Need a Snack? Try Paleovalley

A lot of my patients come to me asking about good snack ideas. They are working hard to change their diet as per my recommendations after giving them a very personalized, specific diet and as they read ingredients they realize how food they once thought was healthy really isn't very healthy especially when it comes to 'health bars'. If you like beef jerky and you can do fruits in your diet Epic bars are a great option that you can pick up at Whole Foods and other health food stores. But what about Kind bars, Cliff bars, Lara bars? Cliff bars have soy in them and are not necessarily organic so I would stay away from them. Lara bars are fruit based and so that can be hard for some of my patients. Kind bars have nuts and fruit in them, sweetened with honey. Not all of them have fruit in them so that can be a good option but some of my patients cannot do nuts so what is left?



Organic, pure, whole food is the best snack. Meaning, anything your great, great grandmother could have eaten, you should eat as a snack too. A boiled egg, a piece of chicken, carrot sticks, etc. the less processed the better but I know we are a society on the go so what is a healthy 'on-the-go' snack? Try Paleovalley Superfood Bars. They are full of antioxidant rich foods such as spirulina and chlorella, but are cashew butter based. Cashew is seen as a nut but is truly a bean so cashews may be something you can do even though you are staying away from nuts. These health bars do however have fruit in them. They have blueberries, acai berries and cherries for antioxidant properties and it does use dates and honey for sweetness for a total of 11 grams of sugar. So if you are avoiding fruit these would not be the bars for you. Instead try their beef snack sticks, given you aren't a vegetarian. Their beef is grass-fed just like in the Epic bar but unlike the Epic bar, they do not contain fruit. There are not chemical preservatives and they use the tiniest bit of sweetener from tapioca. You can also make your own health bar with the recipe in this newsletter! If you make your own it will definitely save on the grocery bill and you can make it exactly the way you want.

EPIC, an Awesome Protien Snack!

I'm always looking for new snacks to try because day in and day out I can get tired of almonds, cashews and carrot sticks, as I'm sure you can too. Unfortunately, before I go further, I must state that what I'm about to write is for my omnivore patients. I'm a fan of protein snacks especially if I'm busy in the office and haven't had time to eat lunch and it's already 3pm. Eating protein helps me keep going for sure! I've always been a fan of beef jerky but have stayed away from eating it because it's made with all sorts of preservatives, soy and sugar. Even the "natural" jerkys out there still have sugar and soy in them. I've been debating whether or not to get a dehydrator and make my own but the thought of the amount of counter space that is needed for it overwhelms me. So I am happy to have found Epic. Epic bars are grass-fed meat with a minimal amount of fruit. They are gluten-free, milk-free and soy-free. They advertise paleo-friendly if you are familiar with the paleo diet. With eleven grams of protein per bar you can't go wrong.


Finally, jerky without the junk, so exciting! I have tried the "bison bacon cranberry". I want to try the "turkey almond cranberry" next. They also have "beef habanero cherry" and "lamb current mint". I found them at Whole Foods for $3 a bar which is on the expensive side but when you are in a pinch for some quick protein it's priceless. If you buy it off the website you save $2 for a box of 12.