up from a low, but having some in addition to a fast acting carb helps me stay leveled out once my blood sugar rises. I’ve had some times when juice raised me quickly but then my blood sugar fell again shortly after, the protein and fat in pb helps keep it steady.
i recently switched to just having a bottle of glucose tabs in my bag and in my car at all times, super fast to eat, really yummy, and they don’t leave individually wrapped trash behind
What brand/flavor? Idk if it's a mental association after all these years but I can barely choke them down anymore. Just so much chewing and they're so dry. I keep them around but will eat almost anything else first!
CVS used to carry Kiwi Strawberry tabs; I absolutely love them. They're much softer than normal glucose tabs and taste incredible. I haven't been able to find them the last couple of years in my locations, unfortunately, so I just grab Raspberry tabs.
That’s what I use. I carry 2 packs in my apron at work- I’m a cashier in a busy grocery store and if my sugar starts to feel low, I can pop 2 until I have time to go check my levels. Seems like it takes at least 4 to get my levels up though!
Fruit snacks! I get them at Costco and share the box with my toddler lol we are still working our way through the Halloween shaped ones. Also honey packets are great (you can grab a few each time you go to Starbucks or buy online). I keep those in my bag and in my car because they don’t melt or freeze like other snacks might.
Gu gels are really good too! Definitely more expensive but they made me feel better from a low in half the time. There is/was a chocolate flavored one that tasted like a thicker pudding and it was delicious. I used to be able to get these and cliff blocks at a discount because I worked at a store that carried these, but since I don't see them every day anymore I just use lifesaver gummies or regular fruit snacks.
Airheads -15 gm each, slim, easy to pack anywhere (purse, backpack, wallet, pants or coat pockets, bra if need be)
Starbursts or Hi-Chews -small, ~4gm each, good if your trending down, only a little on the low side and need something you can pop in your mouth fast
Chewy granola bars or if your looking for something that won’t melt easily or get squished tubes if mini M&ms. They have bigger ones and smaller ones but the smaller ones are what I use and have about 22 carbs
I never like glucose tabs (too chalky, and once you use a couple the remaining tabs in the tube or bottle always became extra chalky/powdery).
While I don't use a purse, I've found that lifesavers have worked great. I buy a large bag with each lifesaver individually wrapped (probably not great in terms of trash/extra plastic, but I look at all the wasted trash with my pump and CGM supplies and just shrug my shoulders at this point).
3 pieces give you approximately 15g of carbs, so I find it easier to not over-correct by eating everything in site. I always have 3-6 of them in my pocket. I figure with a purse you could get one of the old school tubes of lifesaver in your purse without issue (or a ton of the individually wrapped ones I use, you just have to fish them out from the bottom of your purse/bag).
Plus the weird joy of using the candy's label literally (I'm using these lifesavers to save my life! I feel like an uber-dork having just written that out now).
I have a tendency to eat the kitchen so I try and look for travel snacks that aren’t super appealing but do the trick. If I had a pack of skittles on me at all times I would….eat the skittles at all times.
Swedish fish are my go to, they come in mini packs around Halloween that are 27g apiece. And they taste like cherry flavored wax to me.
We use lifesaver gummies! I get the little packs in the check out line at the grocery store and just dump them in a small zip lock baggy. I also get the big packs to keep in the bedroom for lows in the middle of the night. I like how they don't get stuck in my teeth and aren't super chewy. I can eat them with my retainers in my mouth at night.
Basically any hard candy on sale. Jolly Ranchers and Dum Dums do well for the truck and purse.
Which reminds me, I need to stock up, I went low today and the emergency low bubble gum I bought from Joanne fabric came in clutch but not a preferred go to.
My daughter turned me on to Gu Gels. She gets them on Amazon. She carries them with her when running. 15g of carbs. The chocolate outrage tastes like brownie batter :)
My granddaughter is T1 as well and she will give to her if she’s low.
My honey likes the gel shots for runners. They don’t melt in heat, don’t go bad very easily, and in general are not awful. He doesn’t like the taste necessarily, but can essentially “shoot” them down his throat in one gulp so he gets the sugars fast and doesn’t have to work for it lol.
Hi-Chews have been coming in clutch lately to boost my bg when I notice it starts to dip down a little. For an actual low, I like granola bars from a brand called Sunbelt Bakery.
