#1675 Bolus 4 - Onions

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1675 Bolus 4 – Onions

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Jenny Smith
Date: November 8, 2025

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Episode Overview

This installment of the Bolus 4 miniseries focuses on onions—one of America’s most consumed vegetables—and how to consider them when planning and dosing insulin for meals. Host Scott Benner and certified diabetes educator Jenny Smith keep their tone light, conversational, and practical, walking listeners through their carb-counting thought processes using "Meal Bolt," an easy-to-remember bolusing strategy. They also share candid, humorous banter about “onion goo” and the marketing oddities of pre-pureed onions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Talk About Onions?

• Popularity: Onions rank #3 in the U.S.’s most-consumed vegetables, with Americans eating around 9.5 pounds per person annually. (00:57)
• Common Use: Most people use onions as a flavoring, not a main dish. Both hosts admit to rarely eating a whole cup of onions at a time. (02:01, 05:44)
• Carb Surprise: Scott admits, “...onions, which, by the way, have more carbs in them than I thought.” (02:16)

The Onion Goo Incident

• Scott's Grocery Encounter: Scott describes finding a large squeeze bottle labeled “Easy Onion: Ready to Use,” essentially pureed onion, at his grocery store. (03:07)
• Jenny’s Reaction: Jenny finds the concept (and texture) off-putting—“If you’re a texture person...it made me horrified.” (03:19)
• Packaging Oddities: The hosts joke about a label boasting “Now with more chopped onion”—“As opposed to what? Slime in a bottle? Because this is what it looks like. It looks like snot in a bottle. It really does. It’s terrifying.” (03:54 – Scott)

How Many Carbs Are in Onions?

• Typical Measure: Scott references 11–16 grams of carbs per medium onion, then pivots to measuring by cups (one cup ≈ 10–16g carbs). (05:06, 05:27)
• Jenny’s Habit: “Medium onion. I usually say it’s about 10 grams...I don’t eat a cup of onions at one time, so that’s one that I definitely use the old rule of, ‘It’s a vegetable, you don’t have to count it,’ because I use it as a seasoning...I don’t really consider the carb content.” (05:30, 05:44)

Practical Bolusing Advice

• Occasional Tracking: Scott and Jenny reassure listeners that if they’re adding onions as a topping or flavor, it’s fine to add a small carb estimate (e.g., 3–4 grams):
  • “...there’s nothing wrong with adding three or four carbs for the onion, as you’re going through and counting it. I just don’t want people to...skip a lot more than they usually do or than they should.” (06:02)
• Why Rounding Up is Okay:
  • Scott: “Most of the times when it goes wrong, it goes wrong on the side of I didn’t use enough...you usually miss stuff when you’re counting carbs, so why not, like...assume you’re not getting the carbs right...” (07:01)
• Practical Device Tips: Scott recalls using an insulin pump (Omnipod PDM) and rounding up carbs when the device would overshoot the intended number, settling for “good enough” (06:49–07:01).

Don't Overthink Minor Ingredients—but Don't Skip Them

• Message: Small amounts of onion in a meal probably don't require special attention, but regular higher intakes—especially in dishes where onion is more central—should be factored in.
• Scott’s Caution: “I just don’t want people to miss the onions.” (07:24)
• Jenny’s Affirmation: “...they were on the top list, so we had to include them.” (07:26)

Fresh vs. Prepared Products

• Food Philosophy:
  • Scott jokes: “Please use real onions...Every time you buy Easy Onion, Jenny cries a little bit inside.” (07:42)
  • Jenny agrees, laughing, and neither intends offense to the producers of prepared onion products. (07:55)
• Garlic Sidebar: The riff briefly extends to garlic: “...if you’re using garlic, just take a second and chop up the garlic and squash it.” (08:08 – Scott & Jenny)

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The "Meal Bolt" Formula (08:09 & 00:40)

Scott and Jenny frame their approach to every Bolus 4 episode using this acronym, emphasizing practical, adaptable thinking:

• M – Measure the meal (carbs, protein, fat, glycemic index/load)
• E – Evaluate yourself (current BG, insulin on board, activity, stress/illness)
• A – Add the base units (carb amount ÷ insulin:carb ratio)
• L – Layer a correction (adjust for high/low BG, trends)
• B – Build the bolus shape (standard, combo, square wave)
• O – Offset the timing (pre-bolus, meal timing, absorption)
• L – Look at the CGM (watch for spikes or delayed effects)
• T – Tweak for next time (review and adjust based on results)

Quote:
“...it’s not going to be that confusing and we’re not going to ask you to remember all of that stuff. But that’s the pathway that Jenny and I are going to use to speak about each bolus.” (08:48 – Scott)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On “Easy Onion”:
  • Scott: “It looks like snot in a bottle. It really does. It’s terrifying.” (03:54)
• On real vs. prepared foods:
  • Scott: “Every time you buy Easy Onion, Jenny cries a little bit inside.” (07:42)
• Humor and Practicality:
  • Jenny: “If you’re a texture person, this would...like, it made me horrified.” (03:19)
  • Scott: “Most of the times when it goes wrong, it goes wrong on the side of I didn’t use enough.” (07:01)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:57 – Onions as a top-consumed U.S. vegetable, basic stats
• 03:07–04:09 – “Easy Onion” goo discussion and laughter
• 05:22–05:44 – Carb content in onions and practical use cases
• 06:02–07:24 – Should you count onions? Rounding up carbs and missing “hidden” ingredients
• 08:09–09:05 – Full breakdown of the Meal Bolt formula

