Hey everyone I’m trying out something new today by writing for my friends at Pairdd!  We came up with this one together thinking it might be helpful to have some snack ideas for when you are on the go.  With spring just around the corner it seems that life always starts to get busier as the snow melts. 

It could just be the simple fact that you no longer have the desire to head home and stay cuddled up to try and escape the cold, or it could be that your kids have spring sports starting.  No matter what the reason is here are 8 gluten free snacks ideas. Hopefully you will fall in love with at least one of them!

Why: Use almond butter instead of peanut butter because not only does it taste as good as peanut butter but almonds are nuts whereas peanuts are legumes.  Nuts as most of us know are packed with nutrients and healthy fat.  Also, not many snacks get any easier to prepare than a jar of almond butter and a banana!

How: Open a jar of almond butter, partially peal a banana, scoop some almond butter on to a spoon, and scoop it off with the banana.  Helpful Hint: have a glass of liquid to drink because it gets very sticky in the mouth!    

Why: Like mentioned above nuts are loaded with great nutrients and fats that your body craves.  Just one handful (literally) should satiate your hunger for the rest of the afternoon until dinner.

How: You could buy roasted nuts at the grocery store (or even raw ones) or if you are watching your bad oil intake you could make enough for an entire week (or longer) in under 15 minutes!

Why: These are the tastiest chips that you will ever eat!  Beyond that fact they are loaded with calcium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

How: Like the nuts, you could buy these at a store or if watching your oils/fats you could make them at home.  Now you do have to have the cool single blade slicer on one side of your cheese grater because I do not think that it would be possible to slice them by hand.  The investment in one if you don’t have it would be completely worth it though!  You could make all kinds of potato/veggie chips if you wanted.

Why: Made with a vegetable instead of the traditional legume(chickpeas) not only does that make it low calorie/carb (if that’s important) but it also tastes exactly the same as the traditional kind and you can make it whatever flavor you wish!

How: Follow these easy steps here.  The most difficult part of the recipe could be finding Tahini ingredient.  We went to a local Indian oriental grocery store and it was right there!  So, if you have one near you I suggest making that the first stop.  Once you have it the jar should last you a long time!

Why: Brings you back to the days of your parents packing one in your lunch.  Also who doesn’t love apples, cinnamon, and sugar!?  In reality you may be like oh I don’t want all this sugar in me…but cinnamon actually somewhat counteracts the affect that sugar has on your insulin levels!

How: Make your own or buy some at the store and don’t forget to bring a spoon with you to work!

Why: While not the healthiest thing out there adding in blueberries and bananas to your muffins instead of say bananas and chocolate chips, or other flavoring adds a tiny bit more “nutrients” into them (or at least I like to tell myself that).   In my opinion, gluten-free banana anything turns out nicer (less dense) and is easier to make than using an all gluten-free flour mixture. 

How: Store bought is probably not going to taste the best and you might not even find any fresh ones.  They may all be freezer kind.  You can follow my recipe here or you could browse around for one of your own on Pinterest!

Why: These last two items are a new find of ours and are amazing!  They have all natural ingredients that not only you can pronounce the name but you will actually know exactly what it is!  For example: the blueberry muffin Larabar ingredients are: dates, cashews, blueberries, blueberry juice concentrate, lemon juice concentrate, and vanilla extract.  Not only do they fall under the gluten free category but the fall under the soy free, vegan, dairy free, and non-GMO category as well!

How: Go online to their website and find a vendor or the next time you are at your grocery store they may have them there.  I find that grocery stores sell them individually where a place like Target sells them by the box!  I also wrote a little mini review of them that you can find here.

Why: These are definitely for you if you are a meat person!  That or if you do more than sit at a desk all day and want to get a little extra protein or fat in you. They are made of meat and some are flavored.  They are a little strange to me because they don’t require refrigeration but then neither does beef jerky, I guess.

How: As far as I’m aware the only way you can get these are online.  Not sure whether or not they’ve made it to any stores yet but if they have you should definitely let me know!