Let’s talk about snacks, baby
Let’s talk about you & me
Let’s talk about all the good fats & the bad fats that may be
Let’s talk about SNACKS.
Let’s talk about SNACKS!
How on Earth are you doing this week?
This past week was a rough one for me. I was just coming off of a week with the flu and I have been exhausted. Grady has decided that sleep is WAY overrated. I wish I could agree with him.
I don’t know about you but when I’m tired, all I want to do is eat and I don’t want to have to think about what or how I’m going to eat. I want food and I want it NOW. I really struggled this week with wanting things that weren’t good for me. I almost poured myself a bowl of cereal no less than 857 times. While I was grocery shopping yesterday, I came thisclose to buying a pint of Ben & Jerry’s to scarf down.
Luckily, my resolve (and smaller pant size) won over and I did neither of those things.
I did, however; buy a bar of peppermint-infused dark chocolate and ate half of that one night. I felt SO much better.
When I first started eating Paleo, I really struggled with hunger. I was STARVING. In addition to changing how I eat, I am still breastfeeding the baby which is, in and of itself, exhausting. For the most part, I rarely need snacks to help me through the day anymore but when I want one, it is important to have something readily available to eat. That is why I have compiled a list of my favorite things to eat for snacks on the Paleo Diet.
I would like to venture to say that I do not withhold carbohydrates at this stage in my journey. Because I am still breastfeeding and because inflammation and pain were the #1 reasons that I started this journey, carbohydrates in the form of fruits and sweet potatoes are still present in my diet. If I were eating Paleo solely to lose weight, I would likely moderate those foods. Please keep that in mind when checking my snacks out.
- A handful of sliced almonds and a sprinkle of raisins with some coconut milk tastes like cereal to me and makes me feel less deprived of my ex-favorite snack.
- Grain-Free Granola Bars are a great snack to have on hand. I make these once/week and when I’m really feeling snacky, I’ll grab one and savor every bite.
- An apple or banana with some nut butter spread on each bite. I have made almond butter and pecash butter recently. They are both different, with very distinct flavors. To me, almond butter is like dessert so if you’re really craving something “naughty”, grab a tablespoon of that.
- I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hummus with raw, chopped veggies. I try to find time when Kyle is home to get in the kitchen and make a few things ahead. This hummus is one of them. It is SO, SO good and I promise you, you will not miss the Garbanzo Beans. Chop your veggies after you make this, and put them in ziploc baggies or tupperware containers so that when the snack-monster attacks, you don’t have to wrestle with a knife and a head of broccoli.
- Baba Ganoush with Endive. This is SO good. It’s like eating dip with chips, but endive is a vegetable, it’s raw, and it’s fantastic for you.
- Protein Balls. Who doesn’t love balls?! These are OH so good for on the go and extremely easy to make. Even if you’re not creative in the kitchen, you can find things to mix these up a bit or alter the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- BACON!!!!! Throw some in the microwave and crisp it up. Or broil it. Or HOWEVER you make bacon. Do it in the morning when you fix breakfast so that your whole house smells delicious. Bacon is even good room temp, so leave it lying around for the snack monster to find.
- Hard boiled egg, or Deviled Eggs. Eggs are high in protein and good fats and are a fantastic source of energy.
- Grain-Free Granola. The Paleo Parents have been teasing us with their up and coming book for a while now. It is due to come out some time in March and I HIGHLY recommend pre-ordering one for yourself and your kids. BONUS: You don’t pay until your books ships! They were kind enough to tease us with this recipe before the book comes out and it’s SO good. Grab a handful when you need an energy boost.
- Kale Chips. These are so good with some sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Even my picky kids will gobble a bowl of these up in no time. I find that LOW & SLOW is the way to go with these babies. I cook them at 300 for 15 minutes and then turn the stove off, leaving them in there for several hours until the oven cools off. It has been the only way that I’ve been able to get them dry and crispy so make sure you plan ahead when making Kale Chips.
I hope that this list of snacks will help you stay the course. It’s hard not having ready-packaged food at your disposal but with a little planning and forethought, healthy snacking CAN be a reality.
For those of you mamas who are breastfeeding and struggling with milk supply, eat ALL DAY. As long as you are eating the right things, you won’t gain weight, your milk supply WILL increase, and you will feel more energetic. I promise. Throw all conventional wisdom out the window that says you need to limit calories and EAT for goodness sake.
Don’t forget to drink water all day too. Water is the stuff of life. Literally. During the winter months, it is common to not feel thirsty when in reality, you are. Keep that water bottle full and sitting within reach so that you don’t get dehydrated.
Now for dinner. Want to know what we’re eating this week? Here’s our menu:
Dinner Menu RESOLUTION : Paleo Week 2
Saturday: Spinach Coconut Milk Soup with Curried Shrimp & salad
Sunday: Pork Chops, grilled with sauteed cabbage & grilled carrots
Monday: Turkey Meatloaf cupcakes (cook the meat loaf in cupcake tins) with sweet potato “icing” (make mashed sweet potatoes and spread the mash on top of the mini-meatloafs once cooked, to make cupcakes(!) and broccoli.