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Takeaway for Listeners

• Counting onions usually isn’t necessary if they’re a minor ingredient, but don’t ignore repeated or larger amounts.
• When in doubt, it’s better to slightly overestimate carbs than consistently underestimate—small additions like onion do add up.
• Use fresh onions (and garlic) when possible; pre-prepped options may be convenient but don’t offer any carb advantage, and may be less satisfying or appetizing.
• The Meal Bolt method offers a simple, comprehensive structure for making confident bolusing decisions—even for ingredients as humble as onions.

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For further resources, meal bolusing guides, and more about the Meal Bolt strategy, visit juiceboxpodcast.com/mealbolt.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. In every episode of Bolus 4, Jenny Smith and I are going to take a few minutes to talk through how to bolus for a single item of food. Jenny and I are going to follow a little bit of a roadmap called Meal Bolt. Measure the meal, evaluate yourself, add the base units, layer a correction, build the bolus shape, offset the timing, look at the CGM tweak for next time. Having said that, these episodes are going to be very conversational and not incredibly technical. We want you to hear how we think about it, but we also would like you to know that this is kind of the pathway we're considering while we're talking about it. So while you might not hear us say every letter of Meal Bolt in every episode, we we will be thinking about it while we're talking. If you want to learn more, go to juiceboxpodcast.com Meal Bolt. But for now, we'll find out how to bolus. For today's subject, nothing you hear on the Juice Box Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan. Okay, this one surprised me. This is the number three vegetable on the top 10 consumed vegetables in the US list. And let me see if I can tell you a little bit about it. It's the third highest and about nine and a half pounds per person in 2019 was consumed. I guess this is the last time they got these numbers. It's a staple flavor base in cooking. Not necessarily a thing most people would just eat on on its own. But although I have seen people do it, of course, I don't think it's crazy. It's also another thing that I would avoid like the plague.

[B]

So it's more used as a flavoring, you said?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Onions.

[A]

Ooh, Jenny, well done. Onions. That was awesome.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, onions and onions and garlic are on my shopping list every single week. Yeah, I heavily rely on onions and garlic.

[A]

Are we gonna share with everybody before we talk about onions, which, by the way, have more carbs in them than I thought. Did the text chain that went back and forth between you and I while I was at the grocery store. Should we tell people about that?

[B]

Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry, this. You're gonna have to, like, mute out all the laughing because quite honestly, it gave me a really funny idea for something I'll tell you about, like, in a little later.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But yes, I texted you a yes.

[A]

Yes. Jenny had a follow up for me But I was in the grocery store and I saw something that fried my brain. It was a plastic container that probably mimics, like, what a large mustard container, small ketchup container would look like. Yes. And on the front of it, it said, easy onion ready to use.

[B]

And I laughed. As soon as I saw the picture, I was like, what is this?

[A]

I sent it to Jenny immediately. I was like, this is not a thing Jenny would buy. So it was nine and a half ounces of what just looks like pureed onion.

[B]

It's like onions. It's like, if you're a texture person, this would abs. Like, it made me turn like, it made me horrified.

[A]

Yeah, it's onion goo is the best way I can explain it to you. But that's not really. It says it's the marketing that gets you. No peeling, chopping, or tears. No, Like, I mean, if that's what's stopping you from eating an onion. First of all, the peeling. But there's a big yellow flag on the side of it, and I swear to God it says, now with more chopped onion. And I thought.

[B]

And what did I text to you?

[A]

I think Jenny said, what was in it before? And I said, that is exactly what I was thinking, too. She says, now with more chopped onion. As opposed to what? Slime in a bottle? Because this is what it looks like. It looks like snot in a bottle. It really does. It's terrifying.

[B]

It's disgusting.

[A]

But anyway, if those of you, if somebody out there is using it, I hope we're laughing with you. And if not, buy an onion. I don't think the chopping is as hard as you said.

[B]

We're making fun, but we'. We're really not.

[A]

It was just. It was just really like. It took me by. It was the now more chopped onion, which, as, by the way, I want to. I want to be clear, I've thought it through more than I should have. In hindsight. I assume what they meant was we used to just give you the slime, but now we've put more pieces of onion in it. The chopped onion. But when you first read it, it sounds like there was something other than onion in the slime. I'm sorry, I keep calling it slime, other than it's horrifying if you say it, but nevertheless, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about real onions. I swear to you, this episode should.

[B]

Be like slimy Onion.

[A]

I tried to show it to Kelly and then I thought, why am I wasting my time? Jenny's going to find this. Hilarious. I'll just text it to her.

