20 Clean and Grain Free Snacks
I eat… a lot. However, I eat a lot of smaller meals throughout the day. You could call them snacks, or you could call them mini meals. Either way, I am usually eating every 3 hours. I like to put some variety in my snacks so I’m not munching on the same thing throughout the day.
Here’s a list of 20 “Clean” and Grain Free Snack Ideas for anyone who is tired of eating the same old thing each day.
1. Green apple slices with almond butter
2. Full fat Greek Yogurt with almond butter and/or fresh berries
3. Kale Chips
4. Full fat raw cheese wrapped in romaine lettuce
5. Boiled egg and carrot sticks
6. Celery sticks with almond butter
7. Handful of almonds and carrot sticks
8. Nitrate free no sugar added lunch meat (I don’t eat much lunch meat but when I do, I love Applegate!) wrapped in romaine lettuce (add some raw cheese if you like)
10. Almond butter yogurt dip (equal parts whole fat Greek yogurt and almond butter, you can add a little raw honey too if you want it sweeter) with fruit slices
12. A handful of raisins (no sugar added) with macadamia nuts
13. Sliced tomato with Feta cheese
15. “Banana Ice Cream” mixed with almond butter for added protein (can you tell I love almond butter?) Of course you could add all natural or home made peanut butter too.
16. Turkey “muffins” (meatballs made in muffin tins: this recipe calls for oats but has an almond flour substitution)
17. Salad with sliced hardboiled eggs or chicken
18. Granny smith apple slices dipped in homemade chocolate.
19. Chocolate fudge bites (good pre workout snack)
20. Fajita style chicken (make a batch of this and separate into portions to enjoy as snacks throughout the week)
I like to pair my protein with a fruit or veggie for carbohydrates.
I often go to berries or a green apple when eating fruit because they are lower glycemic than other fruits (unless I am snacking right before or after a workout). But the most important thing to me is that I am eating real food.
Bonus snack idea: One of my favorite packaged snacks is Trader Joes “Just Mango” (dried mango with no sugar added) and a handful of dry roasted salted pumpkin seeds from Eden Prairie. It’s super easy to dry your own mango in a food dehydrator if you don’t want to buy it packaged. And I just started roasting my own pumpkin seeds with coconut oil (also super simple). But those are my go to when I want a treat (the mango is seriously like candy) and I don’t want to prepare it myself.
I have a fascination (borderline obsession) with how eating different foods along with different workouts can transform a person’s body and health. For example, fats like nuts and avocados are best before workouts (rather than immediately after). Fat can slow the absorption of protein. So after I do weight bearing exercise I like to eat some lean protein with a carbohydrate (like 1/2 a banana) to enhance muscle building and recovery. This is about the only time you will see me drinking a protein shake (if I don’t have time to make a snack). I much rather eat my food whole than consume any kind of powder… even if it’s “clean”.
I do use a very clean whey protein powder. It has no preservatives or flavoring or sweeteners. I mix 2 scoops of whey powder with 8 ounces of water, ½ a banana and 2 strawberries in the blender. If you are sensitive to whey you can make one using bovine gelatin. Check out how to make it here.
You may also notice from my list that I consume full fat dairy. I don’t do the low fat or fat free thing with dairy anymore. You can read more about that here.
