Gluten-free snack tips for dummies

Today I am on day 5 of gluten-free life. I have no idea how long this will last, so don't ask...

But while it's lasting, I thought I might give some tips of my favorite "clean" foods that I've been snacking on. Also important to note that I don't like cooking, I like easy.

1. Lara Bars. These are replacing my go-to Balance Bars. Totally different. Sweetened with dates and other natural fruits. My favorites are Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, and Coconut Cream Pie. (Although, if I had my way...I'd rather eat pie.)
2. Oatmeal. And lots of it. I just discovered an instant steel cut oatmeal by Oat Revolution. It's my on the go hot snack at the Y. Water from the coffee machine upstairs and oats in a Styrofoam cup. Magical.
3. Spinach, goat cheese, pear salad with balsamic. Not a big salad girl, but this one gets me good.
4. Trader Joe's Honey Greek Yogurt. This is like...crack. It is SO GOOD. Add granola and you will actually think you are doing crack. Confusing.
5. Hard boiled eggs. I don't like eggs for breakfast typically, but a hard boiled egg? Add some sea salt to it and it is an epic snacky treat.
6. PB2. This is a crazy powdered peanut butter that you can put in yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, smoothies, etc. 85% less calories than peanut butter and it doesn't taste like those other weird peanut butter substitutes I've tried like "Better Than Peanut Butter". GROSS. Talk about false advertising.
7. Vanilla almond milk. Better than soy in the flavor department. Yeah I said that.

And then if you are willing to take the plunge, my Vitamix blender has TRULY changed my life. They are stupid expensive, and my dad bought mine for me. So if you have a sweet dad, ask him to buy one for you. But I do shakes in it practically every morning. It also makes soups and salsas and dips and on and on, but I only make shakes. Here are some good ingredients:

1. Bananas. CRUCIAL. They thicken up the shakes and make it feel more filling.
2. Kale/Spinach mix. I get a mix at Trader Joe's called "Power to the Greens" which is chard, kale, and spinach. Spinach is by far the LEAST bitter green to add to shakes, so I recommend that if you are a taste snob like me.
3. Flax Seeds or Chia Seeds. They add fiber, and flax seeds add a nutty kick to a peanut butter chocolate smoothie. And the vitamix PULVERIZES these tiny seeds. It's crazy.
4. Almond milk. You only need a little! Spinach naturally breaks down into a bit of a liquid, so add less almond milk than you think you need.
5. Frozen fruit. My picks are berries, pineapple, or mango.
6. Coconut flakes.
7. Ice. If you aren't adding frozen fruit, you need some ice.
8. Hemp protein powder. This is the most natural yet least offensive tasting protein powder that is gluten-free.

Eating gluten-free has been really hard for me. And I know it won't last forever. But I have seen noticeable improvement in my restfulness at night and my general health during the day. Try it out if you want, but not if it makes you go CRAZY with snacking at night (I have noticed this as a side effect of cleanses for me. I do great during the day, but when the sun goes down, so does my will power because I am STARVING).

If you know of any other easy gluten-free snacks, let me know!

-Liz