Extend Snacks Review and Giveaway

After 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”.

I 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:

• 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. **