Kale Chips, Avocado Egg Salad, Spinach Smoothie, Paleo Granola

One of the most challenging components of eating Paleo is snacking.  Whether you work away from home and need to pack food with you, or you’ve got little kids at home who graze all day, it’s nice to have a variety of snacks available to keep you going throughout the day.

Here are some easy, go-to snacks that take little to no prep and are easy to pack:   Hard boiled eggs, mixed nuts and seeds, unsweetened dried fruit, Larabars, smoked salmon, jerky, deli meat, a piece of fruit, apple slices or celery with almond butter, and sliced veggies with guacamole.

When you’ve got some time, try some of the following recipes.  They are a nice alternative to the grab-and-go variety.

Kale is right up there with spinach in the superfood category.  These chips make a quick and easy side dish too.

Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
Olive oil
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350.  Remove kale leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces.  Wash and dry thoroughly.  Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt (go easy on the salt) and toss to evenly coat.  Place on baking sheet and spread out evenly.  Don’t place the leaves too close together or they will steam and won’t crisp up.  Use two baking sheets if necessary.  Bake 10-15 minutes, until the edges are crisp.

Avocado Egg Salad (adapted from pioneerwoman.com)

8 whole hard boiled eggs, peeled
2 whole avocados, pitted
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chives, chopped
Large beefsteak tomato, sliced thick
Deli meat
Spinach leaves

Combine all ingredients except for chopped chives into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times, scraping the bowl once or twice if necessary.  Continue pulsing until salad reaches the consistency you want.  Remove blade from bowl and stir in chives.  Check seasoning and adjust as necessary.  Scoop desired amount on a thick slice of tomato.  Or, roll up some in a slice of deli meat with spinach spinach.  Sprinkle on extra chives and serve.

Spinach Smoothie (aka Ruth was right!)

Almond milk
Frozen fruit of your choice
Spinach
Banana (optional)

Blend and enjoy!

The real taste-testers, my kids, loved this smoothie.  It was really good!  The texture was smooth and the flavor was sweet.  This is a great way to get your post-wod carbs and an easy way to get greens and fruit into your day.  Smoothies are a satisfying snack and refreshing on a warm day.  Make a double batch, pour into popsicle molds, freeze, and enjoy a healthy, delicious dessert!

Paleo Granola

2 cups unsweetened coconut
2 cups roasted, unsalted almonds, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup assorted seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax, etc)
1 cup pecans or macadamia nuts or a combination of both, chopped
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup honey
½ cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
Salt (Sea salt is delicious but kosher is good too)

Preheat oven to 225.  Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet.  Combine coconut, nuts (I used my food processor to chop the nuts), seeds, flax meal and cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a small bowl combine honey, oil and vanilla.  Melt in the microwave until thinned but not boiling.

Pour honey mixture over nut mixture and combine until thoroughly coated.  Pour onto baking sheet and spread out evenly.  Use two baking sheets if necessary, you don’t want to crowd the mixture too much.

Bake for 90 minutes, stirring every 30.  Upon removal from the oven, sprinkle with a bit of salt, mix, and let cool.  Store in an air tight container.

This is good as is but there are a variety of things you can do: top yogurt with granola and fresh fruit, add fruit and almond milk for cereal, add dried fruit and dark chocolate chip for trail mix, and for a non-Paleo treat sprinkle granola over ice cream.

These snacks are nutritious and will help keep you satisfied between meals.  If you’d like to share some of your snack ideas, feel free to leave a comment.  Happy snacking!