Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1656 Bolus 4 – Little Bites

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Jenny Smith
Date: October 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this Bolus 4 mini-series episode, Scott Benner and Jenny Smith tackle real-world bolusing strategies for a common but tricky food: Little Bites chocolate chip muffins. Anchored around their user-friendly "Meal BOLT" framework, they unpack why these sweet treats are so difficult to manage for people with diabetes and share practical, achievable approaches for dosing insulin and minimizing glucose spikes. This episode blends listener experiences, humor, and science-backed advice—all with a supportive, conversational tone.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

What Are “Little Bites” and Why Are They Challenging?

• Scott brings up Little Bites chocolate chip muffins after sharing that diabetes taught him to avoid them for his own kids due to post-eating issues. (01:28)

  • “Do you know a little something called Little Bites chocolate chip muffins?” — Scott (01:28)

• The muffins are small, individually packed, “sugar bombs in a package,” as Jenny calls them. (03:23)

• Nutritional breakdown of a pouch (five muffins):

  • Calories: 190
  • Fat: 9g
  • Cholesterol: 20mg
  • Sodium: 150mg
  • Sugars: 17g (all added)
  • Total Carbs: 27g
  • Protein: 2g

  “More than 50% of these muffins is sugar.”
  — Jenny (03:16)

• Main ingredients are sugar and white flour—making for a super-fast glucose hit.

• Manufactured by Entenmann’s/Bimbo Bakeries; joking about preservatives and “fortified” labels:

  “They’re the packaged thing that looks like even after the apocalypse, they probably wouldn’t be moldy…”
  — Jenny (01:52)

Community Experiences: Why Are These Muffins So Notorious?

• Scott shares that Little Bites are a top concern among listeners—only outpaced by foods like pancakes and Cinnabon rolls. (04:49)

• A parent’s detailed experience:

  • Daughter eats them nearly every morning on MDI (multiple daily injections).
  • Original approach: 45-minute pre-bolus; still sees a postprandial spike to 230 mg/dL, sometimes up to 300 mg/dL.
  • Experimentation leads to new routine: Pairing muffins with protein (egg or breakfast meat), eating protein first, pre-bolus of 30 minutes, plus 4–6 oz water before the meal.
  • Result: Post-meal spike now limited to 160–170 mg/dL and quick return to target.

  “A win is a win.”
  — Scott (05:38)

  “Kudos to this person, this family, honestly, for sticking with it and saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to figure it out.’”
  — Jenny (06:47)

Applying the Meal BOLT Framework

Scott and Jenny reference their Meal BOLT approach for every “Bolus 4” episode. For Little Bites, the steps are:

1. Measure the Meal:
   • Assess carbs, protein, fat; in this case, mostly carbs/sugar.
2. Evaluate Yourself:
   • Consider blood sugar upon waking (and hydration).
   • “Is our blood sugar 150? 180? 70?” — Scott (08:50)
3. Add the Base Units:
   • Calculate insulin needed (here, ~2.7 units for 27g carbs).
4. Layer a Correction:
   • Adjust if pre-meal BG is out of target.
5. Build the Bolus Shape:
   • For Little Bites: sharp, front-loaded glucose spike.
   • Pre-bolus timing is critical (30–45 min).
   • Extended bolus? Risk of delayed crash if overdone.
6. Offset the Timing:
   • Pre-bolus strongly recommended; protein/fat before carbs slows absorption.
7. Look at the CGM:
   • “Take a look at your CGM an hour later, make adjustments if you need to.” — Scott (09:48)
8. Tweak for Next Time:
   • Repeat experiments, learn and adapt.

“If she were to make the pre-bolus that long and give a little too much insulin, there was a crash. So she gets that all figured out. It’s a tough one for me.”
— Scott (09:17)

“The proteins and the fats are huge, especially along the lines of starting with them first so that it creates almost a slower digestion to get going.”
— Jenny (06:47)

Homemade vs. Packaged Muffins: Why Does it Matter?

• Scott compares the blood sugar impact of homemade muffins (using a King Arthur recipe: 50g carbs per regular muffin, no bleached flour or artificial additives) to Little Bites:

  • Despite nearly double the carbs, the homemade version causes less extreme spikes.

• Ingredient deep-dive:

  • Little Bites have sugar and refined white flour as primary ingredients, plus preservatives and emulsifiers.
  • Homemade uses real butter, sugar, eggs, unbleached flour.

  “Did not hit Arden nearly as hard.” — Scott (12:11)

• Jenny explains it’s the simplicity and quality of ingredients—particularly highly refined sugar/flour and many artificial additives in Little Bites—that create a faster, harder glucose spike. (13:41)

  “It’s the simplicity of the ingredients.”
  — Jenny (13:41)

Strategies for Taming the “Rocket Fuel” Spike

• Pre-bolus at least 30–45 minutes before eating, as appropriate to your body’s response.
• Pair high-glycemic, low-protein foods with a protein/fat source, consuming these stabilizing elements first.
  • “If you start a meal with some proteins, you get a much slower glycemic hit from the carbs that you eat.” — Jenny (15:04)
• Hydration and careful observation (use of CGM) are crucial.
• Recognize that, even with perfect dosing/timing, highly-processed “sugar bombs” pose unique challenges—and removing or replacing these foods may be the easier option for some.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments – With Timestamps

• On Little Bites’ resilience:
  “They’re the packaged thing that looks like even after the apocalypse, they probably wouldn’t be moldy…”
  — Jenny (01:52)

• On the muffin’s sugar content:
  “More than 50% of these muffins is sugar.”
  — Jenny (03:16)

• On family persistence:
  “Kudos to this person, this family, honestly, for sticking with it and saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to figure it out.’ … They are now getting glucose levels that are much, much improved.”
  — Jenny (06:47)

• On tweaking the strategy:
  “What did your blood sugar curve look like? What would you do next time? This is what we’re going to talk about in every episode of Bolus 4.”
  — Scott (16:10)

• On homemade vs. packaged:
  “Did not hit Arden nearly as hard.”
  — Scott (12:11)
  “It’s the simplicity of the ingredients.”
  — Jenny (13:41)

• On food labels/marketing:
  “It makes it sound like they’ve lined a bunch of army people around our castle to fortify it. We’re gonna be safe because we fortified your mouth.”
  — Scott (04:27)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Meal BOLT Formula: 00:00–01:25, 15:30–End
• Overview of Little Bites: 01:27–03:32
• Nutritional Breakdown & Ingredients: 02:46–04:03, 12:10–14:46
• Listener Experience & Problem-Solving: 04:47–08:29
• Meal BOLT Applied Step-By-Step: 08:29–10:52
• Homemade vs. Packaged Discussion: 10:52–14:18
• Why Certain Ingredients Impact Glucose Differently: 13:25–14:46
• Recommendations and Context: 14:46–15:29

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Little Bites chocolate chip muffins pose a real challenge for bolusing due to their ultra-refined, high-sugar composition—resulting in rapid, sharp glucose spikes.
• Success stories center on experimenting with bolus timing, insulin amount, and strategic pairing with protein/fat—showcasing resilience and learning-by-doing.
• Homemade versions, even with more carbs, usually result in gentler glucose responses when made with basic, whole ingredients.
• The Meal BOLT framework provides a solid mental checklist for considering all variables—meal content, personal state, insulin strategy, and after-meal review.

For anyone facing a stubborn “problem food,” this episode embodies encouragement, creative troubleshooting, and gentle honesty about both the limitations and the possibilities of living “Bold With Insulin.”