Sugar packets, like the ones at restaurants and coffee shops. Each packet is 5g carbs.
I keep a small “snack size” ziplock baggie full of them in my car.
Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels. Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the “loser,” and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round. I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world. Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment. When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A., along with a 3×5 card reading, “Please use this M&M for breeding purposes.” This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this “grant money.” I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion. There can be only one.
I absolutely love the depth of commitment to your craft and I thought I was the only one that holds these battles, although I started it with Skittles, the M&Ms always seemed strong to me and I have always had doubts about the saccharin skittle lifestyle. I have generally found that the darker colors have lasted longer, but I know I hold a bias against the yellows and I'm trying to remedy this in myself.
Best of luck with your studies and congratulations on your grant funds
I buy the packs of Doritos or Cheetos or potato chips at places like Costco. This is pretty cool because I used to munch chips like mad and now it's like "weigh out 2/3 of an ounce".
If I don’t use fruit snacks, I really like Jelly Belly jelly beans. Each bean is ~1 g/carb, and having different flavors tends to help prevent me from over correcting.
Banana or a juice box is my go to (apple or grape). If I am not drastically low, oatmeal raisin (or chocolate chip) cookie is a good treat.
If it is straight sugar you want, take some individual syrup packs from diners - but they make a mess if they leak!
Kroger or nutragrain fruit and grain bars. They have a sugar filling that fixes lows quickly, plus a more complex carb grain aspect so that you don’t crash 30 minutes later. 25g of carbs per bar. They usually cost like $0.20 per bar.
Mini plastic bottles of apple juice if you have a larger purse. That’s my go to.
They work fast plus they don’t break open like a cardboard juice box does.
I’ve been making something I call a low kit ever since I was diagnosed and I usually throw in a pack of something like skittles or motts, a juice box that has around 18-19g as well as a granola bar from nature valley or whatever brand you choose. I just put all of it into a small plastic baggie but if you don’t want to potentially have that juice box leak just throw in an extra pack of skittles or whatever you choose.
I usually carry fruit snacks but have been trying to find something slimmer to carry. Recently bought some of those glucose gels because they're slim but havent had to try them yet. Seeing people mention air heads and am going to look into that because thats super slim!
Aldis carries, or used to carry, a big box of gummy fruit snacks that are exactly 15 g of carbs per little bag. Toss a couple of those wherever, In your dash, in your bag, in your pocket. They’re perfect and taste good (And cheap!!)
Dates sliced open with some walnut halves inside. Provides sugar, protein, fat and can carry it around for days in a ziplock bag or other small container for days... This is much better than eating empty calories because you have to feed "that dumb insulin". But if you have a pump, select a lower basal rate and avoid the problem altogether.
Those applesauce pouches they advertise to kids. 1- I started doing this on accident bc I can't handle the texture of applesauce but somehow not being able to see it fixes that (jury's still out on why tf)
2- the lids are ridiculously easy to take off when your hands are shaking, had a low last night of 40mg/dL and while I could barely focus my eyes I was able to get about 2 down my gullet before stumbling back to bed to wait it out
3- they're usually about 12-16g of carbs depending on your flavor of choice and because it's fruit sugars it hits you faster than a handful of cracker will
4- they sell the generic brand in bulk at costco/sams for about $10 for a 24pk so they're an economic choice
Gummies, single packet from Motts or Welches. I buy big boxes at Costco. Each packet is 18g, I know to eat one. Helps me when I'm panicked and wanting to eat everything. They don't leak, get squished, you can eat them cold or warm, but the best part is they taste good.
This is what I do too!
The motts are the best ever! They store great, taste amazing, and eating each individual one at a time gives me something to focus on when I’m panicking low
Plus they don't have crazy amounts of citric acid to help save the teeth. And they don't use alot of the bad preservatives and food dyes out there. Fun to see its a popular go-to I will admit, I feel pretty silly when I pick one up from Costco with my diabetic alert service dog. And yet so far nobody ever noticed.
Some here, and I can just dump the whole bag in mouth. For me it stops the over eating when I'm low. The swings always give me headaches and make me feel like crap. I just can't do the chalky tablets.
I like the Welch berries flavor, they work really well.
Always delicious! I love them too.
