When our family first began this journey to allergy free eating, I frequently found myself at a loss when it came to quick and easy snacks. I committed myself to following the same dietary restrictions as my daughter Amy and there were some days where I just seemed to be starving because I couldn’t think of anything easy to eat and I had fed the last of the leftovers to Amy. It seemed like everything we could eat required so much preparation and there wasn’t a single packaged food we could turn to.We were already more or less into “clean eating” so giving up packaged foods wasn’t really that hard to deal with. The biggest challenge was probably giving up dairy and eggs. Not that we were big milk drinkers but we did eat a lot of yogurt and some cheese. Yogurt was quick, easy and filling and cheese and eggs were quick and easy protein alternatives. One of the things that I do on a regular basis is to cook double what I need for dinner so that we have left-overs to eat for breakfast or lunch the next day.
Over time, we’ve come up with a few favorite snacks. Some of them are free of all the major allergens while others are not. You can choose to try the ones that suit you.
Veggies and hummus (I make a yummy hummus with butter beans instead of chickpeas. This makes a much creamier dip).
Non-wheat toast spread with a good quality honey, topped with thinly sliced apples and sprinkled with cinnamon
Rice cakes spread with almond butter and thinly sliced apples
Any of the breads, muffins, biscuits or scones featured in The Healthy Gluten Free Life by Tammy Credicott
Smoothies made with frozen fruit chunks and coconut milk. Try freezing them in popsicles molds for a delicious summer treat.
Left-over chicken drumsticks
Oven-baked yam fries (buy them precut in the fresh produce section or buy frozen, organic yam fries).
Lentil chips served with salsa, guacamole or bean dip
Seaweed snacks – just be sure that they aren’t loaded with oil and salt.
Pumpkin seeds
Canned tuna or salmon mixed with diced onions and apples
Allergen free cereal topped with coconut milk
Handful of almonds or cashews
Diced apples added to plain, organic yogurt, sprinkled with cinnamon
Raw cashew butter spread on celery sticks
Sulfite free dried fruit
Single-serving organic apple sauce or other fruit snacks
The important thing is to come up with some easy snack ideas before you are hungry. Once you are starving you won’t be able to think of those healthy snacks and you’ll be more likely to reach for processed, chemical laden, allergy causing foods.