[B]

Yes, thank you.

[A]

I held it up and I was like, Kellen. I'm like, you know what? She doesn't care about this.

[B]

I was like, no, no.

[A]

Kelly's not up for fooling around about onion goo. Anyway. A raw, mature onion. Again, they say medium, but I'm guessing you're going to tell me about a cup of onion is the way we're going to want to. To evaluate how much it is. I have here 11 to 16 grams. I'm interested to hear what you're going.

[B]

To say for a cup of chopped onion.

[A]

Yeah, well, this has it as a medium onion.

[B]

Yeah, medium onion. Usually about. I usually say it's about 10 grams.

[A]

Okay. Does it change from onion to onion? Yellow, white, Spanish. That's actually.

[B]

I've never really looked that up. I don't eat a cup of onions at one time, so that's one that I definitely use. The old rule of it's a vegetable. You don't have to count it because I use it again as a seasoning in a dish or an addition, and I don't really consider the carb content.

[A]

I'm going to tell you that I didn't think we were actually going to talk about how to bolus for onions. I did bring it up. One, because you and I saw onion goo at the store, and two, because you throw them on salads or on your burger or something like that. You know it's there. If you're already bolusing for the salad. There's nothing wrong with adding three or four carbs for the onion. Like, as you're going through and counting it, I just don't want people to. In my imagination, when people are jumping through and counting a meal, I think they skip a lot more than they usually do or than they should. And it's probably a great place to say this here. I once talked about how I evaluated Arden's plate, and I would talk about how I'd be like, well, I don't know, 20, 25 for that, 10 for this. And I'd kind of get to the end and. And I don't know. I have five more. You remember the old PDM on the omnipod?

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

You had to hold the arrow to make the carbs go up. Sometimes I'd, like, race to the number and try to let go on time. And I'd be like, I'm trying to get to 40 carbs. And I'd stop, and it would go to 44. And I'd be like, good enough.

[B]

That looks good. Yeah.

[A]

Because why? Because most of the times when it goes wrong, it goes wrong on the side of I didn't use enough. Like, that was my. My finding.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

You usually miss stuff when you're counting carbs, so why not, like, I mean, if every time you bolus, you end up higher, maybe assume you're not getting the carbs right, or you're. I mean, maybe your settings are bad, but one way or the other, you need more so.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I just don't want people to miss the onions.

[B]

And, you know, and they were on the top list, so we had to include them.

[A]

Hey, I didn't make the list, so there they are. Okay. Please use real onions. If you don't. You know how they say, what is it? Every time a bell rings, a fairy gets their wings?

[B]

An angel. An angel gets their way.

[A]

Is that how it. Is that the saying? Yes. All right, hold on. I don't want. I'm going to say that every time you buy easy Onion, Jenny cries a little bit inside. Yes. No offense to the company spice world who makes them.

[B]

No, not at all.

[A]

By the way, this led to another conversation Jenny and I had about garlic later, which I'm sure will come up at some point while we're talking about this again, please, if you're using garlic, just take a second and chop up.

[B]

The garlic and squash it.

[A]

Exactly. Thank you. All right, God bless you all. In each episode of the Bolas 4 series, Jenny Smith and I are going to pick one food and talk through the bolusing for that food. We hope you find it valuable. Generally speaking, we're going to follow a bit of a formula, the Meal Bolt formula. M, E, A, L, B, O, L, T. You can learn more about [e-mail] Meal Bolt but here's what it is. Step one. M, measure the meal. E, evaluate yourself. A, add the base units. L, layer A, correction. B, build the bolus shape. O, offset the timing. L, look at the cgm and T, tweak for next time. In a nutshell, we measure our meal total. Carbohydrates, protein, fat. Consider the glycemic index and the glycemic load. And then we evaluate yourself. What's your current blood sugar, how much insulin is on board, and what kind of activity are you going to be involved in or not involved in? Do you have any stress hormones, illness? What's going on with you? Then A, we add the base units, your carbs divided by insulin to carb ratio, just A simple bolus. L layer of correction, right? Do you have to add or subtract insulin based on your current blood sugar? Build the bolus shape. Are we going to give it all up front 100% for a fast digesting meal or is there going to be like a combo or a square wave bolus? Does it have to be extended? Offset the timing. This is about pre bolising. Does it take a couple of minutes this meal or maybe 20 minutes? Are we going to have to again consider combo, square wave boluses and meals? Figure out the timing of that meal and then l look at the cgm. An hour later, was there a fast spike? Three hours later, was there a delayed rise? Five hours later, is there any lingering effect from fat and protein? Tweak, tweak for next time. T what did you eat? How much insulin and when? 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. Measure the meal, evaluate yourself, add the base units, layer a correction, build the bolus shape, offset the timing, look at the cgm, tweak for next time. But it's not going to be that confusing and we're not going to ask you to remember all of that stuff. But that's the pathway that Jenny and I are going to use to speak about each bolus. Hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by Wrong Way Recording wrongwayrecording. Com.