Monday, July 1, 2013

Extend Snacks Review and Giveaway

extend nutrition_bars_shakes_crisps_drizzlesAfter being diagnosed in 1979, when sugar was 100% off the table for people with diabetes, my mom always bought me snacks that were labeled “for diabetics”.  They were full of artificial ingredients and didn’t taste very good, but at the time a mediocre cookie seemed better than no cookie at all.  (Unless I snuck the "real" cookies, not that I ever did that.  Much.  *lying*)  Anyway, today we have better insulin and carb counting and such, and I usually run screaming from anything labeled “diabetic friendly” because I assume they are laden with chemical substances.  But when a representative from Extend emailed asking if I’d like to sample their products, I made an exception.  And I did so because the Extend line was created by Dr. Francine Kaufman, past president of the ADA and chief medical officer at Medtronic.  I’ve been lucky enough to meet Dr. Kaufman when I attended the Medtronic summits.  I really respect Dr. Kaufman and I know she is an advocate for healthy food choices.  According to Extend, the products are “clinically proven to help control blood sugar for up to 6-9 hours”.

ExtendCrisps WhiteCheddarI was interested in trying either the Crisps or the Drizzles, and they were kind enough to send me a sampling of both.  The first ingredient in both products is soy, which I’m not a huge fan of so the first bite I had each time was kind of weird tasting to me.  BUT only the first bite, then my taste buds adjusted and the snacks were quite tasty.  My favorite was the White Cheddar Crisps.  They kind of remind me of SmartFood, which I love!  When I ate the snacks before bed I did find my CGM graph stayed level overnight with no pesky alarms.  For me, the single serve packs work well too, because crispy snacks are a huge weakness of mine and I will tend to eat way more than one serving at at time.  I also like that I can easily toss a bag in my purse for a snack on the go - the rest of my stash will be great for travel snacks as I head to Friends for Life next week.

Would you like to try Extend products for yourself?  Well, Extend has offered a wonderful prize package to be given away to one of you!  It includes:
Extend Nutrition Gift Basket
  • Your choice of 5 bags of Extend Drizzles (Caramel Bliss and/or Chocolate Dream)
  • Your choice of 5 bags of Extend Crisps (Cinnamon, BBQ, Zesty Ranch, Italian Herb, White Cheddar, or Variety)
  • Your choice of 5 Extend Shake mixes (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, or Variety)
  • And your choice of 15 Extend Bars (Chocolate, Peanut, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Apple Cinnamon, Mixed Berry, or Variety)
I’m going to make it really really easy to enter - just leave a comment on this post and you are in!  Yay!!  The contest will close at midnight tomorrow and I will announce the winner on Wednesday.

As part of the promotion, Extend has also offered a discount code that will save you 20% off your entire order with no minimum purchase.  If you order more than $42 worth of products you’ll also get free shipping!  Just use promo code KARENG at checkout to get your discount.

** Disclosure - I received this sample Extend products free of charge.  The give-away and discount is also provided by Extend.  As always, my opinions are my own. **

28 comments:

  1. Awesome! I love when "diabetic friendly" foods actually taste great! Checking out their website for sure. Thanks for sharing this. :)

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  2. These sound promising! I'm always looking for different snacks to eat during the day.

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  3. I would love a diabetes friendly snack that tastes good and fits into my busy college lifestyle on the run!

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  4. Cool! Did you happen to try this multiple times in the evening? I have big troubles finding tasty snacks for before bed that don't totally screw up my night numbers.

    The coolest thing about this post might be that you have your own promo code ;)

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    1. Tee hee, I know, I'm a promo code!! LOL

      I think I tried them on two separate nights. My overnight basals seem to be really good right now, but I do tend to ride the low threshold of my CGM. The snacks before bed seemed to keep me steady in the 80s and 90s, as opposed to steady in the 40s and 50s.

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  5. I would love to try a new "diabetic friendly" food that tastes great! Thanks for sampling it for us!

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  6. Gotta love purse-friendly snacks! Thanks Karen. :)

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  7. Awesome! "Sugar-free" and "Diabetic Friendly" foods always left a bad taste in my mouth :P I would rather have the 'real' stuff in moderation than a poor substitute. If these really taste incredible AND don't spike my numbers - I'm in! Thanks for letting us in on a good thing! (I also think you have entered the "Big Time" when you become a promo code!)

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  8. I want to win! Thanks for sharing Karen!

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  9. My daughter would love to try more snacks! Thanks for the review, and love the promo code.

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  10. Wonderful - what a great chance to try a new product! Especially one that can help maintain blood sugar levels over time!

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  11. Do you bolus for these snacks or do you just eat them without extra insulin?

    Viive

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    1. Definitely bolus for them. They have carb counts on the package, the flavors I tried were about 15 - 17 grams of carbs per package.

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  12. They should ask Christopher Angell to design their labels. These look all diabetes-y. WHINE!

    But I still want to be in the contest!

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  13. I'm in. I always need help finding snacks that could help with my blood sugar control. Something that is not going too well at the moment. :-(
    thanks!
    blessings
    ~*~

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  14. I am always interested in finding new snacks for my desk at work! Glad you liked them.

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  15. I'm always willing to try new products especially when it comes to food! ;)

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  16. New snacks? Yes, I'd love to try some.

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  17. Looks good! Pick me! Pick me! ;-)

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  18. An snack that keep blood sugars somewhat stable would be a real "treat".... Sorry, I just couldn't resist that one! Anxious to try these.

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  19. It would be so nice to finally have a snack that keeps blood sugar levels normal... I'd love to have some of these for work, and for when my husband and I move!

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  20. Diabetic friendly snacks that are appealing? Wow, isn't that unheard of?

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  21. I love trying new food products.

    dlatany at gmail dot com

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  22. Hi Karen. I remember the Diamel, Loeb, and Estee companies that produced candies. (I am not sure of the spellings.) Some of these companies made sugar free candies and cookies many years ago. I think my parents bought them for me as early as the 1950's. Since I never ate sugar, these treats were wonderful!! It is so different now. We can have treats with sugar if we know how to handle them. I eat sugary treats in the afternoon before my exercise, and I bolus for them. No problem. Without fast acting insulin and carb counting, that was not possible in the past.

    I hope to see you at FFL!

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    1. I definitely remember the Estee products. My mom used the buy them for me all the time!!

      Yes, I will see you next week!

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  23. I am always on the prowl for great snacks! My little D-girl is quite picky! I wonder if she would be willing to try these. It is so hard when you have a child that is a picky eater but when that child is T1D...certainly ups the UGH factor! LOL!! CWDFFL here we come!!! See you there!!! :-)

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  24. Wow! This looks like such an awesome assortment of snacks- and they all sound delicious too!!
    Ttrockwood(at)yahoo(dot)com
    Ttrockwood

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  25. These would be great for my daughter to take to her summer day camp for snacks as there are plenty of peanut free choices. We are having a hard time with her usual snacks since nuts are not allowed.

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