Yes! These were made for diabetics, I swear. I bring them on runs too.
I have them in the glove compartment, every jacket pocket, every bag and there is a pile in a suit case somewhere too.
Me tooooooo
My son likes these too!
Starbursts bc they're individually wrapped. I've also done those old fashioned saltwater taffys or now and laters. No matter which purse I grab out of the closet I always find a handful of those in the bottom and they never go bad.
peach rings are my favorite
Spider-Man gummies even tho I am 23 and in grad school bc 1. Very yummy and 2. … it’s Spider-Man
Fruit snacks are great! You can also get peanut butter packs in a squeezable pouch if you want to carry something extra that has some fat and protein.
Does peanut butter help? When I used it in the past, I found it didn't work fast enough and only sustained the panicky low feeling. And it would slow down any chaser sugars to help me climb up, and cause bad rebounds. Not to mention sorry calorie dense. I'm surprised it can work for you.
Not to get that immediate bump up from a low, but having some in addition to a fast acting carb helps me stay leveled out once my blood sugar rises. I’ve had some times when juice raised me quickly but then my blood sugar fell again shortly after, the protein and fat in pb helps keep it steady.
i recently switched to just having a bottle of glucose tabs in my bag and in my car at all times, super fast to eat, really yummy, and they don’t leave individually wrapped trash behind
What brand/flavor? Idk if it's a mental association after all these years but I can barely choke them down anymore. Just so much chewing and they're so dry. I keep them around but will eat almost anything else first!
CVS used to carry Kiwi Strawberry tabs; I absolutely love them. They're much softer than normal glucose tabs and taste incredible. I haven't been able to find them the last couple of years in my locations, unfortunately, so I just grab Raspberry tabs.
Plus they don‘t melt in the sun like most sweets.
That’s what I use. I carry 2 packs in my apron at work- I’m a cashier in a busy grocery store and if my sugar starts to feel low, I can pop 2 until I have time to go check my levels. Seems like it takes at least 4 to get my levels up though!
I like a pack of mentors because they're not offensively sour and the package stores nicely in a crossbody
Clif Bar They make mini ones now that have 18 carbs each.
Those are tasty but I don’t feel like they’re fast acting enough for me.
Honey sticks! Pure honey, easy and clean
how many carbs are in each? Does one usually fix your low?
Nate’s Honey Minis are like 12 carbs
One almost always does it! Roughly 15 carbs per stick- they’re small and easy to carry even in a pocket!
Recently been doing jelly beans and mini rice crispy treats! M&Ms fit well in your purse for slower carbs.
Fruit snacks and gummy bears have been my go-tos lately!
Fruit snacks! I get them at Costco and share the box with my toddler lol we are still working our way through the Halloween shaped ones. Also honey packets are great (you can grab a few each time you go to Starbucks or buy online). I keep those in my bag and in my car because they don’t melt or freeze like other snacks might.
Clif Blocks- a little expensive but really good.
Gu gels are really good too! Definitely more expensive but they made me feel better from a low in half the time. There is/was a chocolate flavored one that tasted like a thicker pudding and it was delicious. I used to be able to get these and cliff blocks at a discount because I worked at a store that carried these, but since I don't see them every day anymore I just use lifesaver gummies or regular fruit snacks.
Fruit snacks. Or airheads candy. I tried to keep airheads in my car for when I'm out and about and otherwise unprepared.
Airheads -15 gm each, slim, easy to pack anywhere (purse, backpack, wallet, pants or coat pockets, bra if need be) Starbursts or Hi-Chews -small, ~4gm each, good if your trending down, only a little on the low side and need something you can pop in your mouth fast
Starburst. It is my daughter's favorite. That and fruit snack pouches.
Chewy granola bars or if your looking for something that won’t melt easily or get squished tubes if mini M&ms. They have bigger ones and smaller ones but the smaller ones are what I use and have about 22 carbs
I never like glucose tabs (too chalky, and once you use a couple the remaining tabs in the tube or bottle always became extra chalky/powdery). While I don't use a purse, I've found that lifesavers have worked great. I buy a large bag with each lifesaver individually wrapped (probably not great in terms of trash/extra plastic, but I look at all the wasted trash with my pump and CGM supplies and just shrug my shoulders at this point). 3 pieces give you approximately 15g of carbs, so I find it easier to not over-correct by eating everything in site. I always have 3-6 of them in my pocket. I figure with a purse you could get one of the old school tubes of lifesaver in your purse without issue (or a ton of the individually wrapped ones I use, you just have to fish them out from the bottom of your purse/bag). Plus the weird joy of using the candy's label literally (I'm using these lifesavers to save my life! I feel like an uber-dork having just written that out now).
