Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Sugar Shot, Sweet Bean Style

Reyna, over at Beta Buddies, was the first to come up with this idea...at least I'm pretty sure it was her.  I know it was where I saw it first...if it was someone else, please let me know and I'll be happy to give credit where credit is due!

Sometimes you just need a little BG boost.

Times when a juice box would be way too much.

Times when a Go-Go Applesauce would be too much.

Times when a glucose tab just doesn't strike your fancy...or is just down right REFUSED.  (For the record, Bean is a refuser of gluc tabs....I'm talking run the other direction kind of refuser!)

Times when you need a 'sugar shot.'

What, pray tell, is a sugar shot?  Well, it's a container of fast acting sugar that is easily consumed.  The container of choice is usually a used (but washed) test strip container.  I mean, who doesn't have a ton of them!

We, until recently were using them, too.  However, Ubergeek was doing some surfing on the interwebz and found out that the plastic used for the test strip containers contain a desiccant to help keep moisture from degrading the test strips.

This is what we found when we broke apart the containers we have.
The plastic isn't solid, it has a grainy substance incorporated into the
plastic.  Enough to make us a bit wary of using them for food.

Now, some desiccants are harmless...like the ones used in table salt to keep it from clumping. Some are not so harmless.  Not knowing (and not being able to find out so far in all the of searches I've done) which kind of desiccant is used in our particular test strip containers, we've decided to find alternative containers for Bean's sugar shots.  There is, and will never be, judgement on your personal choice to use or not use test strip containers.  Just trying to pass along some information so you can make an informed decision for yourself.

We happened to have an empty Tic Tac container, but it (a) was kinda big, (b) could hold way more carbs than Bean needs, and (c) made A LOT of noise when the appropriate amount of carbs were in it.

So, I went on a quest for small containers to use.  I ended up at Michaels, in the beading supplies aisle, perusing all the little bitty plastic containers they had to offer.

I found a set of 12 cylindrical containers in a carrying case that looked like the right size...silly me forgot to bring along a sample of contents for the sugar shot!  Plus, it was on sale 40% off!  Score!  So for $4.97, I have 12 sugar shot containers.

Bean isn't a 'candy lover,' so her sugar shot contents of choice are mini M&Ms.  I have been using Christmas ones that I got on clearance at Target, but with the lows of camp last week, our supply was just about gone. I scored some at Fred Meyer, on sale at $0.65.

So, all told, Bean now has 11 sugar shots (only had enough M&Ms for 11!) for a cost of $0.69 each.  Not bad!

Here's what they look like...




here's the label, in case you're interested in exactly what container it is


For our sugar shots, I used 13g weight of M&Ms, which works out to be 9g carbs.  The containers can actually hold 17g weight of them, but that's more carbs than Bean needs for her BG boost.  But, if your needs require a bit more carbs, you have the room!

These sugar shots will be great for Bean's kit, my purse, the classroom, nurse's office, front office.  Small, easy, and effective BG booster.  Love it! :)


5 comments:

  1. HOW fabulous!! I AM SO excited about this!! THANKS so much for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so going to do this!
    Thanks for the research on the strip containers. I always wondered what magic they were made out of. You can tell the plastic is thicker

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a great idea and super cute and colorful! I have been leary of using the strips containers for food so appreciate you all researching this. Thanks for sharing this!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those containers are genius! We never did rely on test strip containers... too bulky for us. We rely on individually wrapped lifesavers, the big kind. They are 4 grams each. She hates glucose tabs and is really sick of the Lifesavers so they are definitely medicine and she will not snack on them. She used to like starbursts, also four grams, but they mush when you put them in a pants pocket. Those Lifesavers hold up well... I have many times accidentally put them through a wash cycle and even the dryer and they are usually intact.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice find! A friend of mine uses a weekly pill container (you know the sun-sat ones)... She has each "day" marked with a bg range/ carb amount (i.e. 30-40= 18 carbs, 40-50= 14 carbs) that will get her back up to range.

    ReplyDelete

Hey, Thanks for sharing!! Your comments make me :)!!
Had to turn on comment moderation due to silly spammers....