Low Blood Sugar, Be Gone!

Every day around 3 pm, my blood sugar plummets and I get very lightheaded like I'm going to pass out. I realize that I am starving and search for something to eat. Because I feel like I am going to fall over if I don't eat RIGHT NOW, I look for something quick. I usually go for chips, crackers, or brownies and end up eating way too much. Afterwards I feel bloated and lethargic. I'm not hungry for dinner and barely eat what I prepare for my family. It's an ugly cycle and I wanted to change it.

I spoke with a good friend and asked her for healthy, energizing snack ideas and she suggested complex carbohydrates for a midday pick me up. I took her advice and have been making myself yummy, healthy small plates around 2:30 everyday to avoid the blood sugar crash at 3.

I thought about the things I really like to eat as snacks - fruit, cheese, cured meats, olives - and realized I was basically craving an antipasto platter!

Clockwise: olives, spicy artichoke hearts, whole milk mozzarella, plum wedges, pepperonis. 

Clockwise: white peach wedges, Monterey Jack cheese, olives, hummus and crackers. 

Clockwise: grapes, kalamata olive bread, olives, turkey, manchego cheese. 

I have the most fun curating my small plates with foods that complement each other. I always have fruit, olives, cheese, and protein selections and look for foods that are different each week. The goal is to refuel my body, not fill up, so I make a small tasting of each item. Where's the wine?! Wouldn't a glass of red be perfect with those plates??

By making my snack before my 3 o'clock crash time and selecting healthy complex carbs, I avoid the lightheadedness and the lethargy that follows from eating junk. And it's just enough food to last until dinner. By 6pm, I'm hungry again and can eat with my family. It has worked out so well and I haven't felt my blood sugar dip in few a weeks. Hooray for health!