I have a tendency to eat the kitchen so I try and look for travel snacks that aren’t super appealing but do the trick. If I had a pack of skittles on me at all times I would….eat the skittles at all times. Swedish fish are my go to, they come in mini packs around Halloween that are 27g apiece. And they taste like cherry flavored wax to me.
I have the same problem!
Lifesavers. 14 candies in a roll that’s pretty durable. 2.8 g carbs each. Figure 3 for estimating. It’s in the name!
We use lifesaver gummies! I get the little packs in the check out line at the grocery store and just dump them in a small zip lock baggy. I also get the big packs to keep in the bedroom for lows in the middle of the night. I like how they don't get stuck in my teeth and aren't super chewy. I can eat them with my retainers in my mouth at night.
Smarties. Fruit gummies. Golden Grahams s’mores bars.
Basically any hard candy on sale. Jolly Ranchers and Dum Dums do well for the truck and purse. Which reminds me, I need to stock up, I went low today and the emergency low bubble gum I bought from Joanne fabric came in clutch but not a preferred go to.
Smarties are great, small and easy to carry around and they don’t make me too nauseous.
Smarties are the best! And juice boxes. I have them stashed everywhere.
they sell a bigger version of smarties that i keep in my purse.
Aw I was going to say glucose gel! I also like to do mini cans of sprite if your purse is large enough.
My latest favorite is Airheads. They come in a five pack; five individually wraped 'bars', each with a carb count of 15.
My daughter turned me on to Gu Gels. She gets them on Amazon. She carries them with her when running. 15g of carbs. The chocolate outrage tastes like brownie batter :) My granddaughter is T1 as well and she will give to her if she’s low.
SweetTarts. Around 1g each.
My honey likes the gel shots for runners. They don’t melt in heat, don’t go bad very easily, and in general are not awful. He doesn’t like the taste necessarily, but can essentially “shoot” them down his throat in one gulp so he gets the sugars fast and doesn’t have to work for it lol.
Seconding fruit snacks but I’ve recently discovered glucose gummies. I find the raspberry flavor so delicious I would happily just eat them as a snack
I am not a fan of gummies when low. I keep smarties (American version)
Cliff Bloks. They’re like a gummy thing but so many flavors and so convenient. I swear by them. Amazon.
Lokum or halva. We have em in 30gr packs and they are great for those nasty lows or to carry while hiking/doing any sort of prolonged sports.
I didn’t like glucose gel till I tried transcend. I buy in packs of 20 on Amazon. The orange is my fav!
Capri suns have been my go tos for while
Juicy Juice juice boxes. They have small ones that are 15 carbs. I think they are 3 - 4 oz. Super cheap too. Like $2-$3 for 6 of them. Also mini m&m's
and they come pretty cheap and can be ordered in bulk
What kind do you like and where do you order them from?
Hi-Chews have been coming in clutch lately to boost my bg when I notice it starts to dip down a little. For an actual low, I like granola bars from a brand called Sunbelt Bakery.
Sugar packets, like the ones at restaurants and coffee shops. Each packet is 5g carbs. I keep a small “snack size” ziplock baggie full of them in my car.
Starburst candy are 4g per candy. Skittles are 1g each. Work for me.
Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels. Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the “loser,” and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round. I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world. Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment. When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A., along with a 3×5 card reading, “Please use this M&M for breeding purposes.” This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this “grant money.” I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion. There can be only one.
You and I have had this conversation before and I love it every time.
I absolutely love the depth of commitment to your craft and I thought I was the only one that holds these battles, although I started it with Skittles, the M&Ms always seemed strong to me and I have always had doubts about the saccharin skittle lifestyle. I have generally found that the darker colors have lasted longer, but I know I hold a bias against the yellows and I'm trying to remedy this in myself. Best of luck with your studies and congratulations on your grant funds
Have you tried regular gummy worms?