Tuesday: South of the Border Stuffed Acorn Squash from “Paleo Comfort Foods”
Wednesday: Fish Sticks with Sweet Potato Fries
Thursday: Slow Cooker Lemongrass and Coconut Chicken Drumsticks with salad. We have a meeting until 6:30PM so we needed something quick & easy today!
Friday: Chicken Nuggets (These are my kids’ FAVORITES) with roasted asparagus and steamed baby carrots
If you’re new here, check out RESOLUTION : Paleo week 1 for more information.
Now, leave a comment on this post and enter the Rafflecopter to win your Paleo Prize Pack. Let’s get these snacks figured out, together!
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Summer, I love your blog, it’s so fun to read. And I’m loving learning about your Paleo change
So proud of you!!
PS Can I come eat dinner at your house? Everything sounds delish!
Thanks, Kimmy! Come over WHENEVER YOU WANT! I’ll have extras for you and Shye.
Way to hang in there lady! Being sick has a way of derailing me EVERY TIME!! If I don’t have stuff ready, forget about it- I’ll be eating whatever is convenient.
I’m only on week 2, so thus far the only snacks I’ve done is fruit (which I’m thinking I need to cut because I lost 6 lbs last week and a big fat 0 this week- I guess that first week was just water weight and my incredibly screwed up metabolism can’t handle even a little sugar just yet) I did think about the bacon the other day, but didn’t want to bother with the oven when it was time for a snack, guess I should cook some up and have it ready.
Thankfully, I don’t miss snacks too much. Every now and then I get a twinge of regret when I’m sitting out a snack for my daycare kids and I can’t eat “just one” of the cookies or crackers I’m serving them, but then I think of the years of pain and fatigue I’m leaving behind and my resolve strengthens right back up.
Paleo has been so funny for me like that. One week I’ll lose 5 lbs but not notice a difference in my pants and the next week I’ll lose NOTHING and my pants will be looser. Tweak it until you find what works best for your body – that’s what it’s all about, making your body happy! Keep bacon on hand, it’s a great snack! SUPER satisfying.
I don’t know how you work with daycare kids and NOT eat the cookies and crackers. Although like you said, remembering the pain and fatigue is a huge motivator. If weight loss were my motivation, I would have fallen off of the wagon already. But because my motivator is a pain-free lifestyle, it is easy to stick to.
Summer, perfect timing as my boys would rather snack then eat a full meal. I wanna try the humus and, well, everything. We snacked on Bacon before this so that won’t change cause its probably the only thing I can always get the kids to eat. missing ice cream but I’m gonna try the vanilla coconut ice cream recipe posted in mamas.
My Madilyn would rather snack than have a full meal too. The chicken nuggets recipe that I posted is one of her FAVORITES. I leave a plate of them lying around the day after I make them. She could eat them all day long. I really want to try some ice cream recipes too but I need to get an ice cream maker. SOON. VERY SOON!
I really want to win this! I want your success!
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I want you to have my success too!
This post was for me, wasn’t it! lol… I forgot to mention earlier that I shop only every 2 weeks and I am making my shopping list as we speak. So… thanks for the ideas!
Oh and one snack that is pretty much awesome. I melt together nut butter of your choice with a generous pat of butter and a chunk of dark chocolate. I usually just eat it while hot but if you let it cool down it solidifies a little and is very much like truffles.
Actually I guess you could actually MAKE truffles, but that’s too much work. Give me my chocolate fix by the spoonful, please!
Bethany recently posted..The story on why I stopped eating grains, and what happened as a result
I cannot even begin to tell you how many women were talking about milk supply this week! I knew that it needed to be addressed so I thought this was the perfect theme for this week!
Your snack sounds freaking AMAZING and I’m going to have to give it a try. I LOVE chocolate and I have plenty of nut butter in the refrigerator right now.
I’m so glad you’re using my ideas for shopping. I can’t wait to see how this week goes for you.
This is my first day reading your blog and I love it! Who doesn’t love balls?! I might even take the plunge and go Paleo because you make it seam fun.
WELCOME! and thank you! Paleo is SO much fun, and absolutely delicious. Let me know if you have any questions or need some guidance!
I started 3 days ago and have lost 8 pounds. I’m shocked….I have never lost that much, that fast on any type of diet. I am still breastfeeding my 8 month old and my milk supply has dropped significantly. It does any time I try to loose weight and cut back. I am not starving either and in fact I felt like I was eating too many nuts but to loose that much apparently I’m not! So I’m sticking with it and taking fenugreek. Hopefully my supply will increase after a few days and I level out with a steady weight loss.
Thanks for sharing what you eat!
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The great thing with Paleo is that you DON’T HAVE TO CUT BACK!!! Go full force! This is not a calorie-restrictive lifestyle. Eat LOTS of veggies, eat fruit, EAT BACON! I eat ALL DAY LONG. Literally. I hope that you see an increase in your supply soon. Don’t forget that when it’s cold outside, we don’t feel dehydrated so we drink less, despite needing the same amount of fluid as we do in the summer. Let me know if I can help with recipe ideas! Here’s a link to grain-free lactation cookies http://paleoparents.com/2011/video-blog-ep4-breastfeeding-qa-and-grain-free-lactation-cookies/
I want to start Paleo because of you! You make the food sound amazing and I get so hungry reading your posts. I’ve been gathering up ideas and figuring out how much of stuff my kids will eat. The only way for this to work for me is to make stuff everyone will eat because I just don’t have time or energy to make two meals every meal- I think the turkey meatloaf cupcakes would be a hit with them!
