The PCOS Diaries: Best Snack Foods

I have started a new series on my blog: The PCOS Diaries. So for anyone that has suffers with PCOS, they can come over and read what I have learnt on my PCOS journey. One of the hardest things are planning snack foods. A lot of things need to be prepared, rather than just grabbed and bought. Because the things that you tend to just grab, are things that are full of sugar and most likely have dairy. Two things to avoid! So here are some ideas for snacky things:

• Sugar-Free Drinks

Sugary drinks, and even too much fruit juice should be avoided. But sometimes you just crave something fizzy (I do at least)! I have been sent some Aspire Drinks* to sample and see if they would be suitable. They are a health drink brand and the drinks help you to manage your sugar levels. The drinks contain no sugar or calories but I find them still full of flavour. The three flavours are mango lemonade, cranberry and apple and acai. The drinks are quite high in natural caffeine, so that is just something to note.

So if you want a fizzy drink, that aims to help you burn calories, even after you have drank it, then this is a good option for you. It’s a good source of vitamins too. At the moment, these drinks are available from Tesco, Holland and Barrett and Amazon, for around 92p per can. I don’t think that is too bad, particularly as they are better for you than similar priced fizzy drinks.

• Nuts, Seeds and Berries

When you have PCOS, some fruit should be avoided. Things like berries are great to have. They are even better if they are eaten alongside nuts and seeds. Which is why some packs like these Real Handful* pouches. it is handy having some packs that you can just grab and go with, rather than making your own up with. Some of the things in them like cranberries are sweetened with sugar, however. So they are usually a pack that gets eaten with the kids having those. It is a shame when you see things always just being sweetened with sugar.

I like the serving size and that you know how many calories you will be eating, though. If you want to try these packs out, then use the code MANCHESTER to get 20% off when you buy from their website. Other places to get them from are Boots, Holland & Barrett and Ocado, priced at just over £1. I think the price is good for what you get as things like nuts and seeds can be expensive.

• Vegetable Crudités and Hummus

Carrot sticks, cucumber and peppers are great to sliced up and raw. Even better when you have some homemade hummus to dip them into. I am obsessed with hummus at the moment and usually make my own, using a Deliciously Ella recipe. It is much quicker and easier to make your own than you might think.

• Dried Fruit

Dried fruit can be a tricky one, as some fruits are better than others to have. You also need to make sure that if you are buying it, they haven’t had any sugar added to them. My favourite brands are Urban Fruit and Bear nibbles. Stick to mango, berries and apricots, if you can.

• Seeded Crackers

I have been making my own crackers recently and they are just divine. They are from the ‘I Quit Sugar’ recipe book and they are full of goodness. It is basically chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, ground almonds and buckwheat flour. Again; with a dip, they taste so good and are perfect for PCOS sufferers.

• Avocado Anything

I watched a Facebook live a few weeks ago with a hormones expert. He said that for people with hormone imbalances (hello PCOS-ers), then ‘half an avocado a day, keeps the doctor away’. So you could mash it and have with tomatoes as a guacamole, or have some on rye bread or crackers.

What are your favourite snacks to have in the day?

*PR samples. All opinions are my own.