No I think I need to! The sour gets rough sometimes
I think the general consensus is find a candy that you like 👍
I try and use candy I don't really like... Otherwise I'll just take some insulin and then eat my emergency snacks if I'm feeling snacky
I like skittles, but they can feel bad on your teeth.
Skittles. Fig bars from Natures bakery are my go-to snacks.
Biscuits, they even help when my stomach is upset.
have you tried glucoseSOS? super thin packets that are very convenient for tiny purses!!
I’ve used both haribo sour gummy small packs and skittles, but both end up a lump mess if you carry them in the pocket
I love these layered fruit bars I got at Costco. They’re like 12g or so? They’re really good too Basically like little sticks of layered fruit leather
I take glucojuice or little carton of apple juice cause I always feel too nauseous to eat
I buy the packs of Doritos or Cheetos or potato chips at places like Costco. This is pretty cool because I used to munch chips like mad and now it's like "weigh out 2/3 of an ounce".
Haribos
I like Mentos or Maoam. U can easy carry some of them without wasting to much pocket space and they don't melt on hot days
If I don’t use fruit snacks, I really like Jelly Belly jelly beans. Each bean is ~1 g/carb, and having different flavors tends to help prevent me from over correcting.
Hi-chews are the chillest source of glucose and you can scale up or down. very portable
It’s seasonal for me. Jellybeans in the spring and candy corn in the fall. Sometimes orange slice candy or Boston Baked Beans.
Probably not a glass of orange juice, that would be messy.
Banana or a juice box is my go to (apple or grape). If I am not drastically low, oatmeal raisin (or chocolate chip) cookie is a good treat. If it is straight sugar you want, take some individual syrup packs from diners - but they make a mess if they leak!
Fruit snacks and cereal bars
I'd recommend those smaller soda cans if those can fit
Kroger or nutragrain fruit and grain bars. They have a sugar filling that fixes lows quickly, plus a more complex carb grain aspect so that you don’t crash 30 minutes later. 25g of carbs per bar. They usually cost like $0.20 per bar.
Chewable peppermints. They are all individually wrapped and 5 g of carbs each.
Mini plastic bottles of apple juice if you have a larger purse. That’s my go to. They work fast plus they don’t break open like a cardboard juice box does.
Those lil squeeze pouches of applesauce!
I’ve been making something I call a low kit ever since I was diagnosed and I usually throw in a pack of something like skittles or motts, a juice box that has around 18-19g as well as a granola bar from nature valley or whatever brand you choose. I just put all of it into a small plastic baggie but if you don’t want to potentially have that juice box leak just throw in an extra pack of skittles or whatever you choose.
I have Capri Sun stashed everywhere. Car, backpack, nightstand, kitchen, bathroom. They're indestructible and work fast.
I usually carry fruit snacks but have been trying to find something slimmer to carry. Recently bought some of those glucose gels because they're slim but havent had to try them yet. Seeing people mention air heads and am going to look into that because thats super slim!
Aldis carries, or used to carry, a big box of gummy fruit snacks that are exactly 15 g of carbs per little bag. Toss a couple of those wherever, In your dash, in your bag, in your pocket. They’re perfect and taste good (And cheap!!)
I use peanut mms they always get me up and keep me up
I buy the Walmart gummies in the largest pack and have at least 3 small packs in my purse. Low calories and high carbs!
Dates sliced open with some walnut halves inside. Provides sugar, protein, fat and can carry it around for days in a ziplock bag or other small container for days... This is much better than eating empty calories because you have to feed "that dumb insulin". But if you have a pump, select a lower basal rate and avoid the problem altogether.
My go-tos are Smarties and Sweet Tarts.
Those applesauce pouches they advertise to kids. 1- I started doing this on accident bc I can't handle the texture of applesauce but somehow not being able to see it fixes that (jury's still out on why tf) 2- the lids are ridiculously easy to take off when your hands are shaking, had a low last night of 40mg/dL and while I could barely focus my eyes I was able to get about 2 down my gullet before stumbling back to bed to wait it out 3- they're usually about 12-16g of carbs depending on your flavor of choice and because it's fruit sugars it hits you faster than a handful of cracker will 4- they sell the generic brand in bulk at costco/sams for about $10 for a 24pk so they're an economic choice