You also really won me over with this line “For those of you mamas who are breastfeeding and struggling with milk supply, eat ALL DAY.” I stay in a perpetual state of hunger when breastfeeding. I do not even try to lose weight until I wean. It’s just impossible for me. I’d love to be able to be on a diet that’s not really a diet and actually lose weight.
Thanks for sharing all your recipes!
Brandi Elam recently posted..Beyond Childproofing
Yes, Brandi!!! I have always said that I would be fat until I stopped breastfeeding. I gained 60lbs when I was pregnant with Styles and then only lost like 20lbs while I was nursing. Within 6 weeks of not nursing, I had lost the rest of the weight. I gained 80lbs with Madilyn and didn’t lose a pound of it until I got pregnant with Grady and stopped nursing her. I lost 16lbs in my first trimester of pregnancy with Grady and then only gained 21lbs! I started gaining weight after Grady was born and just resolved myself to obesity until I could stop nursing him. Then one day I was so tired of the migraines and the joint pain that I knew something had to change. I made the switch to Paleo and it has made all the difference in my health and weight. SCORE! This might be a good link for you to check out too
http://www.ehow.com/way_5635865_paleo-diet-reduces-parkinson-tremors.html
Paleo is something I’ve never heard of until I read your blog. I’ve been struggling with Atkins for years, but the weight never stays off. I really enjoy reading about your journey. It’s really hard to stick with anything when your kids are eating Goldfish in the back seat!! I have been considering trying Paleo, (especially after you mention BACON!!)
Bacon is the stuff of LIFE! I think that an Atkins to Paleo switch would be relatively easy. The Paleo Parents have their kids on board and their book will be coming out soon so you will have that resource to start making a switch in your kids too. I’m here for all the support I can possibly give whenever you need it!
For what it’s worth, I have heard a lot of people say just eliminating those last grain-based carbs makes a huge difference when switching from Atkins to Paleo/Primal. I myself had a huge breakthrough when I noticed that after eliminating grains, I no longer craved the baked treats. I always thought sugar caused those cravings, but it was both the sugar and the grains.
Bethany recently posted..The story on why I stopped eating grains, and what happened as a result
So glad you liked our granola. Let me tell you, it was an exciting day in the kitchen when we discovered that one!
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I wish I was as creative as you in the kitchen. I’m terribly boring unless it involves wheat flour and sugar. I can bake a mean nonPaleo cake or cookie! I can follow a recipe to the T, though.
In the ” I can’t believe it’s not hummus” recipe, I roasted a whole clove of garlic, and used it in place of the raw garlic. SO GOOD!
That sounds SO amazing, Leslie! Great idea!
Wow! You have some great ideas here and looks the progress is going pretty well
I have been thinking about making the diet change so I’ve been looking up some ideas..I found this great list of the ultimate paleo super bowl party food ideas – do you have any recommendations to add to it?
Thanks, Jackie! That is a fantastic list of Superbowl party food ideas! The only thing I can think to add to it is WINGS!!! What is the Superbowl without WINGS?!!?? YUM!
Let me know if you end up making anything from that list! The BLT stuff makes me droooooool!
Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!
I don’t snack often but when I do I usually grab some mixed nuts and raisins. I made some really yummy omelet muffins a couple weeks ago that we snacked on. I found the recipe on Mark’s Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/omelet-muffins/#axzz1k2IxODK0. I also like the idea of making Paleo Meatballs as a snack. I have eaten left over bacon on occasion as well. The kids are definitely the hardest to keep snacks on hand for as my too youngest are carboholics and look at me like I am crazy when I offer up fruit or veggies as a snack. They want granola bars!!! Thank you for the post, you gave me some great ideas.
I don’t snack. There, I said it. I just don’t snack. I don’t feel its healthy. I eat till full at my 2 or 3 meals, then dont eat one morsel until my next meal. I do this as a way to control my hormones, and it works! (For me). So… snacks I miss?? Um…. cans of sardines. Almond and Sea Salt chocolate. McDonalds frappes…. ugh, now I want one of those…. LOL
HA! I find that the further into Paleo that I get, the fewer snacks I need. The first few weeks were HORRENDOUS. I do have some days where I eat all day long (I’m breastfeeding). Breastfeeding makes me absolutely ravenous but I’m excited to stop nursing to see how little I need to eat to sustain myself.
Sea Salt chocolate is fabulous.
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[...] RESOLUTION : Paleo Week 2, Snacks (bananahammocksandtutus.com) [...]
If I really need a snack, I either eat a spoonful of almond butter or grab a Larabar. I’m breastfeeding, too, so some days I need more snacks than others
I bought Larabars this week and they’re really good! I want to figure out how to make them myself! Almond butter is like dessert. I could eat an entire jar in one sitting.
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